Alberta squandered its opportunities

Re: “Kinder surprise sets the stage for showdown,” column, April 10.

I lived in Alberta for almost 20 years during the boom and bust of the 1980s. I remember a joke from back then.

Two farmers from Edmonton were driving down to Calgary every week to sell cabbages. The first farmer said to the second: “Every week we drive to Calgary to sell cabbages and we lose money.” The second farmer said: “We need a bigger truck.” It was funny then, not so funny now.

I am also reminded of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. It seems that Alberta is selling the family cow for a handful of beans. Instead of “giving away” its natural resources, Alberta should upgrade the bitumen inprovince and sell a higher-value product to the rest of the world.

I can’t speak for others, but I would be more open to oil being shipped through our waters instead of diluted bitumen.

Finally, Albertans tout the fact that they do not have or need a provincial sales tax. The reason they have avoided the tax for so long is that they have depended upon the royalties from resource extraction to pay the bills.

Maybe it’s time for Albertans to face the fact that they have squandered many opportunities to diversify their economy and are once again in a bind.

Fred Mallach Victoria