Southward trickle a trend

Re: “Consulates trickling south,” by G.J. Singh and “Exodus marks our demise,” by Robert Flint, Letters, Jan. 25.

It was with a sense of resigned familiarity that I read letters lamenting how Calgary’s status as the sole Alberta base for some key foreign consulates places Edmonton residents seeking consular services at a con- siderable disadvantage over their southern counterparts.

How about the recent World Junior Hockey tournament, where Calgary hosted a grandiose 21 games that included the high-profile medal round?

Edmonton’s corresponding “fair” share was a total of 11 lead-in games.

There was a time when Edmonton and Calgary were regarded as near equals right across the board, with Edmonton even enjoying the occasional perk over Calgary because of its capital-city status.

For example, in the realm of broadcasting, Edmonton was actually first to have its own full-service local CBC radio and television stations. Alas, those days are long gone. I recently discovered that Rogers cable in Toronto presently carries no fewer than four Calgary TV signals: CFCN (CTV), CICT (Global), CBRT (CBC) and CKAL (City) on the service’s distant/time-shift subscriber tier.

How many Edmonton stations are available? Zip, zilch, nada.

While these particular instances admittedly could be dismissed as isolated and irrelevant, I can’t help but see them as part of a scary, unfortunate trend that continues to unfold while the hired stewards of Edmonton’s various promotional interests do little more than sit back and watch.

M. F. Charles, Edmonton