Canada loses when it tries to play international power games

Editor:

The UCP claim their budget is B and R; not in my book. It has demonstrated a bias toward oil and gas companies like never before. It is definitely not responsible to the Alberta owners of our resources.

When Lougheed was Alberta’s premier and promoted development of our tar sands he offered a good deal to initiate progressive ideas and encourage companies to develop the resource by charging only one per cent royalties and taxes. That was 50 years ago, and oil companies are still getting that special deal, while Saudi Arabia and Norway are charge 50 per cent while we let oil companies that made $73 billion last year get away with only eight per cent tax.

Now they demand billions from Ottawa for carbon elimination.

One of those companies is owned by China.

Oh, you didn’t know that Stephen Harper’s government sold billions of shares in Syncrude to China?

John Baird, Tony Clement and Kenedy approved the $15 billion takeover of Nexen by the Chinese National corporation (CNOOC). Along with a big chunk of the tar sands.

Asia’s largest refinery now has the right to veto whether Syncrude refined bitumen in Canada or shipped it abroad. The Canada/ China Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPPA) gives China the right to sue Canada for unlimited damages if domestic laws by any level of government harm the value of Chinese investment.

Canada has just spent over $14 billion to expand the pipeline to the coast.

Trudeau has said he will sell the pipeline once it is finished. Guess who will be at the head of that line to purchase the pipeline, and dictate who will use it?

Canada continues to screw up whenever our politicians try to play international power games. Harper, Poilievre, and UCP are in way over their heads. Don Ryane

Lethbridge