Educating Islanders?

Editor:

I was astonished at Premier Ghiz’s comments following Environment Minister Sherry’s approval of the Plan B Environmental Impact Assessment.

At the time, Premier Ghiz stated that if this highway project goes ahead, the P. E. I. government would undertake an education program to help Islanders understand why this is the best route to realign the TransCanada Highway.

Within a few days, expensive advertisements started appearing in newspapers and commercials on some broadcast media. Are ministers and the premier suddenly becoming available to the media to ‘ discuss’ Plan B?

I am confounded by the arrogance and insensitivity of the leader of the Liberal Party and by his monumental contempt for the intelligence and reasonableness of voters and others on P. E. I.

I do not need to be re- educated about the expenditure of public monies for plainly political purposes. Islanders did want and need honest and full communication before the decision was made about Plan B. Why were there no public consultations held by the government on Plan B specifically? This would have been where meaningful two- way education could have and should have taken place.

But what can you expect of a premier who believes this project is a source of 50- cent dollars from the Canadian government ( i. e. people), when the true ratio is more like 80 cents and rising as time passes?

We won’t forget what Ghiz and his cronies have done. Peter Bower, Victoria