The Globe and Mail - 24.10.2019

A12 O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| THURSDAY,OCTOBER24,

EDITORIAL

PHILLIPCRAWLEY

PUBLISHERANDCEO

DAVIDWALMSLEY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

T

he federal election result on Monday has many sto-

ries to tell, but there are two that will shape the Tru-

deau minoritygovernment’s early days in power.

The first is that the majority of Canadians showed a demo-

cratic preference for parties that are committed to fighting

climate change and that support the federal carbon-pricing

regime.

Only the Conservatives campaigned against the carbon

tax, and they got 34.4 per cent of the popular vote. Prime Min-

ister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party will rightly contin-

ue making the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions a pri-

ority, and he said as much in his first postelection news con-

ference on Wednesday.

The second narrative is that of Western alienation. On

Monday, the Liberals lost their handful of seats in Saskatche-

wan and Alberta, which meansthe governing party has no

representatives from the two provinces with the most at

stake in the fight against climate change.

The West’s feeling of being shut out is made worse by the

fact the Liberals will have to rely on the NDP and Green Party

for support in Parliament – two parties that want to see the

oil sands closed down in short order – and on the Bloc Québé-

cois, which is opposed to new pipeline construction.

A lot of the resurgent “Wexit” talk is over the top. It was

particularly off-putting to see Saskatchewan Premier Scott

Moe release a letter the day after the election in which he

demanded that the Liberals cancel the federal carbon tax – as

if the winning party would ever adopt the main plank of its

defeated opponent.

And it has to be asked, what more could the Liberals do to

assuage Alberta and Saskatchewan beyond purchasing the

Trans Mountain pipeline, whichthe Trudeaugovernment

did, and approving its expansion, which it has also done

(twice)? The Liberals expended immense political capital in

the rest of the country fighting for a pipeline that Alberta

Premier Jason Kenney on Tuesday called his province’s “most

important economic imperative,” and yet somehow it cost

them seats in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Still, it would be a mistake to dismiss the frustration of the

West – not because “Wexit” is a threat to be taken seriously,

but because the frustration is real and understandable.

Think about it. The federal carbon-pricing regime – which

we support – targets the West’s chief resource. The tax’s goal

is to encourage consumers to use less of it.

Yes, it’s fair to point out that the big oil producers support

the carbon tax. Yes, it’s one of the most efficient ways of re-

ducing emissions – something the planet must do.

But that does not change the hard fact that the carbon tax

singles out one Canadian resource, mostly produced in one

region of the country. That has to smart.

There is also the fact that the landlocked West is utterly

dependent on the federal government to be able to ship its

product to foreign markets via the most efficient and safe

means available: pipelines. As Mr. Kenney said, expanding

Trans Mountain is all that really matters at this point.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trudeaurecommittedhis government

to completing Trans Mountain, whether the other parties in

Parliament like it or not.

That’s a necessary commitment. It’s also a bold promise.

It’s going to be very tough for Mr. Trudeau to balance his twin

goals of fighting climate change and completing a state-own-

ed pipeline that has been vilified by the very parties he will

have to rely on for support in Parliament.

And it won’t pay off for him politically, either. Even if he

built Trans Mountain with his bare hands, it might not win

him any seats between the Rockies and Manitoba, while cost-

ing him seats in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

He has to try, of course. It’s the job of thefederalgovern-

ment to consider the competing demands of all the regions

of Canada, and find a way forward that furthers the national

interest.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt Mr. Kenney and others to acknowl-

edge that the Liberals are the only party trying to balance the

needs of Canada’s oil industry with the need to curb carbon

emissions.

The Conservatives dropped the ball on climate change and

have been sidelined as a result; the other parties are actively

hostile to the oil patch. Funny, then, that the party Alberta

and Saskatchewan voters rejected may turn out to be their

best friend in Ottawa.

TheLiberals’

challenge

intheWest

WESTERLYWINDS

Re Kenney Warns PM: ‘Many Al-

bertans Feel Betrayed’ (Oct. 23):

As a former Albertan, I tend to

agree that the province has been

betrayed. I feel they were betrayed

by a series of Klein, Stelmach,

Redford and Prentice govern-

ments that mismanaged Alber-

ta’s oil and gas bounty, and left the

province in a fiscal mess. Along-

side past premiers, the Harper

government, which included cur-

rent Premier Jason Kenney, was

unable to get any pipelines

through the approval process.

Not even close.

KenLutesVancouver

I feel privileged to live in the rid-

ing of Edmonton Strathcona, the

only one in Alberta and Saskatch-

ewan that did not return a Tory to

Ottawa, but rather an NDP MP. Ed-

monton Strathcona is also home

to the University of Alberta,

where I happen to work, and Ja-

son Kenney is about to roll out his

budget. I worry he has the ivory

towers of postsecondary educa-

tion firmly in his sights.

Way to wipe a postelection

smile off a man’s face.

NigelBrachiEdmonton

A thought: Let’s eliminate Alber-

ta’s contributions to equalization

payments. No one can blame Al-

bertans for balking at money

transfers to provinces that de-

spise its source.

Canada should then take steps

to invest those funds in large-

scale green technology projects

based in Alberta. One day the in-

ternal combustion engine may be

a quaint relic in museums. Build-

ing pipelines may end up short-

sighted and pointless. The Cana-

dian government should give Al-

bertans something to hope and

strive for.

JimReynolds

Niagara-on-the-Lake,Ont.

Oil and gas is the lifeline of the

Prairies. But with the Bloc Québé-

cois wielding influence to the east

in Quebec, and the NDP in British

Columbia to the west, it seems the

federal government cannot get an

economic necessity through po-

litical barriers. Here is one way to

map success that meets every-

one’s needs: To the north, the Lib-

erals still rule.

Therefore I propose building

pipelines to run north through

the Northwest Territories and Yu-

kon to the port of Yakutat, Alaska,

on the Pacific Ocean. Voilà!

PeterFedirchukKanata,Ont.

I have never seen hard times any-

where in Canada like I see now in

Alberta. Intelligent, hard-working

people are struggling to survive.

All we need to stop this is to get

our oil products to the world mar-

ket. (We are even willing to share

our profit with other provinces.)

In these next four years, I ask

Justin Trudeau to let us at least

have a pipeline to the West Coast.

It should be the right of Albertans

to have access to the coastline like

any other Canadian.

EricLuzCalgary

POWEROUT

Re Blanchet Emerges As Only

Winner In A Field Of Losers (Oct.

23): All the noise about the power

of the Bloc Québécois seems like

hot air to me.

The Liberals, whose agenda has

been progressively left of centre,

need only the NDP to pass any leg-

islation, and Justin Trudeau and

Jagmeet Singh are relatively civil

with each other. Those two par-

ties seem to be at the centre of

power in this minoritygovern-

ment, not the Bloc. There would

not even be any hope on the other

side of the floor, as a Bloc-Conser-

vative coalition would fall far

short of a majority.

Former Bloc leader Gilles Du-

ceppe discovered this over a dec-

ade. Unfortunately, the same fate

awaits current chief Yves-François

Blanchet.

SamLarabyKirkland,Que.

SYSTEMERROR?

Re Why Doesn’t Every Vote

Count? (Oct. 23): Columnist Eliza-

beth Renzetti expresses gratitude

that Maxime Bernier’s People’s

Party of Canada was shut out of

Parliament, while at the same

time also lamenting for the very

system that would have guaran-

teed him seats. The binary nature

of first-past-the-post is imperfect.

It doesn’t record the depth of vic-

tory in a riding, only the simple

yes-no: Who won, who lost. But it

does usually exclude fringe par-

ties from gaining a seat.

Realizing that no system is per-

fect, I prefer a system that manag-

es to exclude extreme voices in fa-

vour of a commonality of voices

that better represents the will of

the people.

IanHopkinsOakville,Ont.

Two provinces have held referen-

dums on electoral reform.

In April, 2019, 51.7 per cent of

PEI voters voted No in a referen-

dum to change the provincial vot-

ing system from first-past-the-

post to mixed-member propor-

tional representation. In the fall

of 2018, 61.3 per cent of B.C. voters,

voting in their third provincial ref-

erendum on the voting system

since 2005, chose the current first-

past-the-post system.

I am a proponent of mixed-

member proportional represen-

tation and I have voted for electo-

ral reform in British Columbia.

While I would welcome the Prime

Minister championing federal

electoral reform, I think it would

be misguided for anyone to sug-

gest that this would necessarily

result in a consensus on this issue

among Canadians.

DavidLeishman

BrentwoodBay,B.C.

With almost all of those elected in

Alberta and Saskatchewan being

Conservatives, we now read that

these provinces feel their voices

will not be heard by a Liberal gov-

ernment. But almost one-third of

the voters in those provinces ac-

tually voted for the Liberals or

NDP. Will the voices of those vot-

ers be heard?

I believe our winner-take-all

electoral system promotes this

kind of alienation. I hope our gov-

ernment will finally get electoral

reform on the agenda.

ArtHeidebrechtDundas,Ont.

Surely Alberta and Saskatchewan

should be among the country’s

staunchest supporters of propor-

tional representation. After all,

some 14 per cent of voters in Al-

berta’s 34 ridings voted Liberal.

Under proportional representa-

tion, that percentage could have

returned some five Liberal MPs to

Parliament, not to mention the

NDP representatives as well.

I ask Jason Kenney, then, to go

for it: proportional representa-

tion to end Western alienation. Or

am I missing something?

BertJenkinsPicton,Ont.

How about this crazy idea: Why

don’t the Liberals form a majority

coalition with the Conservatives?

Think what even an attempt

would do for national unity.

NeilDonnellyKingston

BLUEINONTARIO

Re Scheer Accuses PM Of ‘Demon-

izing’ Ontario Premier (Oct. 23):

After Doug Ford’s 40-day silenc-

ing, it seems Andrew Scheer is at-

tempting to shift blame to Justin

Trudeau for his inability to break

through in the Greater Toronto

Area. What’s next? Will Mr. Scheer

blame the U.S.government for his

dual citizenship? Is LinkedIn at

fault for his misleading job histo-

ry? Perhaps YouTube should take

responsibility for any old videos

detailing his views on same-sex

marriage? I think I’m in danger of

whiplash.

IanKammToronto

CANADATHEGOOD

As a Canadian, I had the opportu-

nity to exercise my right to vote in

the federal election. It is a right I

am stripped of in my home coun-

try of Pakistan because I belong to

the Ahmadiyya Muslim Commu-

nity, a heavily persecuted sect of

Islam. How incredibly liberating it

feels to be part of a nation that

champions diversity and inclusiv-

ity.

WardahFaryalToronto

LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR

Thesubjectwhoistrulyloyaltothechiefmagistratewillneitheradvisenorsubmittoarbitrarymeasures-Junius

LetterstotheEditorshouldbe

exclusivetoTheGlobeandMail.

Includename,addressanddaytime

phonenumber.Keeplettersunder

150words.Lettersmaybeeditedfor

lengthandclarity.E-mail:

[email protected]

SINCLAIRSTEWART
DEPUTYEDITOR

CHRISTINEBROUSSEAU
ASSISTANTMANAGINGEDITOR,NEWS

DEREKDECLOET

EXECUTIVEEDITOR

EDITOR,REPORTONBUSINESS

SHAWNARICHER

ASSISTANTMANAGINGEDITOR,

FEATURESANDSPORTS

ANGELAPACIENZA

MANAGINGEDITOR,EXPERIENCE

GARYSALEWICZ

ASSISTANTMANAGINGEDITOR,EXPERIENCE

DENNISCHOQUETTE

HEADOFENTERPRISE

TONYKELLER

EDITORIALPAGEEDITOR

SYLVIASTEAD

PUBLICEDITOR

NATASHAHASSAN

OPINIONEDITOR