Thursday’s letters: Smith governing by conspiracy theory

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Danielle Smith is running scared. What a wonderful way to go about the business of running Alberta. She is terrified that a handful of her base, which is about one per cent of the population, will give her a less-than-favourable review.

Her government has decided to ban vote-counting machines in the next municipal election. Why? Because a handful of people in their small minds claim that these machines can not be trusted, even though the machines are subject to post-election reviews verifying results. With regards to chemtrails, Smith’s office was quick to point out that she does not endorse any of the outlandish concerns.

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Not true. She has admitted to following up their unfounded claims by speaking to a woman who has told Smith no spraying is being done over Alberta. If Smith was not supportive of this ridiculous claim, she should have shot down the idea immediately. Smith is running scared and we are the laughingstock of Canada.

Jim Pernsky, Edmonton

No need for an autocratic PM

While watching a preseason hockey game, I saw  the new federal Conservative television ad that has the leader of the party with their young offspring putting together a puzzle of Canada. Not once does Poilievre allow the child to try and put a puzzle piece in. He is in complete control and leads the whole direction for the child. Is this the way he thinks of the Canadian electorate? That is a big red flag. That is an autocratic way to look at the great unwashed.

I don’t need another I-know-better-than-you politician and I am not a baby that you need to put the puzzle pieces in place for me. Please do not patronize me. As a good friend of mine from France texted last year, the choice the electorate had was “between the plague or cholera.” We shall be  facing the exact same. But perhaps much worse.

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Grant Hammond, Edmonton

Design LRT for our bad drivers

It seems that Mr. Brian Latte, director for Valley Line LRT at the city, is exasperated that drivers are having a hard time adjusting to the style of the Valley Line. He notes that people in Europe adjust. A few differences: Earning your driver’s licence there is much more rigorous, so the drivers are better prepared than our drivers, many of whom have not yet learned that vehicles come equipped with turn signals.

Also, turning right on a red (or in the case of Britain, left) which many Canadians think is ensconced in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is illegal in most of the world. Consider your audience, Mr. Latte, and improve public education, signage and signalling.

C.J. Bragg, Edmonton

Hand-counting votes outmoded

The new policies being paraded out by the UCP government have me concerned about what direction the party is headed and that is the reason that I am considering whether or not to renew my UCP membership and to continue to donate to the party.

This latest foray into the banning of electronic vote-tabulating machines is a step backwards in time to when we used slide rules in math class or where telephones sat on tables or hung on the wall or where there was only one or maybe two television stations. Technology moves on at a pace that is sometimes a little too fast for a retired senior like me but it is in most cases safe, reliable and makes life easier. Advances in technology with things such as online banking are a great convenience particularly when caring for elderly parents.

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The cost of reverting back to hand-counted ballots is a costly step backwards. If the UCP government is looking for ways to save money, sticking with electronic ballot counting is one way to do that. Or, how about buying tinfoil hats for all Albertans so we are not invaded by progressive and mind-altering thoughts?

Rob Pritchard, St. Albert

We have a duty to get vaccinated

Let’s just call these “freedom fighters” what they are — selfish. You don’t have the right to kill my parents or grandparents just so you can fill your head with medical misinformation, stand on a soapbox, and spread a lethal virus for no reason. Getting vaccinated is not a right; it’s a responsibility. Pandemics require everyone to participate in their dissipation; otherwise, the pandemic only lasts longer. Only those who have a legitimate medical reason to not get vaccinated are exempt; everyone else has a duty to get vaccinated.

Vaccinations are not war; you can’t just choose to be a conscientious objector. Vaccinations are not elections; you can’t just choose not to participate. This is not freedom fighting; it’s free-dumb fighting, a.k.a. fighting for ignorance, selfishness, and the deaths of others. That’s not freedom; that’s lethal self-indulgence. Clearly, some, including the UCP, don’t understand that.

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Phil Schreiber, Edmonton

Alberta now a laughingstock

To all the members of the UCP who don’t hate gays, the CPP, the RCMP and voting machines: Isn’t it time you stood up and took your party back from the small group of fanatics who seem to be holding the government hostage?

I have friends and family who live in other provinces who used to envy me for being an Albertan. Now, they laugh at me.

Kim Bouwmeester, Edmonton

How to observe grandkids’ birthdays

Re. “A shift in thinking; As we age, it’s OK if a few things fade away. It’s all about putting things in perspective,” Liane Faulder, Oct. 1

Liane Faulder writes about aging and forgetting important birthdays. My father-in-law had a great solution to that problem. When he became a widower, he had nine grandchildren. He then married again and between the two of them, they had five children and 15 grandchildren. Many birthdays to remember.

He solved the problem easily. On his birthday, he sent them all a card and a gift and called it done for the year. The added benefit was that they all remembered his birthday!

Mufty Mathewson, Edmonton

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Province meddling in civic elections

The decision to move from electronic voter tabulation to hand-counting the ballots is a misguided move that undermines the integrity and efficiency of our electoral process. The province has been asked to show Albertans the problem it is trying to solve, along with the data justifying this problem. So far, the answers have been anecdotal. The province is now telling the municipalities they must fall in line and do what they are told. Without substantiating data from past elections, many of us conclude the change is driven by those who voted the UCP into power.

Another change is having political parties in our next municipal election. Imagine how nervous some of us are in Edmonton to be the guinea pigs of this new political-party model. We know nothing about this pilot’s specific goals, methodology, and expected outcomes, yet we are expected to implement a four-year pilot. One industry statistic states that 30 to 50 per cent of pilots fail. However, the pilot will go ahead without engaging the people at the centre of this experiment — voting citizens of Edmonton and Calgary.

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Susan Coward, Edmonton

Keep voting as benefit of citizenship

In 1967, I became a landed immigrant when my family moved to Canada from the U.S. Even as a small child, I understood and accepted that my status afforded certain rights and privileges, but voting was not among them. The right to vote was held exclusively by citizens of Canada.

When I became a Canadian citizen in 1995, I was so excited because I could finally vote. It was worth waiting for, and it is something I have never taken for granted. Certain rights must remain inextricably linked to citizenship. Voting is one of them.

Dawn Finnigan, Edmonton

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