An All Alberta Solution “When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long, and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones, which open for us”
Jonathan Dai & E LaMont Gregory
Canadian technology has helped to extend our reach into outer space
Canada is a place where innovation thrives, which even a cursory review of discoveries and inventions by Canadians illustrates clearly.
In fact, Canadian discoveries and inventions continue to have a profound effect upon humankind. The discovery of the hormone insulin by Banting, Best, and Collip, for example, and the role it plays in human digestion, led to its use in the treatment of diabetes, and that contributes to the health and quality of life of millions year in and year out.
Peanut butter came about because Edson wanted to create a food option for people who could not chew. And, there is the McIntosh apple. Coyle devised the paper egg carton which allows us to transport eggs from farm, to packing plant, to grocery store and into our homes, intact.
Transportation on water was aided when Foulis invented the steam-powered foghorn, and on land when Elliot first conceived the idea of a snowplow mounted onto the front of the engine to clear train tracks. And, Lyons invented the first baggage tag, an indispensable document containing enough information to allow us to track the point of origin, destination, and owner of luggage, so that our baggage arrives with us, whether we travel by land, sea or air.
These discoveries and inventions should remind all of us that not only do we respond to perceived need, which gave us the pace-maker and the electron microscope, but also to make life more enjoyable, and thus the game of basketball, snow-blowers and snowmobiles. And, Canadian technology, such as the Canadarm, has helped to extend our reach into outer space.
Recently, the Calgary Herald reported what it called ‘the most striking idea of this election campaign’, and that is a proposal by Alberta Party leader, Stephen Mandel that we ship our oil, by rail, from Bruderheim, Alberta to Delta Junction, Alaska, and from there to world markets.
Significantly, on the same day the Governor of Alaska, Dunleavy, announced he was seeking the cooperation of the current administration in Washington to extend a rail line from Alaska into Canada, to move this proposal forward.
This proposal is practical, cost-effective, especially in comparison to other proposed routes, and therefore, worthy of our earnest consideration.
The movement of our resources and products to market is vital to our prosperity, and the critical ingredient of prosperity is employment, jobs for workers, the essential means by which we earn wages, pay the bills and live a healthy and enjoyable family life.
Jobs are important for other reasons as well. The Ancient Greeks defined happiness as ‘the full use of one’s powers along lines of excellence’. The Greeks understood that we garner much of our sense of self-worth and human dignity from the work that we do. And, to deny anyone the right to meaningful and gainful work, denies them a part of their human dignity, and the pursuit of happiness.
And therefore, we have called upon Parliament to act now, to destroy the records of those convictions, for activities that under present law are permissible. The courts called the enforcement of those laws ‘grossly excessive, abhorrent, and cruel and unusual punishment’, and therefore, inconsistent and incompatible with Canadian justice, and equally, Canadian values.
Laws which had the effect of inflating arrest and conviction statistics, while creating a permanent underclass in Albertan society. All under the guise of being tough-on-crime, while highly organized criminal organizations permeated this province with lethal drugs, which kill Albertans each and every day, went largely unchecked.
Parliament must act now, so that those affected, can take their proper place in society and train for the jobs that will contribute to the prosperity of Alberta.
As to the Alberta Resource and Development file, the best way forward is an all Canadian solution to getting our oil and natural gas resources to market.
In the short term, our oil can move north by rail, and then using our northern-waterways, that due to Canadian ingenuity are now navigable during all seasons.
We have a responsibility to our national commitment to reduce carbon emissions, and we do that by continuing to convert our coal-fired electric generation plants to use our own clean-burning natural gas. We also build plants in Alberta that employ our oil and gas workers to convert natural gas to high-grade lubricating oils, and many other highly valuable hydrocarbon products.
We should not, however, cast aside coal, our most abundant resource, by far, as in the proverbial throwing away the baby with the bath water. But we must redouble our efforts to derive products from coal that will be needed well into and beyond the foreseeable future.
We must grow our economy and that requires us to increase the size of our population. And, as detailed in the Jonathan Dai proposal for an Alberta Business Immigration Initiative, we can create jobs for Albertans, and bring more investment into Alberta, and we can do it now.
We owe all that we have to our seniors and Providence. Our seniors fought the battles that have left us free, well-educated and prepared for whatever challenges the future holds. And, as Providence commands us to do good to those who have borne the battle, we will honor our seniors.
We are committed to establishing a Senior’s Ministry, to bring the full weight of government. And, in cooperation with the private and voluntary sector, we will meet our obligation to our seniors, and with compassion.
Class size is important, and we will not allow or permit a lack of investment in education and in our schools to affect the ability of our students to learn, or our teachers to instruct them properly, and in a meaningful way with each student.
Elections matter, and your vote matters most of all. Please vote for Jonathan Dai, MLA candidate for Edmonton-Whitemud, and let’s get about the work of shaping our common destiny, together.