Hello Chestermere! This week’s article is going to be a little different. First of all I want to thank all of you who have sent us letters or copied us in on letters to the Government in regards to our concerns over the lowering of the speed limit at Highway 1 and 791. This is the Government’s answer to safety at this extremely dangerous level crossing. We are going to use this forum to share some of the letters we received from you and hope to get a lot more from the folks here in Chestermere so that we can present them to the Minister of Transportation. A sample of the letters we are receiving:
“My family and I have seen far too much tragedy at both 791 and 281. Our neighbour’s daughter was badly injured at 281. Another neighbor was killed while taking his kids to school one morning via 281. My son lost one of his best friends in an accident at 791. The suit I bought my son for his graduation became the suit he wore as a pallbearer for his friend a few weeks later. THIS IS TOO MUCH!! Improvements MUST be made! This is not about politics or money, it is about our community and our families!!”
“The lowered speed limit is an unacceptable response to the citizens of Chestermere. We were specifically told at that meeting that lowering the speed limit will RAISE the collision rate. ”
“I’m a grown woman with 28 years of clean driving experience; I refuse to turn left at this intersection…..”
Please keep up the pressure on the Government. Call my assistant Pete if you have any questions at 403-700-5437. I am writing yet another letter this week with your concerns to push the Government to do the right thing and install lights.
I have to speak again about the Federal Liberal Government’s ideology around taxation and the methods that Minister Morneau is using to throw many small businessmen, doctors, and farmers under the bus. Last week we printed excerpts from the letter of a local doctor about the impact the proposed changes will have on her. This week we will focus on some of the other aspects of this short-sighted thinking. How are we supposed to take care of ourselves when we retire, or if we are hurt or fall ill on our jobs?
How does Morneau justify the statement:
“We just want to ensure that there’s no situation where they have a much, much better retirement income as a result of tax planning not available to other Canadians.”
What we have here is a mismanagement of funds on behalf of the federal government. Nothing more. They are spending way beyond their means and now you and I will pay for it with our blood, sweat and tears, and our retirement funds, but as you know Justin Trudeau “will make no apologies!” Well he may be apologizing come election time when those small businesses, doctors, farmers, and others who are imperative to Canada’s economy vote him out of office. This is a cash grab and nothing more. It was rushed through and is poorly thought out. Minister Morneau should understand something that Joel Cohen the director of Cohen Sanderson Inc said to CBC news on September 4, 2017.
“It (this policy) was initiated by bureaucrats who have never invested in a business, who have no idea what it’s like to get that next sale and to pay the rent and to have employees and have all this exposure — and to not know what tomorrow’s going to bring.”
Cohen, who has been a public accountant since 1969, points out that entrepreneurs don’t have the same protections as many employees, who benefit from severance, paid maternity leave, pension plans and paid vacations. He added that small businesses are also often family activities, which make them a “family risk.”
Passive investment is a private business owner’s way of surviving downturns, illness, and providing for retirement. What else would the government have small business owners do? Justin Trudeau paints you as cheaters trying to avoid paying your fair share and has demonized every small business. Is that fair?
Doctors, lawyers, tax experts, and small business groups say these changes are a blatant tax grab. They argue it will drive some of them out of the country or prevent them from keeping enough money on hand to grow or expand their business or to pass on the family farm. The Liberals falsely spin this as a “tax the rich” agenda to try and keep their voting base and to garner the support of NDP voters. Speaking of the NDP, where is the Alberta Government in the face of this assault on small business and the family farm, two pillars of our economy? The silence is deafening, as they say.
As many of you know, I am supporting Brian Jean for leader of the United Conservative Party. Brian has demonstrated that he has your back every day. A small businessman himself, he understands the challenges facing business in Alberta and will stand up for you against the Provincial NDP and Federal Liberal Governments’ relentless tax increases and contempt for hard working Albertans. Brian will fight to restore the Alberta Advantage and protect the front-line services Albertans deserve. Please support Brian Jean, “Here For Albertans”. That’s not just a slogan, it’s who he is.
If you don’t have a UCP membership, buy one today at www.brianjean.ca. Look for us around Langdon and Chestermere on September 26. We will be available to answer your questions abut Brian’s policies, get your input, and hopefully sign you up as UCP members if you aren’t already.
As always, we love to hear from you.
