Hello Chestermere! I am saddened to begin my column by sending my love and condolences to the family of my dear friend, MP Deepak Obhrai. Mr. Obhrai, who was born in Tanzania, was the longest serving Conservative MP, and known as “Dean of the Caucus”. He was the first and only Hindu elected as an MP in Canada. A young and vibrant 69, liver cancer took this beautiful soul too soon. A fighter for human rights, this was a great man of integrity and kindness who stood up for people with passion and grace. He would write personal letters to new Canadians, and he advocated for immigrant rights across the country. Our family has lost a friend and a brother, a passionate advocate and a truly beautiful person. We join with millions of Canadians in sending our deepest condolences to a great Chestermereian, Albertan, and Canadian, the Honourable MP Deepak Obhrai.
I would also like to send my love and condolences to the victims, families, and survivors of the El Paso and Dayton shootings. Please remember them in your prayers.
What a beautiful week, and I hope you were able to spend some much-needed time with your families and friends out on the shores of Chestermere Lake this week. I have enjoyed seeing the parks full, and the wonderful voices of children screaming excitedly as they chase each other around. You have probably seen the mowing goats out at the dog park. Please make sure that your dogs are on leash while our little mowers are out and about. I know my dog Elvis would love to romp around with goats.
I hope you had the chance to catch the Strathmore Stampede this past weekend. If you want to get “grit in your teeth” close to great rodeo action and enjoy a host of other family friendly events you can’t beat the Strathmore Stampede. I had the honour of participating in the parade. As usual, Elvis The Wonder Dog stole the show along with the beautiful horses pulling my friends Vern and Connie’s wagon. I would like to thank them and all the other volunteers who joined me at the parade and after for our joint BBQ with MP Martin Shields. Kudos to and Tessa and the rest of the Strathmore Ag Society who organized another great Stampede. Our Agricultural Societies connect us with the past and present of Alberta’s vibrant agricultural heritage.
Did you know that our oilsands have reduced their emissions by 30% per barrel just in the last 20 years? What is remarkable is that there are campaigns, including federal campaigns, that are trying to continue the land lock of our resources. This is just beyond my comprehension. These eco-activist groups are stomping on your quality of life, and that of developing countries around the world. This includes the Federal Liberals. How did our industry become so politicized? We need to work within our confederation to resolve this issue. No matter how many carbon taxes, or caps on production we do provincially or federally, we will never satisfy the activists that are trying to shut down the cleanest most responsible producers in the world. Can we do better, of course we can, and we should and we will, but to constantly attack Canada is a detriment to the world, to human rights and to Canadians, so let’s stop with nonsense and focus on what we can do together. The anti-oil Trudeau Liberals cannot expect Canadians to truly believe that they have our best interests at heart and it will take all Canadians to stop this anti-prosperity agenda. Well drilling is down, the purchase of TMX by your tax dollars has done nothing to restore investor confidence, and the passing of the “no pipelines” bill C-69 along with the “Oil tankers are fine unless they are carrying Alberta oil” bill C-48 has brought nothing but uncertainty, but we will keep at it, and we will not back down. The Trudeau government is anti-oil, anti-gas, anti-prosperity, and anti-Canadian when it comes to Alberta. Where is the rhetoric against the Port of Vancouver, the largest exporter of coal in North America? Why are we the target? As always, I love to hear from you at 403-207-9889 or Chestermere.Strathmore@assembly.ab.ca.
