A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Supporting local, leading by example

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of running into our MLA, Chelsae Petrovic, while out and about in town. Always keen to see how our elected officials are spending their time, I stopped to say hello and ask what she was up to. What I saw in her car spoke volumes: a collection of local treasures from stores across the Crowsnest Pass. Her explanation was simple yet powerful, she was touring the riding, buying local goods, supporting the local economy, and making herself accessible to residents in an informal setting. She was also taking the opportunity to showcase the fantastic businesses in the towns she represents while raising awareness of how her office can support local organizations.

That is the kind of leadership we should all appreciate. No grandstanding, no detached bureaucratic nonsense, just a representative of the people, out in the community, living her principles. Seeing an MLA genuinely invest in local businesses, not just with words but with her own wallet, is refreshing. It is one thing to talk about supporting the local economy; it is another thing entirely to be out there, going shop to shop, putting money directly into the hands of hardworking small business owners. This is the kind of action that strengthens communities and ensures rural economies thrive.

We are lucky to have an MLA like Petrovic, someone who is not hiding behind closed doors or busying herself with empty platitudes. She is out there, talking to people, leading by example, and reinforcing the message that keeping money in the community benefits everyone. It is a simple yet often overlooked truth. If more politicians followed her lead, perhaps rural Alberta would not constantly be fighting for the attention and support it deserves.

I recently wrote an op ed in the Toronto Star warning that U.S. tech giants like Meta and Google threaten Canadian democracy by suppressing local journalism and controlling the flow of information. I criticized the federal government for subsidizing these platforms instead of supporting independent media.

I called for stronger regulations, a shift in ad spending to local outlets, and action against Big Tech’s dominance to protect Canada’s sovereignty and free press.

Above all others our government should shop Canadian and the Alberta government is! 

As an aside you can use apps like Buy Beaver and Maple Scan to ensure the products you purchase are Canadian.

The farce of regulatory hearings

While I was out witnessing real leadership in action, I also took the time to watch the Alberta Energy Regulator hearings regarding a 14 hole drilling program at Grassy Mountain. Yes, you read that right. To drill just 14 drill holes and 11 pads, Northback had to endure six days of regulatory hearings. If that does not strike you as an obscene waste of taxpayer dollars, I do not know what will.

The whole process was dragged into the public spotlight by the Crowsnest Headwaters and Protect Alberta Rockies and Headwaters group, which have blocked me on Facebook so I am hearing this second hand. These groups flooded social media with calls for Albertans to march to Calgary and protest the  final hearing and the proposed mine. News stations took the bait, amplifying their calls for action as if the fate of the world rests on stopping 14 test holes. The result? About 100 people showed up. Let us put that into perspective, that is approximately 0.002% of Alberta’s population. Hardly the groundswell of opposition that activists and their media allies would have you believe. This is most likely the reason my Facebook feed was not flooded with photos of protesters at the hearing.

The same small group, this time about 35 people, the ones who have hijacked the “Coffee with the MLA” events, are the same ones protesting in front of Petrovic’s office. That is another 0.0007% of the population. This is not a movement. It is a loud minority that does not represent the hardworking people of this province.

Frankly, I had to chuckle. The people of this province are smarter than the activists give them credit for. Albertans understand that responsible resource extraction is not just an economic necessity, it is the foundation of our prosperity. The energy sector has kept Alberta strong through turbulent times, and it will continue to do so, no matter how many Twitter campaigns and virtue signaling protests the anti development crowd organizes.

And let us be honest, if the people of Alberta were truly opposed to coal development, they would have overwhelmingly shown up for every protest in every major centre. One just has to look at the number of people who showed up for anti vaccine protests in Alberta. But they did not. The reality is that those most passionately opposed to coal have already made their voices heard, and the numbers simply are not there to justify the hysteria.

I would have loved to counter protest the anti development crowd myself, but unlike some of them, I have to work during the day. And work is exactly what Alberta needs more of, work that comes from unlocking our natural resources and putting Albertans back to work in industries that have long sustained this province. The hearing itself was a frustrating bureaucratic farce, but Northback’s legal team was on point. Now, we wait for the 90 day decision window. If reason prevails, it will soon be time to dig, baby, dig.

Our MLA is out here doing the work that matters for our communities, and our industries are fighting tooth and nail against regulatory roadblocks that should not even exist. That is the state of things in Alberta today. But if we continue to support leaders like Pierre Poilievre, Danielle Smith, and Chelsae Petrovic and push back against unnecessary interference in our industries, we might just keep this province strong for generations to come.

Our MLA is out here doing the work that matters for our communities, and our industries are fighting tooth and nail against regulatory roadblocks that shouldn’t even exist. That’s the state of things in Alberta today. But if we continue to support leaders like Pierre Poilievre, Danielle Smith, and Chelsae Petrovic and push back against unnecessary interference in our industries, we might just keep this province strong for generations to come.