Two Letters from Alberta

...arrived in my email this morning.
Anonymous letters.

These letters are reportedly "circulating throughout Alberta", the email states.

"Prime Minister Trudeau; I’m looking back at a few of your frivolous spending follies and wondering do you ever do that?

Do you ever think that if I had not spent money so foolishly that maybe we wouldn’t be in such a financial mess now?  Or do you still not realize the magnitude of the mess you have created?

Possibly you are happy to be the man leading Canada to a debt over $1,000,000,000,000 (that’s a lot of zeros!). Maybe you think it was worth the cost to be the big man extending largess for a short while?  Or maybe you just didn’t know what the heck you were doing?

As a reminder of some of the poor spending choices you made not that long ago:

$2000 per family for 75,000 families for camping and canoe trips.

$50,000,000 (U.S.???) for an American charity.

$20,000,000 (U.S.???) to fight forest fires in the Amazon, (I seem to remember that you promised a larger donation than the rest of the G7 combined).

When I was in school in the 60’s I learned that farmers lit those fires, wanting to clear more farm land.  Rain forests don’t burn without help.  A little more due diligence would be appreciated.

Okay, I know those are just a few of the minor things.

I really haven’t paid enough attention.  There are lots of other things that cost our country a lot more money, kinda like what you wanted to do with WE.

One of the things I struggle with is the amount of interest Canadians will have to pay for those follies. 

What interest rate does the federal government pay?  Do we ever really pay off those loans?  What happens if interest rates go up?  I’m sure that we have better places to spend that money.

Another thing that causes me pain is that you apparently had no clue that there would ever be another time when the economy would struggle and we would come out of it a lot better without a huge debt load. Or maybe you just didn’t care?

Yet another thing; you know its Canada’s money right? from taxpayers.  It is not yours, but maybe if it was yours you would not spend it so foolishly.

So now you have said good bye to Mr. Morneau and are welcoming Ms. Freeland to the Finance Ministers post.  I hope that you both recognize that now is the time to start facing the consequences of your actions, act responsibly, reduce or better yet end all of the frivolous spending and make a strong plan to fix the economy. 

If you did not know, the economy is in very poor shape right now. 

Prime Minister Trudeau I have not been impressed!  Is there any chance you can change that?"   anonymous


...and the second:

"Prime Minister Trudeau; I just don’t see what all the fuss is about.

It’s not even a billion dollars, just walking around money really (and we’re such a rich country), and it is for a charity and those great kids after all.

It’s always nice to include your family, so it’s good you were thinking of them, and your friend Bill Morneau, and his family.  If it wasn’t for those other 2 silly ethical transgression things, (if you work hard I’m sure you can recollect that Aga Kahn vacation and those nice folks from SNC.

Oh yeah and that black faced thing, or was it those black faced things?) I’m sure no one would have noticed at all. And those nasty things that nasty woman said, well who could believe her anyway?

We can’t even count your Mr. Dressup photo Op in India, cause that was just silly and not unethical at all.

Oh yeah, and that thing Bill did, you know with his investments and that blind trust and his company and all that confusing stuff, right after he became finance minister. I mean who even remembers these things? But both you and Bill are such a nice guys, with lovely smiles, so that’s what really matters.

You are a piece of work Mr. Prime Minister."  anonymous

 Many British Columbians would--and do--agree with the sentiments expressed in those letters.