Money for Fort McMurray welcome, but pace of oil sands development is still the "elephant in the room"
Stelmach needs to find courage to tell oil companies: enough is enough
EDMONTON, Feb. 26/2007
CNW/ - New funding announced today to address growth pressures in Fort McMurray is welcome but is yet another example of the Alberta government treating the symptoms and ignoring the root causes of the disease, says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
"It's great to hear that the government plans to help the municipality of Wood Buffalo build a new wastewater treatment facility. And it's also good they're planning to put some money into affordable housing and wage supplements for teachers and nurses - though both of those initiatives are really little more than a drop in the bucket compared to the need," says McGowan.
"But what's really frustrating is that people like Ed Stelmach still don't seem to understand that the main reason Fort McMurray and many other communities are facing a crisis in the first place is that the provincial government has so far refused to set a more reasonable pace for development in the oil sands. Pace of development is the elephant in the room.
Everyone knows it's what causing most of our problems, but no one in government wants to talk about it."
McGowan says unrestrained oil sands development has overheated the Alberta economy which, in turn, has driven up the cost of living; created a huge infrastructure deficit and grossly distorted the labour market.
In a letter sent to Premier Stelmach last Friday, McGowan compared energy companies to junkies who keep going back for a fix even when they know it could kill them. "The answer is not to keep giving the junky what he wants," says McGowan. "The Premier needs to find the courage to stand up the energy companies and tell them that they need to get in line - and wait until one project is completed before they can begin another. It's time to stop helping the junky feed his addiction. The price being paid by Albertans and Alberta communities for all this unrestrained growth is simply too high."
