I would like to start off by saying, I am not a politician nor am I a writer or a journalist. I am a 53 year old Albertan who has worked for over 33 years in our Alberta oil patch and I am damn proud of it! I have reached a critical point in my career where I can no longer sit back and watch the industry we have all worked so hard to build, diminish to a mere shadow of its former existence. We are facing one of the most critical turning points in our nation’s history. The October Federal election will define our provinces very existence and determine whether Canada’s oil and gas industry will play a role, or not, in the worlds future energy demands. The real question is, “do we care enough to do anything about it”? I am hoping my question was purely rhetorical and that each and every one of you reading this article will stand up and fight for what’s ours.
I cannot help but take it personally when I continue to see the constant bombardment of falsely negative propaganda that gets strewn across the national media by American funded NGOs and activists, knowing full well their only intent is to shut down our industry, our province and our country.
Therein lies the hypocrisy of it all.
Hypocrisy: the practice of claiming to have morale standards or beliefs to which one’s own behaviour does not conform; it involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie.
What I find most hypocritical is that many, if not all, of these “fine people” that make up this loud vocal minority, consume copious amounts of the exact same energy that they are denouncing. They fill up their cars at the same pumps we do, they turn on their air conditioners and furnaces to be comfortable in the heat of summer or the cold of winter the same way we do, they fly long distances for business or family vacations the same way we do, they visit hospitals and take medications the same way we do, they use fossil fuel derived technology like cell phones and lap tops the same way we do, and I assume many of them wear clothes just like we do.
Enough is enough. It is time to unapologetically tell our side of the story, not in a perfect way, but in a proud way. We should not have to ask permission from the people that are offended by our very existence, many of which do not live in our beautiful province nor are they even Canadian’s. It is time we fight back in the face of hypocrisy and show these naysayers that this is our province and our country, and we are the responsible stewards of such, not them. We care just as much about our children and our World as they do.
Alberta’s energy entrepreneurs have always conducted themselves responsibly under some of the most stringent laws and regulations in the world. Environmental Stewardship should have no geographic boundaries and will therefore continue to remain a global priority for our energy industry. It is up to each of us and our government regulators to ensure we conduct ourselves in the most environmentally responsible manner possible. These outside funded activists should not be allowed to play the role of de facto law makers, regulators or God!
The real problem is our federal leaders give them way to much credibility. Political campaign contributions should not be a factor in making the right choice. Leaders should not care about who’s right, they should care about what’s right! They should not let the vocal minority have the majority say. They should make difficult decisions that are in our Nation’s best interest, for the benefit of the majority of ALL Canadians.
We are a Province of hard working innovators. Providing solutions to our problems is what we do. Our industry has done so much for our province and our country but now we are at a point where we have been punched in the gut one too many times. It is time we stood tall and yelled louder than every hypocritical, well-funded, activist that tries to keep us on our knees.
My fellow Proud Albertans, will you join me in standing tall (facing east, towards Ottawa) and in the loudest voice possible, deliver our message. “Canada needs more Alberta and the World needs more Canada”.
We should never apologize to be Alberta Proud.