Motz ignoring positives of government intervention in economy

By medicinehatnews on August 16, 2019.

Re: “A government for positive change,” Aug. 2

 Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner MP Glen Motz tells us that government can not “create opportunity” nor be “the driverof innovation and human progress.” Even if one makes allowance for pre-election hyperbole, this idea is easily shown to be false by the few examples which follow, regarding some actions of municipal, provincial and federal governments.

Municipal Government

The City of Medicine Hat has owned and operated gas and electric utilities services for over 100 years. Motz has lived in Medicine Hat for decades. Does he really believe that those utilities services have not created opportunity, nor driven innovation and human progress? Moreover, he was employed by the city, as a police officer, for over thirty years, as I understand it. Did not the safety created by the city police before, during, and after his employment create opportunity in the community and contribute to human progress?

Provincial Government

Mr. Motz is from rural Alberta and, as I understand it, is a lifelong Albertan. Has he never heard of Alberta Government Telephones? It is the basis of what we call Telus Corporation today. By 1906 the provincial government was dissatisfied with private enterprise telephone companies, who would not service rural Alberta, preferring only the cities, where more money could be made more easily. Alberta Government Telephones was formed because private enterprise ignored rural Alberta. Surely, as a one-time rural Albertan Motz can appreciate that, for the approximately ninety years of its existence, A.G.T., created opportunity and was a driver of innovation and human progress not only in rural Alberta, but in all of Alberta.

Federal Government

Our country, which Motz represents and hopes to govern, exists largely in the form it is in because of the late 19th century building of the transcontinental railway. That railway- the C.P.R.- would not exist without the $25 million and the 25 million acres of land both given in the 1870s to the C.P.R. by the federal government. Does Mr. Motz truly believe that in Canada, in the last 140 years, there has been no opportunity created, nor innovation and human progress flowing from that railway.

More recently, the federal government bought the existing Trans-Mountain Pipeline for $4.5 billion, because the private enterprise owner abandoned the twinning of that pipeline. But, according to Motz, governments can not create opportunity, and this particular federal government has ”obtuse Liberal policies,” because of which “Canada’s oil and gas sector has taken the greatest economic hit.” Four and one-half billion taxpayer dollars devoted to assist the oil and gas industry does not sound obtuse to me.

Finally, I believe I do not have to explain to Mr. Motz, nor to anyone, the high value of Canada’s universal health care system which was created and is administered by the federal and provincial governments. Nearly every other country on Earth would gladly have our system. 

Gregory R. Cote
Irvine, Alta.

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