In cutting expenses, Canada’s politicians should lead by example

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 14, 2018.

There are some signs that people are no longer willing to just sit and wait for things to get better and pipelines to be built.

A rally, Rally4Resources, has been planned for Sunday in Grand Prairie.

“We anticipate this to be the largest pro-oil and gas rally in Canadian history, and it will also include a 250 vehicle convoy; showing our unwavering support for the oil and gas industry and new pipeline development,” says a promotional email.

A half million Canadians earn a living working in the oil and gas industry and the drop in the price of oil is “crippling” our economy, jobs, the province and even the country, reads a statement by the organizers.

You may be tempted to think those affected in the oil industry should have been able to find other jobs by now and realized they can’t wait for things to get better. Replacement jobs have been scarce though. If you talk to enough people in the community, not just friends, you get an idea of just how tough things are for many Albertans.

It is imperative for anyone who loses a job to cut expenses as quickly as possible to avoid even more stress as bills mount up.

What makes the current situation even worse is tax increases on almost every level and the rising cost of basics such as food — something none of us can do without.

We are told to expect an increase in the cost of food of about three per cent next year. However, if you have kept a record of your expenses in the past you will know that many items have increased by 50 per cent in the last two years. Normally when fruit is plentiful in the summer there is at least a short time frame when prices drop significantly and there is an opportunity to stock up and freeze fruit. That did not happen at all this year or if there was a price drop it was barely noticeable.

A recent letter to the editor described one person’s efforts to reduce his energy footprint by installing energy efficient windows. The writer also talked about no longer warming his vehicle up but instead getting into a cold vehicle. Those are all laudable but what this individual will pay for power and gas will change very little because the majority of the monthly bills are service charges, over which he has no control.

Even more important is an almost total lack of political leaders leading by example. Within our country and across the world politicians are still hopping on aircraft to reach far flung destinations for a day or two. Video conferencing that was supposed to replace some of this travel is hardly ever mentioned anymore.

Imposing a carbon tax on the general public is the easy part for politicians. What they have failed to do so far is show they are personally making changes and leading by example.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions, email her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or call her at 403-528-8635.)