LETTER: Oberfeld way out of line, says local MP
By Alex Atamanenko
Dear Editor,
In reading the May 23 OPED “Pushing the West OUT of Canada” I was shocked at the hateful level of vitriol and misrepresentation being expressed by the author. To suggest that NDP leader Tom Mulcair, or any other New Democrat MP would consider “screwing the West” to win seats in Eastern Canada is a slanderous attack based purely on fiction.
It would appear that the author prefers to rely on simplistic Conservative Party talking points to form his politic opinions rather than take the time to delve into the issues.
New Democrats do not believe we have to choose between the economy and the environment. We oppose the politics of division practiced by the current government and have every faith that a strong federalist Canada which includes Quebec is entirely possible.
We believe that if we make polluters pay for the pollution they create, they’ll find ways to adapt just as they always have. When studies, such as the one Harper commissioned on the manufacturing sector, support Mr. Mulcair’s conviction that Canada’s economy is being hollowed out as a result of our increased dependence on oil exports and that one third of manufacturing job losses are caused by this ‘Dutch disease”, we believe that the government should take heed.
With BC about to run out of enough trees to keep our mills going in five years it is time for new thinking about resource management. Canada cannot afford to be pitted East against West any longer. United we can conquer, divided we will only fall.
Alex Atamanenko, MP
BC Southern Interior
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