Friday's letters: Liberal emissions cap singles out oil and gas sector

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Re. “Other sectors face emissions caps, too,” Letters, Jan. 7

It seems that John and Bozena L’Heureux are the ones that don’t understand what an emissions cap is. The auto industry does not face an emissions cap. Theoretically, an automaker could burn nothing but coal in their manufacturing processes. They are fine as long as their final products (i.e., automobiles) meet the emissions standards (not “caps”) set out in the legislation they cite.

Cross-sectoral clean-air regulations obviously apply, but these are not emissions caps. Emissions caps apply to processes, not final products. That’s the point that Alberta’s oil and gas industry has been making. A fair application of an emissions cap, assuming that it’s an effective way to address Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, would target the production processes (not products) of all high-emitting sectors (e.g., cement, steel and our friends in the automotive and manufacturing sectors).

While singling out the oil and gas sector is a long and dearly held Liberal Party tradition, an emissions cap on one sector is a really destructive and meaningless way to address Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Michael W. Jurijew, Edmonton

Canada must resist like Ukraine

Trump is following Putin’s game plan: Expand your empire by taking control of your peaceful neighbours. Try economic force first; if that doesn’t work, then use military force. Try to put oligarchs (rich business owners), oil lobbyists, and easily corrupted politicians in charge. Canadian politicians and oligarchs who attend Trump’s inauguration trying to win his favour will be the first ones to betray us. They will be the first traitors.

Canadians will have to act like the people of Ukraine; stand fast, resist, and never give up.

Ken Zinyk, Edmonton

Stand our ground with Trump

Past experience should forewarn us of what is to unfold in the coming Donald Trump presidency. He is a rich bully, pompous, arrogant, ignorant, a liar, a convicted tax evader, a womanizer. He is the epitome of what seems to be the current behaviour of wannabe global leaders who seek territorial expansion and expansion of totalitarianism.

His style of leadership is demeaning and has no business in world affairs. It is overly generous to give Trump credit for thinking before he takes his foot out of his mouth. Trump’s ideas, however wacky, will initially have some resonance within America. Americans are experiencing discomfort with other economies, particularly China, ascending new heights of global acceptance. Hence, the infatuation with simplistic slogans like “Make America Great Again.”

Canadians should not laugh, as it seems to be infectious here where a wannabe leader utters similar one-liners like “axe the tax” when Canadians should be asking for substance. Similarly, Canadian leaders should work from the standpoint that our next-door neighbour is going to belch, whine and threaten, but stand our ground. Take the worst-case scenario and work back to what Canada should strategically do now. Put on those thinking caps and don’t blink.

Ken Crutchfield, St. Albert