Two responses to two articles here. Number one is Brian Cowan. You say that the fairground is inappropriate for political activity? Where would such an opportunity take place then? It seems that political debate can’t take place in the legislature because Christy Clark suspended the sitting.
Are you suggesting that you would accept a proper public debate in the near future? You also seem upset about letters to the editor about this. I’m sorry but it is my understanding that I should be able to espouse my political views in public and that the newspaper should retain the right to print it. In my view it is unseemly to go after the editors in an effort to silence dissent.
Next I’d like to address the column written by Tom Fletcher. He mentions Phil Hochstein who seems to discredit the way skills training is done in Alberta. This man seems to talk with some disdain about the journeyman-apprentice system set up to ensure quality work is done by a professional work force. By ensuring that this happens, many of the nightmare scenarios such as “condo gate” and the Walkerton water disaster are at least kept to a bare minimum. There are reasons why the various journeymen certifications exist. It is not only to provide income to the recipient, but to provide the public access to safe, qualified workers. I can think of no reason why the entire journeyman/apprenticeship pattern should not be mandatory for the applicable trades. As to the last part of Mr. Hochstein’s statement, to give credit to a government that gutted trades during the early 2000s is in my view a very cynical view of what a truly qualified workforce means. Perhaps he would prefer it if his plumber and mechanic were paid $15 an hour rather than the wages that their education has given them. It is hard to believe that someone who is paid to help ensure that the people who are trained would so openly attack the accreditation procedure so dearly needed. I’d say that it is past time for a new viewpoint.
K. Blake Newton
