Sunday, August 06, 2006

The most retarded editorial I've ever read! (Link HERE)

You can smell the jealousy, how DARE Alberta have a great economy, how DARE they make more money than the rest of Canada!

Fly over Alberta and signs of marauding progress abound. Oilsands development eats into the landscape in the north around Fort McMurray. Construction cranes appear over skylines in Calgary and Edmonton like towering steel weather vanes spun by the gale-force winds of sudden wealth.

Oh NO! Progress! The fiends. Despite the connotations of doom, construction is GOOD. Alberta isn't just an oil province, we're diversifying into hitech and manufacturing. Because of our business friendly climate, many large corps either have or want to move their head offices here.

Drive the deteriorating serpentine two-lane corridor of Highway 63 to Fort McMurray and your car narrowly misses oncoming semi-trailers, trucks and wide-loads laden with oilfield storage tanks.

It's known as a death highway with scores of accidents and fatalities. Two oilfield workers died recently when a logging truck spilled its load, piercing their oncoming minivan with wood.

Yes that hiways in need of repair, but the government would rather twin it and do it right. That's in the planning stage, and unmentioned in this slam-piece.

Workers are flooding in. During the first quarter of 2006, there were 25,900 more souls in Alberta, the highest first-quarter increase ever for the province.

In Calgary, where the population hit the one-million mark last month, 100 newcomers arrive daily. Many find no room at the inn - or anywhere else.

Developers nail up 50 new homes a day but can't keep up. The average house price is $400,000 - for a basic model.

Really can't argue with that point, other than to point out that it takes time to build houses and condos.

I'd go on but I'd just beleger my point. Alberta is growing fast, and there's no end in sight. This smear piece is ridiculous in that it paints a situation where those who want to work can find good jobs in a bad light. According to the writer, Alberta evil somehow for having more jobs than workers. Absolutely soft headed.