DO YOUR BIT Concerning Rachel Notley’s endless rage about UCP actions and policies, I have a question for her. Rachel, I would like to hear your reasons for saying nothing about your federal leader’s complete lack of backbone and moral courage when it comes to helping keep Justin Trudeau in check. He is literally sitting idly by while the Canadian government slips into a morass of complete ineptitude and unaccountability on a level unseen before in our history. And he holds the balance of power. And does nothing with it. Why, Rachel? Jason Kenney constantly butted heads with Trudeau. Gotta give him that. SHAUN WEISS (Solid point, Shaun.)

JUST THE BRASS? Some good questions from Rick Bell on Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s bonus. Here’s another one: 107 government workers received extra money during COVID. How many of those were “management” instead of “front line”? I’d really like to know, though I suspect I know the answer. C.R. FORD (We highly doubt that number would be front-line workers.)

STAFF SCREWED AGAIN? Doctors and nurses should be insulted by the enormous bonuses given to more than 100 AHS managers who sat safely in their offices throughout the pandemic while front-line staff risked their lives working tirelessly and brilliantly. I too am insulted; those were my tax dollars and they have been given to the wrong people. H. MacLELLAN (We’d sure hope managers were down there on the front lines where they were most needed.)

NO GENOCIDE? Regardless of what the Pope says or does, violence against all women and all children, not just the Indigenous, is not genocide. It is emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse and neglect. What’s the Pope’s hold card calling residential school violence (or any school violence for that matter) genocide? MOLLY KENS (Targetting a race of people and wiping out their customs, traditions and language, is not the same as violence against all women and children. Not even close.)

ZIP IT, RACHEL Rachel Notley and her recently affected counterpart want an apology for speaking about cancer? Should we not talk about it? Anybody who is reading this, name one person who has not been affected by cancer in your life. Ms Notley, you are offending me by not allowing others to talk about it. Both of my parents are gone, but it is a talking point for you. But nobody else is allowed to bring it up in your world. Sad person you are. PAUL McKAY (Cancer touches way too many of us.)

EASY MONEY Re: Travis Toews. One might try to denigrate this candidate for having been a big part of the Jason Kenney (ooh!) cabinet. But as minister of finance in that cabinet where had he gone so wrong in bringing about Alberta’s current resurgence despite the so-called ‘roller coaster’ of worldwide oil prices? Eh? DAN DRINKALL (Something we have zero control over.)

BLIGHT OF BUREAUCRACY At the risk of being pilloried next time I go to Edmonton … Regarding Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s compensation. The elected officials are all saying, ‘I didn’t know’. The bureaucrats are all saying, ‘I didn’t know’. Nobody knew! Nobody! At least we can ‘unelect’ MLAs, but, not so the bureaucracy. The unelected, bureaucratic microbes are in cushy jobs for life, have good working conditions, are paid very well, have luscious pensions. Each year they watch as their personal value rises. Not so for most of us. I’m not speaking of just Dr. Hinshaw, I’m talking about every member of government. If your pay comes with a ‘Government of Alberta’ logo on it, consider this statement: We have too many of you and you provide questionable value. R.B. ROTHWELL (Paper shufflers and pencil pushers run the world. And it shows.)

CLOSED MIND This is in response to Jason Petrie’s missive of July 31. Your somewhat hysterical response to my simple suggestion that Alberta consider a provincial sales tax indicates to me that respectful debate is so very often impossible in our society. Calling people names and describing their comments as “asinine “ indicates a closed mind who cannot and will not listen to any voice but his own. The theme of the day in Canada seems to be that as long as you shout louder than anyone else, you win the debate. Too bad. ROBERT WAYTE (Sales tax = dirty words.)

ALL IS WELL With regards to Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s bonus, it is nice to know that in this day and age, being a toady to an incompetent and corrupt government still pays well! MARTIN WATTS (Don’t know about the corruption part.)

CANCER QUACKERY So I suppose Dick Varley, you’ll be lined up for the Lysol injection to kill cancer? The packaging states it kills 99.9% of all germs. Another loony running for office. This is why we live in an idiocracy. KEN WALKER (Let’s be serious.)

OT WINDFALL Before the cashier attending the supermarket checkout got down to processing the payment for my copy of the Aug. 2 Sun, she looked down at the headline that bannered ‘PAY BOO$TER’ below a photo of the Alberta chief medical officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw. She nodded toward the front page and offered a one-word explanation: “Overtime.” Then the day after confirmation of this arrived via Rick Bell’s column. Explaining that runaway overtime was indeed the reason for the good doctor’s stratospheric earnings. See: People are clued in to waste in government spending, and won’t stand for it, now, more than ever, in these inflationary times. OREST SLEPOKURA (Half that OT was probably from waiting for the premier to show up.)

JOB WELL DONE Re: ‘NOT YOUR JOB’. The letter-writer commenting on Leela Aheer obviously has never been to the Strathmore Stampede. The very popular “Running with the Bulls” uses dozens of volunteers to sit on the fence around the entire pen to help folks who may be in trouble with one of the bulls. I’m sure they are instructed on what to do in case of an incident, as what Leela Aheer was doing on that day. I assume she had volunteered to be one of the safety folks and was doing her job. Good on her for stepping up and helping out that contestant. I’m sure you would never see our illustrious PM put himself in that kind of danger! DONALD COULTER (Bully for Leela.)

SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE If you have ever been to a city that has bridges spanning a river, you will most assuredly admit how totally absurd Calgary’s “Peace Bridge” truly is. I’m sure Santiago Calatrava grins every time he looks at his bank statement and thinks of how he sold a giant Chinese finger lock puzzle to us uncouth Calgarians. Whenever I visit cities like Vancouver, I am totally blown away by the magnificent spanning bridges they have. All designed and built by Canadian companies. No glass panels that have to be replaced because of reprobates that insist on destroying them. No over-the-top artsy designs. Just fully functional, amazing structures that are a sight to behold. I realize we in Calgary don’t have a need for a bridge that spans a mile long, our river just isn’t that wide, but surely the big thinkers could have come up with what is basically a pedestrian/ bike bridge for a lot less money than the millions of dollars we spent on this absurdity! And now we have to pay another boat load of cash just to maintain it from lowlifes with cans of spray paint and hammers? In my opinion, I say we remove all the glass panels, put security cameras up, and be done with the darn thing. Get low security inmates like the ones that pick up trash along roadsides to shovel snow off it in the winter, clean trash off it in the summer, and remove any graffiti that will most assuredly show up. I really hope any future city councils think long and hard before committing to silly, very expensive projects like this wonder of engineering. But I doubt they will. JOHN HANCOCK (Yep, let’s keep it simple and stop adding to the cost.)

MAKING US PRESENTABLE The Shaw golf tournament must be on at Canyon Meadows because the city has crews mowing and trimming like crazy on Anderson Rd. S.W. between Deerfoot Tr. and Stony Tr. S.W. They are also working on 14 St. S.W., 24 St. S.W., Woodpark Blvd. and Canyon Meadows Dr., all for the first time this summer. They gotta get rid of all those two-ft. high weeds before the TV crews focus their cameras on the mess this city has become. They did miss the ripped up safety post and wire barrier running down the middle of Anderson Rd. by Elbow Dr. that I have been complaining about to 311 since the end of May. What a sick joke city maintenance has become. TIM GATAIANT (Kinda makes you wonder if city outside workers are still working from home, doesn’t it? Nothing would surprise us.)

WHICH IS IT? It is an exercise in confusion to follow Danielle Smith’s pronouncements. Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s bonus, “… is offensive. It’s so disrespectful …” Yet, as radio talk-show host, she supported that Calgary taxpayers help fund a new event centre for millionaire hockey players and billionaire owners. It is a scary thought to ask her to explain what principles are in play. LARRY SAMCOE (Apples and coconuts, Larry.)

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