This guy is walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out.
A doctor passes by and our guy shouts up, “Hey you! Can you help me out?” The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on.
Then a lawyer comes along and the guy shouts up, “Buddy, I’m down in this hole, can you help me out?” The lawyer writes out a legal brief, throws it down the hole and moves on.
Then our guy’s friend, named Joe, walks by.
“Hey, Joe, it’s me, can you help me out?”
Joe looks at him then jumps in the hole.
Our guy says, “What are you, stupid? Now we’re both down here.”
Joe just laughs and says, “Yeah, but I’ve been down here before and I know the way out.”
Folks, the boom and bust nature of the energy economy is nothing new to Albertans. We’ve been in this hole before, and we know the way out.
We know exactly what it takes to reinvigorate our province, open new businesses, and bring back jobs. We’ve done it before, and we can do it again.
So, why does it feel different this time? Why are so many people angry and frustrated? Over the past few weeks, tensions across our region and our province have started to boil over.
Whether it’s job losses, or stalled pipelines, or an overwhelming sense of decline, I’ve rarely seen and heard such raw emotion.
I have come to believe that government itself lies at the root of the problem. We used to have governments that encouraged folks to lift themselves up by their bootstraps, and provide support to those in need.
Now we have governments fixated on regulating the length of bootstraps, banning certain colours of boots, and instituting a tax on straps. As governments have lost perspective, people have begun to lose hope for a better tomorrow.
Let me say this as clearly as I can: If our province is to have any kind of future, losing hope is not an option. As such, my New Year’s resolution is to step up the fight for fairness and restore Albertans’ faith in a better tomorrow.
This isn’t about politics. This is about guaranteeing a future of our own making, and avoiding the economic and social decline that has gutted other regions of our country.
This is about giving our children and our grandchildren the opportunity to stay here, find meaningful work here, and raise families here.
One way or the other, change is coming in 2019. In the meantime, this Christmas season, I encourage everybody to spend time with loved ones, and reach out to our neighbours in need.
From my family to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.
Nathan Cooper is the MLA for the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills constituency.
