Dear Ms. Smith: Scraping a bare majority in your leadership contest does not give you a mandate to govern as you please. Put your platform to the scrutiny of an election — immediately — and let the electorate decide whether your ideas are worthy of the future of Alberta.

D.M. Gilchrist, Edmonton

Different leader, same party

Brian Jean returned to the Alberta legislature with the avowed aim of removing Jason Kenney as premier. I suppose he thought he would be the new leader. Well now, the joke is on him and all Albertans as we now have a new leader with an even greater level of belief in their own genius. That should work out well right?

I am sure Danielle Smith and her new government will be claiming credit for the increase in oil prices and royalties as oil prices rise following the two-million-barrel cut in oil production announced by the OPEC Plus cartel. After that, everything will be the fault of the federal government in Ottawa and the provincial civil service. This will be the same conservative party in a new suit.

Richard McFarlane, Edmonton

Kenney doesn’t deserve thanks

Re. “You may not like Kenney, but you should thank him anyway,” Opinion, Oct. 6

Only a fellow protege of Stephen Harper like Monte Solberg would imagine that Albertans should give thanks to Jason Kenney. This is the same Kenney who was willing to poison the drinking water of the southern half of Alberta for some dubious coal-mining schemes. The same Kenney was willing to get rid of half our parks due to underuse without any evidence whatsoever.

He also did away with stable funding for Calgary and Edmonton and has consistently shortchanged Edmonton in every way possible. I am sure the homeless are not thanking him. The war room to support the oil and gas industry looked like an episode of the Keystone Cops. The fact that oil and gas prices have risen and improved our province’s finances has nothing to do with Kenney. The only thanks I will give Kenney is that he is not Danielle Smith.

Gerhard Henkemans, Edmonton

Why cling to British monarchy?

Re. “Sorry, King Charles, we just don’t need you anymore,” Andrew Cohen, Oct. 1

I’m a proud Canadian with no ties to England. It is a foreign country to me. I wholeheartedly agree with Andrew Cohen. I see no value in continuing to support and honour the head of state of a foreign country, regardless of past history.

Monarchists will state that Canada has a strong historical association with England and the monarchy. Canada also has a strong historical association with France. It also has strong cultural and historical associations with the many countries that provided Canada with immigrants who built, and continue to build this country. An argument can be made that Canada now has a stronger cultural association with Asia than with Europe.

We can be proud of our past, and the countries we came from, but we are Canadians and should adopt and support our own unique identity.

A.A. Bialowas, Edmonton

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