The opening paragraph of a recent letter in the Western Wheel (“Democracy dead in Alberta with recent bills” April 11, 2012) called the current government “totalitarian, socialist, communist and dictatorial”. This type of hyperbole and rhetoric is exactly what we don’t need in order to maintain democracy in Alberta. You can disagree with the PC policies but to call it totalitarian or communist is just silly. We are very lucky to live in a democratic nation and be governed by an elected provincial government. Try living in Syria if you think the PCs are dictatorial.
This type of exaggerated and misleading language was also used in the letter from a woman in Drumheller (“Voters need to consider lost freedoms” April 11, 2012) and needs to be addressed. Saying Bill 2 is about parents having a right to educate their children is disingenuous. All the PCs want to do is clarify language so that the vagueness of “common values and beliefs of Albertans” is replaced with a more codified and universally accepted human rights act. One might want to ask themselves why they would want to teach their kids anything that contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the first place. This is about sexual orientation, plain and simple. Those who for religious reasons want to teach their kids that homosexuality is a sin are welcome to do it. The government, however, should not be funding it.
Bill 2 ensures only that schools cannot teach or condone anything that diminishes the rights of other people - other Albertans.
Despite what some people seem to believe, we live in a democracy and we have a choice to make on April 23. Let’s not cloud the conversation with hyperbole, inflammatory language and intentional misrepresentations of fact. Albertans deserve better than that.
Caroline Knox
Okotoks, AB
