Editor:
(Re: Old man, take a look at your facts, Jan. 29 Northern View)
Tom Fletcher should stop taking Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver's advice. Drinking from tailings ponds does not appear to be bringing any clarity to his argument.
The fact that similar environmental destruction exists in the U.S. means Canadians should shut up and ignore what goes on in our country? Would Fletcher at least concede that any industrial development of this size comes at a significant cost to the environment?
I agree that the oilsands are extremely important to the Canadian economy and provide thousands of high-paying jobs to people across this country, but surely there's room for a balanced discussion. Perhaps we could start somewhere between shutting it down as Neil Young would prefer or expanding it as fast as humanly possible, the clear choice of the present federal and Alberta governments.
If Young's comments lead to discussions at dinner tables across this country then he did us all a great service.
Bob Tanner
Campbell River