I’m a separatist. I truly believe Alberta will be better off on our own for dozens of reasons, but I can understand why many people feel the opposite way. What bothers me about this referendum is the unwillingness from the “no-to-the-nine” crowd to even consider the questions being asked. Simply voting no to everything because you dislike Danielle Smith is intellectual laziness. The immigration questions are not anti-immigration; they are simply qualifying the immigrants who come here. That was standard practice up until the Trudeau government took control and remains the same in most other countries today. Try immigrating to somewhere else; you wouldn’t expect any of these perks.
As for the constitutional questions, they are all in Albertans’ best interest for us to have more control over our own affairs. Why would any reasonable person think that it’s better to have Eastern Canada decide what happens to the West? Lastly, stop believing all the scare tactics. No, doctors won’t leave, costs won’t skyrocket, businesses won’t leave. We have the resources. Investors want certainty. This referendum provides it.
So vote to stay or vote to leave, but please take a second to understand the other questions.
Rob Fediuk, Edmonton
Advance voting was quick and easy
News media: You’re giving the impression that everyone is in for a long wait to vote in the referendum advance poll. I know this is sensational, but you haven’t looked very far. I voted Tuesday before noon. I walked right in and cast my 10 votes in less than 10 minutes. Same thing for other people I know in different parts of Edmonton. Maybe you could visit some of these boring locations and show the voters that the sky isn’t falling.
Voters: Take a look at your where to vote card. There are multiple locations for you to choose from in the advance poll. If one location is too busy, try another one. The locations are not far apart. If the media continues to cherry-pick locations to broadcast, they will end up discouraging people to vote.
Walter Giduk, Edmonton
Pro-infill council voted in by suburbs
It is refreshing to see politicians admitting that the City of Edmonton development rules are destroying our neighbourhoods. Both federal and provincial politicians have noted this in the past, but the city does not care. The city has held public hearings on the rules but the intervention held little or no sway.
Some disparage Danielle for stepping in on the grounds of democracy; council was, after all, voted in. Last election, only 30 per cent turned out to vote. That is not the voice of the people; it is the voice of a few who likely are not affected by this issue. Most voters are not affected by infill because they live in newer neighbourhoods or have not seen the impact.
To have those who not affected dictate to those who are affected is a problem. Democracy does not work when issues are not well understood. Thank you, Danielle, for stemming this hideous development policy.
Tony Palladino, Edmonton
Edmonton spoke on infill last election
There has been a lot of repetition in columns and letters of the framing that the City of Edmonton “didn’t listen” on zoning. Edmonton held the most systematic and scientific possible “listening session” this time last year — the 2025 municipal election. The new zoning bylaw was by far the central issue in that election, and Mayor Knack was re-elected alongside almost all the pro-density candidates, while almost all the pro-repeal candidates lost. That’s how we know those who now feel “not listened to” hold the minority opinion.
It’s natural to feel “not listened to” in a democracy when you’re in the minority. If city council really had been “not listening” to the majority of Edmontonians, the provincial government would have had nothing to intervene in, because mayor Tim Cartmell and his Better Edmonton-dominated council would have repealed the bylaw themselves. The fact that didn’t happen proves the UCP are the ones out of touch with most Edmontonians — if Edmonton electing 19 NDP and one UCP MLAs weren’t evidence enough.
Mark Senior, Edmonton
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