By Rick Strankman, MLA
Drumheller - Stettler
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Better known as “Newton’s Third Law.” It relates to the motion when one body exerts a force on a second body; the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude in the opposite direction to the first body. Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law was the discovery that no action was immune from an equal and opposite reaction. A mathematician and physicist, Newton’s formulas presented conclusive evidence that the energy did not simply just dissipate.
Similar to motion, political incompetence is an action that comes with its share of equal and opposite reactions. Albertans are living the equal and opposite reactions set in motion by both the federal and provincial government’s attempt to tax Canada and Alberta into prosperity.
Alberta’s Carbon Tax has seen its share of opposite reactions from investors and businesses alike. Its little wonder there would be a negative reaction to an additional cost that creates an uncompetitive burden for Alberta businesses. With the carbon tax added to their input costs, Alberta businesses face a disadvantage when competing with companies from other jurisdictions that have not jump on the carbon tax bandwagon.
To make matters worse, the prime minister and his ministers have taken to Twitter in a haphazard attempt to embarrass our foreign trading partners. This reckless and ill-advised attempt at foreign policy through social media seems to have done just that; unfortunately, the reaction is not exactly what they bargained for.
The prime minister is engaging in antagonistic activities these days, purely for political points and it’s backfiring. His government’s latest foray with the Saudi Arabian government could potentially have very serious trade consequences for many Canadian agricultural producers and other industries; which was obviously not considered before pressing send to a poorly composed post on Twitter.
As we’ve seen time and again, poorly made and executed decisions come at a price. The consequences of poor decisions in government always land at the feet of the taxpayer, the consumer and the end user. In other words, unsuspecting Canadian families. In life, consequences are the reaction to poor decisions, which is something Alberta is all too familiar with these days. With foreign trade having taken another serious hit, it is ordinary Canadians that ultimately pay the price of the poor decisions made.
Albertans have learned some expensive but valuable lessons over the last three years. We’ve learned that when you put an unnecessary tax in motion, the reaction is a financial exodus to jurisdictions with lower taxation. We’ve also learned that successful foreign trade and international relations are not achieved on social media.