Dear Editor:
Over the past number of years, I have become accustomed to seeing everyday Albertans thoughtlessly run over time and time again by the forces of the EUB, ERCB and the PC cabinet. So, it was no surprise to me to see the residents of Rocky Rapids having to resort to taking their case to the Alberta Court of Appeals. In fact, the appeals court is one regulatory body in this province that I still have at least some marginal confidence in.
No doubt, Susan Kelly, Linda Dupperon and Lillian McGinn were elated when the court of appeal sensibly ruled in their favour regarding sour gas drilling in their neighbourhood. And what total dismay and betrayal they must now feel, as the ERCB blatantly turns its back not only on these citizens of Rocky Rapids, but, in effect, on all Albertans living in proximity to deadly sour gas installations, by abruptly and with minimal or no substantiating evidence, changing its own rules to accommodate Grizzly Resources.
The audacity of such careless attitudes toward the lives, health and well-being of my fellow Albertans makes me sick to my stomach. A couple of years ago, we were lead to believe that the EUB had been split into two bodies (the ERCB and the AUC) to better represent the interests of Albertans. (Those of us actively involved know the real reasons why they were split.) Well, it looks as though it didn't take long for the ERCB to fall into the old EUB rut, if indeed, it ever had any alternate intentions.
Today, if they had any conscience whatsoever, the ERCB decision-makers should be profoundly ashamed of themselves. And the whole damn bunch of them should be fired, along with the legislators who were responsible for hiring them.
Edwin Erickson,
Buck Lake