Calgary Sun Letters, May 18, 2026: ‘Oilers ought to be ashamed’

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Oilers misplay

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The Oilers handling of (now-former head coach) Kris Knoblauch has been an absolute embarrassment to the organization. Speaking to Bruce Cassidy before letting the coach go is a minor league move that would not be done by any classy organization because they know some nosy reporter would leak that information as soon as they learned of it. Management (aka Stan Bowman and Jeff Jackson) have laid all of the blame for their ineptitude on the coaching staff who had nothing to do with the ridiculous contracts those two have handed out to mediocre hockey players (think Trent Frederic, Andrew Mangiapane, Jeff Skinner and Victor Arvidsson ). Why this organization would allow these two to continue their destruction of this team is beyond comprehension. Daryl Katz should fire both of them and start a search for competent replacements as soon as possible. Let’s get this team on an upward trajectory before it’s too late.

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GEORGE COLGAN

(The summer should prove interesting.)

Alberta on the outside

I’m a proud Canadian. But I’m an even prouder Albertan! Nothing would make me happier if we in the west actually got the respect we so richly deserve from this exercise in democracy that’s known as the Canadian constitution, but, alas, until the teeth are pulled from the eastern oligarchs, er.., I mean the Laurentian elite, I really don’t see that happening. Sure, they’ll try to appease us by throwing us bones like a pipeline to the west coast, maybe, but when the rubber hits the road, they’re still gonna be firmly in control of this country. The only way to actually achieve true democracy in this nation is with electoral reform. Let the vote in B.C. be as important as the one in Labrador. For too long, elections have been decided before the polls close in Manitoba, leaving Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. more or less paying lip service to make us believe we actually had a say in who runs this country. What needs to change is the notion of representation by population to the more democratic way in a country the size of Canada to representation by localization. Redo the electoral map so every province has roughly the same amount of seats no matter its population. I’m not naive. I know this will never happen if it means the eastern Canadian power brokers lose their grip on the governance of this country, but until this daydream ever happens, we in the west will never truly be a part of this nation.

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JOHN HANCOCK

(Have to agree with you in that electoral reform that takes power out of the hands of the current brokers is extremely unlikely)

Religious resources

Danielle Smith is on record associating oil pipelines with the teachings of Christ. I’m wondering if she ought to be detained under the mental health act?

GREG ZAWASKI, Edmonton

(We would suggest both yourself and the premier are guilty of stretching things a tad)

Silly offset

The provincial government is willing to spend billions on carbon capture to help control fossil fuel pollution! To offset this they are planning to increase pollution by increasing the divided hi-way speed to 120 km/h. How stupid is this hypocrisy? From Edmonton to Calgary it takes X amount of gas at 100 km/h. At 120 km/h it takes, for the same distance, considerably more gas. Multiply that by the millions of vehicles that travel that distance in one year and what do you get? More pollution offsetting the carbon capture! To get the polluters to pay a carbon tax, get this highway equipped with photo radar, lower the speed to 100 km/h … if you decide to speed, you pay. That would reduce pollution and help pay for carbon capture project. If you travel the province, one will easily see speed limits are being exceeded a lot by the majority of vehicles. If you want to reduce carbon pollution, simply control highway speed. That would be a good start!

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JOHN GUERIN

(Looks like our gov’t is headed in the opposite direction)

Wrong ruling

Justice Shaina Leonard made the most undemocratic ruling regarding the gathering of petition signatures in preparation of a fall 2026 referendum question whether Alberta should stay in Canada or secede. Her ruling suppresses every Albertan’s freedom of speech, as guaranteed within every democracy in the world. We should be outraged. We have a right to be heard, and this referendum question is precisely how we would do it. The vote totals would spell out clearly just what we have to say on the matter, without the biases of media and/or poll reporting. We would finally have the true facts out in the open, on what Albertans have to say. Polls, so far, have been claiming the split is about 1/3 for separation versus 2/3 for staying. So why the forced stoppage leading up to any vote? This is an abuse of judicial power. By disallowing the petition, our democratic right of free speech and expression of our choices, is trampled on. Indigenous consultation should take place after the voting on the referendum, based on the tabulated outcome, and certainly not now. The timing is just plain wrong, just like Justice Leonard’s ruling. The question should still be voted on in October, as part of the referendum. Albertans need to be heard. Git ’er done!

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KEN PELLAND

(Something tells us this particular battle is not over)

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King’s speech

The Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Empire) has a population of 2.7 billion people and is made up of 56 independent states. King Charles III is the official sovereign for 15 of these states. These countries (including Canada) pledge direct allegiance to the King. The remaining members have historical ties to England. You can be sure the recent visit of the King to the U.S., despite the pageantry and public ceremony, admonished the President for his recent behaviours.

DICK VARLEY, Okotoks

(The King did appear to raise a couple of issues, if only gently)

We broke it, we’ll fix it

I have received a self-promotional flyer from my Liberal MP, Ryan Turnbull. The flyer promoted the Liberals’ changes to immigration and stated they were protecting the integrity of the immigration system. More Liberal chutzpah. Break the immigration system and then brag how you are fixing it.

RICK HIRD, Whitby, Ont.

(No one does it better than Liberals. What’s extraordinary is how many people fall for it)

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Americans caught them

(Re: ‘Smugglers in sight,’ Sun, May 10) That is great work by American authorities to catch a major haul of illegal firearms heading to Canada. Everyone bear in mind that is just the tip of the iceberg for smuggled firearms. For more than a decade, the previous Liberal Trudeau government and the current Liberal Carney government have blamed the RCMP-vetted, licensed and legal firearms owners for the carnage these smuggled illegal firearms are creating on Canadian streets. They’re still selling the same message: Legal firearms owners are ‘the problem’ to the Canadian public. The licensed firearms owners are not the problem and have never been so with illegal firearms’ use in Canada! It’s the smuggling, and you can also add to that the Liberal court’s laws that involve revolving door bail policies.

LARRY RAYNER, Innisfil, Ont.

(And the buy-back program is a bust. Carney Liberals are the same as Trudeau — they never learn)

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