Re: “Real progress isn’t highways and mines,” Letter, Feb. 9.

The writer states that progress is measured by growth and expansion in areas that promote human rights, justice, healthy environments, health, education and social welfare, and he is correct.

However, all these areas are the most costly programs in terms of government expenditures, and revenues must be found to provide this funding. Where does the writer believe revenues come from? Revenues come from manufacturing, commodity extraction and services provided by Canadian workers. This is achieved by mining, oil extraction, and, yes, the transportation systems required to get the products to national or international markets, such as highways, railroads and pipelines.

Russia has just completed a 4,000-kilometre pipeline from its oil fields in western and northern parts of the country to the east coast of the Pacific to get its oil to market at market prices, thus providing revenue for bettering the lives of its people.

In Canada, we are preventing the marketing of Canadian oil at market prices by refusing to allow the building of such pipelines to the West Coast. We are forgoing $30 billion a year in revenue for programs noted by the writer because of this.

It is time for Canadians to give their head a shake, if they really do want to sustain or increase funding to the many expensive Canadian social programs.

Robin Allen

Victoria

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