On Wednesday, we simulcast The Scott Thompson Show at Global News Radio 900 CHML in Hamilton, Ont., with The Danielle Smith Show from our sister station in Calgary, Global News Radio 770 CHQR.
The idea was to introduce East to West and talk about what is important to both this upcoming federal election.
I’ve wanted to do this since way back when. I thought it would be a great way to hear what was happening in other parts of this vast country.
However, I cannot take credit for initiating the idea for Wednesday’s simulcast. This time it was suggested by our colleagues out west.
Why?
The people in the West have some very important questions for the East and can’t understand why the issues that matter to them seem to be lost on this side of the country.
The West — particularly Alberta — wants to be heard and is curious as to why the East is not listening or does not understand the value of its wares, both economically and environmentally.
The people there feel they are constantly ignored and have been for decades by leaders in the East who do not fully understand Canadians beyond their own ridings of electoral interest.
They want to know why the East is not helping them get their natural resources to market, which, in turn, will benefit all Canadians.
The West wants you to know that it is into clean technology, too, but realistically, it is not an overnight transformation and our plentiful natural resources should be used to fuel this research and development in the next generation of energy production.
The West wants the rest of us to know this is a worldwide problem and there are parts of the planet that could be made cleaner using Canadian natural resources.
Regions of the world that depend on coal in the dead of winter can be using cleaner Canadian energy while we search for alternatives.
The West wants to know why everyone vilifies it for trying to supply the energy not only Canadians need, but the rest of the world needs, to get off coal.
Everyone has heard their own version of the science. You don’t have to be a scholar to know the climate is changing. Man-made pollution is never good. However, the difference is in how to deal with it.
Whatever it is, it won’t happen overnight.
So let’s stop the fear-mongering and denial, and bring all sides together to find a way forward, rather than using the science for one’s own political party’s agenda. That just makes voters cynical.
And it starts with paying more attention to all parts of this great country — including Alberta.
Scott Thompson is the host of The Scott Thompson Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML.