I’m getting a bit tired of these anti-Alberta ad campaigns that keep spreading like a virus across the world. 

“Boycott Alberta, because some of its citizens indulge in the oil industry!” they cry, while using evidence that has at some times been proven false. 

I am in no means standing behind the oil industry here. I have to admit I am not fully educated on what it does to the environment, and therefore will not hazard to guess at what its true impact is. Who I’m defending here, are Albertans. We are being painted with a very broad brush. One that supports environmental decline, pollution and everything the ad campaigns say the oil industry contributes. 

One thing I’ve learned about living in Jasper, is that the people here are not oil tycoons. They are people that walk and bike to work. They spend their time in wild spaces as much as they can. They respect the animals around us and they are immensely proud of the natural beauty they have been allowed to share with grizzlies, elk, caribou, marmot and a host of other Rocky Mountain critters.  

The ad campaign is encouraging people to avoid travel to Alberta, thus hurting our tourism industry, which in Jasper is our biggest industry. Not oil, as I believe this ad campaign suggests. The ads imply a connection between the Gulf oil spill, and the oil sands in northern Alberta. I’m wondering now though, where is the ad campaign encouraging people not to travel to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama or Florida? Clearly, if all Albertans should be thrown in a box with those that support environmental decline through oil extraction, it is the residents of the Gulf states that are to blame for BP’s mess too? This is the message the campaign is making. 

Jasper is 800 kilometres from Fort McMurray, the centre of the oil boom and tar sands debate. That is an eight-and-a-half hour drive for most. I’m sure there are people here who work in the oil sands, but the majority of us here are Jasperites and we live, work and enjoy this community. 

I hope that tourists from places where these campaigns are rampant understand that it is not every Albertan’s fault that we happen to have some of the richest oil grounds in the world. We do not decide how it is extracted. We do not control what it does to the environment. We do take steps in our own lives to have a clean town, with recycling programs and keeping our vehicles parked on most days. We are not the duck-killing, tailings pond-riddled terrain the ads are showing, and we shouldn’t be punished because that exists within our province. 

I do not blame Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama citizens for what happened in the Gulf. I blame BP. I blame their governments for not ensuring the proper safety mechanisms were in place. I also blame Syncrude for the deaths of 1,600 ducks in 2008. I don’t blame my neighbour, and I hope that tourists don’t blame Jasper for the oil sands and that they continue to see one of the many bright spots of Alberta.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column, it is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.