The Editor,

Re: "China's stake in pipeline is disturbing," the Now, Jan. 17.

Columnist Keith Baldrey avoids the real issue: that the American/European oil corporations, with their "branch offices" in Canada, have for many years extracted billions of dollars from us, with the profits going to the shareholders and superannuated CEOs.

These super profits have not been reflected in lower consumer prices, whether for vehicular gas or home-heating purposes, but rather, find their way to the boardrooms of Wall Street, London and Brussels.

Continuous governments of Alberta and Canada have all but bailed out from their responsibility to get better royalties, to benefit and improve Canadians' standard of living, but rather, roll over and play dead. (I wish I could say something nice about the Parliamentary opposition.)

Baldrey wrings his hands over the issue of human rights in China. Charity begins at home - has Baldrey written about the plight of the Aboriginal situation here in his own country? Or the sorry spectacle of an ever-increasing level of homelessness in Canada's cities and villages, the result of underfunding of infrastructure, health care, education, all due to the escape of untaxed capital to other climes?

Dare we hold a candle to our own corporations, tax holidays, tax reductions, tax amnesties, ad nauseatum, or corporations that hide behind Chapter 11s, and NAFTA to the detriment of Canadian society?

I certainly hope that any trade agreements with the "new kid on the block" will not impact us as badly as has been done with the other carpetbaggers.

As for Baldrey's remarks on the environmental issue, well, perhaps that's another letter to the editor.

D. Arland, Surrey