Advertisement 1

Friday letters: Edmonton's Imperial Oil refinery opened 70 years ago

Article content

July 17 marks the 70th anniversary of the official opening of the original Imperial Oil refinery east of Edmonton, on what is now Imperial’s Strathcona refinery.

After discovering oil in the Leduc field Feb.13, 1947, Imperial decided a refinery was needed in the Edmonton area. The original 360-acre site was purchased in the District of Clover Bar, now Strathcona County.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

There was a severe shortage of steel and other materials after the Second World War, so building a plant from scratch would have taken several years. But Imperial was able to buy a surplus refinery built for wartime use in Whitehorse from the American government for $1 million.  During the winter of 1947-48, it was dismantled and moved 2,170 kilometres to Edmonton by water, rail and road, and reassembled on site. This allowed Imperial to be the first refinery to supply local markets.

Article content

A few components of the original refinery are still in use, but most were replaced by the construction of the Strathcona refinery in 1975.

Larry Pope

Sherwood Park

Bravo for Thailand cave rescuers

What a marvellous example of what the International community can achieve when it joins forces across cultural divides to save lives.  The “grandeur of the human spirit” was apparent in the immediate, spontaneous response.  Kudos to those who risked their lives in this successful mission, including the diver who died in the attempt.

Ike Glick

Edmonton

Edmonton ignoring basic services

Re. “Glenora residents are hardly elitist,” “Royal Alex entry a giant ashtray,” “Parks landscape poorly conceived,” Letters, July 11

Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

After reading these letters, I now see clearly that basic services are no longer required in our city. The mandate to provide services and maintain them properly is not reflected by our high property tax increases.  The mayor and his council want the tourists, the money and the glory, but have no regard for the citizens.

Judy Petryk

Edmonton

Respect the Queen, Mr. President

After disrespecting other leaders of the world other than Russian President Vladimir Putin, will U.S. President Donald Trump disrespect the Queen? I hope his advisers can advise him to conform to protocol. This means no folding arms, pushing, smirking, or ranting on about what he believes he has achieved.

Barton Whyte

Sherwood Park

LGBTQ rights vs. religious freedom

LGBTQ rights versus the constitutionally protected right to worship without interference is an ongoing debate.

Recently, the Supreme Court of Canada supported the Law Society of B.C.’s right to deny accreditation to a planned law school at the evangelically based Trinity Western University, where a “community covenant,” binds students to a code of conduct that includes abstinence from sex outside heterosexual marriage.
Meanwhile, an Alberta court dismissed a call to suspend a provincial law supporting high school gay-straight alliances, which provide a safe place to meet and talk about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

What’s at stake is the safety and emotional well-being of tens of thousands of young people across Canada.  The issue isn’t whose rights take precedence. With the emotional health of some of this country’s most vulnerable youth at risk, what can responsible adults do regardless of religious persuasion to safeguard their safety and well-being?

Chris Gudgeon, executive director, It Gets Better Canada
Toronto

Letters welcome

We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don’t publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: letters@edmontonjournal.com

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers