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Edmontonians Who Own Trucks Will Really Suffer Thanks to COVID-19

4 min read

A parking sign

Our city runs on oil. It fuels our economy, the government, and the people of Edmonton. We love petroleum so much that we've named our hockey team the Oilers. COVID-19 has put an end to the NHL and most public events in our city. Next to our Oilers bumper sticker is another shaped like our province that states, "Alberta Strong." It's short for "Alberta is strongly opinionated."

Yes, without our hometown hockey team to throw under the bus, our citizens will be miserable. If there are no NHL games we will be unable to demand the team be more like the Gretzky team. With a lack of games and theater downtown, Edmontonians will not be able to gripe about parking. The sanctity of parking is held above all else in our city. We all know the gods gave Albertans asses to sit in the bucket seats of 3/4 ton trucks and shout racist slurs at cyclists. Trucks and SUVs powered by oil are the lifeblood of the city. If COVID-19 forces us to work from home, who will complain about the red light cameras? The Edmontonian identity is deeply steeped in vehicle culture. If we're not thundering down side streets in our lifted rigs, who are we? If I cannot go to a party, or social networks to complain about pot holes, I am lost. How can I just sit at home and isolate when there are unused bike lanes taunting me?

A vehicle in a garage deeply saddens us Edmontonians. When I think of the motorcycles, luxury sports cars, and jacked-up trucks that are no longer able to compete for the title of most deafening vehicle on Jasper or Whyte this Spring and Summer, I want to cry. Of course, I won't. I'm Albertan. The rumbling exhaust is Edmontonian music. We love it more than anything else, except for our Nickelback. I will miss my daily 20 minute practice of obscene profanity while I sit at the intersections where the LRT crosses. The COVID-19 pandemic will crush the UCP goal of a 1 to 1 ratio of vehicles to people. Jason Kenney will no longer be able to give speeches from the back of pickup trucks, but he will be sequestered in his mother's basement, talking to us via TicToc.

While our generous & loyal billionaire, Katz will help struggling employees through this pandemic, who will look out for our CEOs and corporations? There are stories about the charitable giants like Uber giving a whole 14 days of paid leave to those involved in the gig economy. Canadians are also calling for people to purchase gift cards to support their favorite local businesses and the arts. If money trickles down as our corporate masters tell us, certainly our traumas will trickle up. There has been zero talk of saving our national icon, Tim Hortons. What happens when we're not in the lineup daily to get our traditional brown sludge and microwaved meals? We must bail out Tim's!

Perhaps the best way to save Edmonton is the automobile! I propose we put together a government fund to remodel offices to drive-ins. Pull up in your SUV, roll down the window and hook up your laptop. Work from the comfort of the bench seats in your Hummer. Business overhead costs will go down-- no office furniture, heat, lighting, janitors or elevator maintenance needed. The pickup truck becomes the board room. Simply line up trucks, tailgate to tailgate, and get our 2 meters of distance and no threat of infection. And, with every office now mobile the demand for gas will go up. The Edmonton economy will be saved.

Down with public transportation, too many people in small spaces. Down with sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrians. We will have larger roads and all the parking we could want. Finally, we can return to hockey as it was meant to be played, outdoors. We will modify the uniforms to be a bit more like hazmat suits and watch the game from our trucks, parked around the rink. The only downside to this plan is giving the credit to COVID-19. We cannot start rebuilding if Kenney's war room sees coronavirus as a foreign contribution.