According to a Huffington Post survey, more than 60 per cent of Albertan respondents backed Neil Young’s condemnation of the tarsands; as well, an Edmonton Journal online poll found more than 70% approval for his comments. That has got to be an encouraging sign. Recommend this Post
Continue readingTag: alberta tarsands
Politics and its Discontents: A Stinging Indictment Of Joe Oliver And The Harper Mentality
It would seem that Chad Beharriell of Windsor has Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver’s number: Make transition to a green economy Like a dinosaur that can see the comet coming, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is now reaching for the public relations panic button as he sees growing resistance across
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: This Is What Engaged Citizenship Looks Like
On Friday, fifty-four members of the global climate movement were arrested in Washington, DC after blockading the offices of an environmental engineering firm responsible for contributing to what protesters see as a deeply flawed impact statement on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a controversial tar sands project that has become
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Is Trudeau’s Poll Lead Such A Good Thing?
The latest polls show the Trudeau-led Liberals leading the Harper Conservatives 36% to 29%, with the NDP at 23%. Coincidentally, this petition from Forest EthicsEthics suggests it is not necessarily an occasion for celebration: WHOSE SIDE IS JUSTIN ON, ANYWAY? Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has been in office just a
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: I’m Sure It Is Just A Coincidence …
…but if I were paranoid, I might see a connection between this and this. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: This Makes Too Much Sense
…for anyone within the Conservative cabal to heed its words. Nonetheless, enjoy this well-considered editorial form today’s edition of The Star: Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his hyper-aggressive natural resources minister Joe Oliver are rapidly turning doubt about Canada’s bitumen into bitter opposition. Oliver, who travelled to Europe this past
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Is Pierre Poilivre Related To Joe Oliver?
They certainly seem to be singing from the same hymn book. Orwellian and hypocritical are inadequate descriptors of this little twit: And speaking of Orwellian, how else might one describe the “Working Families Flexibility Act?” The Harperites must be salivating. Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The World We Are Destroying
My friend LeDaro often posts videos that depict the world around us, poignant reminders of what we are so blithely destroying through our heedless consumerism and governments that know the price of everything but the value of nothing. In this, the slavish promotion of the tarsands by the Harper regime
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: And Speaking Of The Tarsands ….
This is brilliant. Thanks to Anon, who, in his comment on my previous post, directed me to this video: Let’s try to spread this as widely as possible. Mockery and satire often seem to be the best way to respond to the nonsense and lies the government proclaims in our
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Embarrassment To All of Us
Like the dotty uncle no one wants to invite to family dinners anymore because of his wildly inappropriate comments, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver is fast becoming an international persona non grata. With the passion of a senescent zealot, Oliver has drawn unfavorable attention to Canada in recent weeks over
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Strange Economics of Stephan Harper
Even though he only has a Master’s degree in economics, our Prime Minister likes to present himself as an economist. And, like the myriad other untruths propagated by his regime, perhaps the biggest lie is that resource extraction, especially tarsands oil, is the most prudent activity around which the Canadian
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: An Insane Country, Or An Insane Government?
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By that standard, we can perhaps infer that Canada is insane. As we are reminded in a very interesting column by Thomas Walkom in this morning’s Star, Canada has a long history
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Oil, China and Why David Emerson Wants Alberta to Start Paying Taxes
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Here is a thorough analysis and update on the many complexities swirling around energy issues in Canada today. It was written by Kevin Logan and was featured in the Common Sense Canadian. Alberta Premier Alison Redford recently took the unprecedented step of holding a “State of
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Is Oil Our Economic Salvation?
Interesting, isn’t it, that despite the propaganda coming out of both Alberta and the Prime Minister’s Office about oil being the economic engine and saviour of Canada, that our Western friends are finding themselves experiencing some economic malaise? Recommend this Post
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Thomas Walkom – Harper and Oil
In this time of unprecedented climate change, I think most people realize that Stephen Harper has an unhealthy addiction to oil, one that marks him as truly retrogressive as he seeks to return Canada to its traditional role as primarily an exporter of resources, all the while couching that backward
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Harper’s Parody of Democracy
Yesterday, I wrote a post expressing cynicism about Heritage Minister James Moore’s tough talk concerning Enbridge, expressing the view that it was just more political posturing on the part of Harper Inc. since the company has come under much media scrutiny due to its record of oil spills. Reading another
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Harper’s Political Posturing
Given the recent spate of ‘bad luck’ experienced by Enbridge over its propensity for oil spills, the Harper regime knows it is facing an uphill battle to convince Canadians that the company can guarantee the environmental integrity of the lands over which its pipelines run. In his column today, Tim
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: ‘Dutch Disease’ Confirmed By Harper-Funded Study
Despite the ongoing Harper-led campaign of vilification against Thomas Mulcair for his comments about the Alberta tarsands and Dutch disease, a Harper-funded study confirms the truth of his assertion. As reported in The Globe, Industry Canada paid $25,000 to three academics to produce the lengthy study, which is about to
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Mulcair’s Dutch Disease Comments: A More Rational Assessment
Despite the near-hysterical reaction of certain CBC broadcasters to the comments made last week by Thomas Mulcair about how tarsands developments are inflating the value of the Canadian dollar, thereby weakening our manufacturing sector, there are those who are able to more objectively assess his comments. One of them is
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Harper Budget’s Attack On Charities
Although hardly surprising, given both the ideological bent of the Harper regime and earlier warnings from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, there is little doubt that the provisions of the new federal budget authorizing an $8-million special audit by Canada Revenue Agency to see if charities are adhering to the
Continue reading