Thundertype

Thundertype 11

Canada Ignored & Ridiculed at Durban

Well, no wonder: “While other countries have set up pavilions and exhibitions in Durban to promote their climate policies, Canada is missing in action. Other countries, even heavy polluters such as China and the United States, are organizing panels and speaking daily to the world’s media at the conference. Canada is nearly invisible, except for a tightly restricted briefing to a handful of Canadian media in a small hotel room, more than a kilometre from the conference site, where Environment Minister Peter Kent issues his daily statements.

Members of Parliament at the Durban summit, including Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and deputy NDP environment critic Laurin Liu, have been barred from Mr. Kent’s daily briefings. They were also refused accreditation in Canada’s delegation at Durban, forcing them to seek accreditation from other countries, such as Papua New Guinea.”

Read the full article on The Globe & Mail.

7 December 2011

Thundertype 8

Greenpeace spells out Climatefail at Parliament Hill, in protest of the government’s retrograde stance on climate change and emissions mitigation at Durban. Elizabeth May goes as far to say that Canada will play the role of saboteur. Although I’d call it “obstructivist,” I basically agree.

Check out the full-res shots here.

30 November 2011

Thundertype

A recent bulletin from the Conservative war office warns: “We have seen what the NDP can do. In Ontario, we remember what happened when the NDP got hold of the reins of power: tens of thousands of jobs lost, an economy totally mismanaged, and skyrocketing taxes.”

I know. Bob Rae is a Liberal now. It was Ontario, not Canada. It was 1990. North America was experiencing its worst recession since the Great Depression and governments of all stripes, including Brian Mulroney’s federal Conservatives, were struggling with deficits and high interest rates.

Doesn’t matter. Rae’s short-lived experience as premier has long been a truncheon in the Conservative armour — a handy way of shifting focus from today’s reality to ancient history of questionable relevance. Even if an inexperienced Rae did make costly mistakes — and, at the same time, save jobs at Algoma Steel with a bailout not unlike Harper’s rescue package for the auto industry — what does that have to do with Layton, a different politician in a different era?

If the common link is party label, why choose Rae’s government? Why not compare a notional Layton-led coalition to Roy Romanow’s stable and successful regime in Saskatchewan, or Gary Doer’s equally popular NDP government in Manitoba? If New Democrats are genetically irresponsible, as Harper seems to imply, why did he send Doer to Washington as Canada’s ambassador? Why did “socialist” provinces consistently run surpluses and spend frugally?

~ from the astute Susan Riley of the Ottawa Citizen. This is a must-read article for those wondering about the potentials and perils of NDP leadership.

29 April 2011

Thundertype

$1.2 billion.

(Courtesy flickr user Phil Marion.)

4 July 2010

Oilsands Pipeline Battle Heating Up Already?

In Environmental Flashpoint: The Great Bear Forest, I talked about how “the Harper government will not enforce an expired moratorium on offshore drilling and oil tanker shipping off the BC coast — a moratorium introduced in 1972, maintained by every previous federal government, and confirmed to continue by the Chretien government in 2004.”

I concluded by saying this battle will heat up between the Tories, Albertan energy interests, First Nations, and community and environmental stakeholders (ie: a Flashpoint). Well, I was bang-on (*toot toot*) but I could not have predicted the next group to draw a line in the sand: The Ignatieff Liberals!?

It appears that, in this case, Iggy has decided, out of the blue(?), that he will maintain previous Liberal policies vis-à-vis tanker moratorium. This seems rather inconsistent with the party’s oilsands approach; Ignatieff himself has a much-publicized stance of unbridled support for the Alberta oilsands. Coming out against oil tanker traffic — tankers fed by the cross-BC pipeline and ultimately the oilsands?

This at first looks like a risky gamble for the LPC. But it could work. After all, he said it; the Liberal leader declared: “The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a grim reminder that we must always be vigilant.” The Liberals are taking a gamble that this policy will be a hit with British Columbians currently horrified by images of glorious birds tarred in BP’s mistake. The Globe & Mail article points out that “a poll conducted in May found that 80% of 500 people surveyed supported a ban on tanker traffic on the B.C. coast”.

Essentially, with this announcement, I think the Liberals are conceding they don’t have a hope in hell of winning Albertan hearts, oilsands support or not. This makes their oilsands commitment malleable at best.

But, the LPC is gambling that spill-fearing, coast-loving swing voters in BC will like this specific vein of wildly variable Ignatieff environmentalism. They might be right, especially if they succeed in painting Tories as coast-hating oil curmudgeons.

Well, I’m happy that the gang grew a pair on this one (unless they waffle, which wouldn’t be much of a surprise).

(Perhaps they can take a few other stances soon, too?)

22 June 2010

Thundertype

Environmental Flashpoint: The Great Bear Forest

Great article by Mark Hume from June 3rd’s Globe & Mail on the Enbridge pipeline that will go through the Great Bear Rainforest and straight onto tankers that’ll cruise through the sounds once graced (nearby) by the Exxon Valdez:

Although first nations are fighting several big resource projects in British Columbia, the conflict over the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline is developing into an overarching issue that is about to thrust the province into the international spotlight.

“It’s going to be bigger than Clayoquot Sound,” predicted Vicky Husband, who has been one of B.C.’s leading environmental voices for the past 30 years.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., described the 1993 fight to stop clear-cut logging in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island as “the flashpoint in one of the defining environmental battles of our time.” Ms. Husband says the Enbridge dispute may be the defining battle for a new generation concerned about climate change and global dependence on oil.

“When you think of the optics of this – first nations fighting to stop oil tankers from penetrating the Great Bear Rainforest carrying dirty crude from the tar sands – it’s not going to be hard to draw support from Europe and all around the world,” she said.

Basically, as environmental assessments and hearings soon proceed to the National Energy Board, this is going to become a flashpoint, exacerbated by the disaster transpiring in the Gulf of Mexico.

And this is going to get messy, too: There’s signs that, in this battle, the Harper government is quietly but clearly aligning itself with Enbridge and oil piping-and-shipping advocates. Andrew Mayeda of Canwest reported on June 2nd that the Harper government will not enforce an expired moratorium on offshore drilling and oil tanker shipping off the BC coast — a moratorium introduced in 1972, maintained by every previous federal government, and confirmed to continue by the Chretien government in 2004. (Andrew’s article is also worth a full read.) This only makes sense considering how this pipeline tickles the Conservative voting blocs in the BC interior and the Alberta oilpatch. (Strange how this Canwest author doesn’t mention that.)

Watch closely. This one’s going to get nasty!