Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Justin's Folly


Like it or not, entirely willing or not, Justin Trudeau is a Tar Sander, a fossil fueler - and all that business about his government following science is self-serving crap. Unlike his failed predecessor, the Liberal prime minister might be the guy who'll drive through the bitumen pipelines, getting that hazmat sludge to "tidewater." In so doing he'll complete Harper's unfinished work. Oh I'll bet that gives Shifty Steve a giggle as he plays the nickel slots in Vegas.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government was criticized from all sides on Tuesday in response to a published news report that alleged he had instructed key officials to prepare a strategy to approve major new pipeline projects.

While opposition Conservative MPs criticized Trudeau in the House of Commons for not doing more to cheerlead for the oil and gas industry, a leading climate change scientist and several environmental groups reacted to the news with disbelief.

John Stone, a former climatologist with Environment Canada, and vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Working Group II, said that building more pipelines is scientifically incompatible with meeting Canada’s climate change commitments.

“If you build a pipeline, you’re going to fill it with tar sands that’s going to increase our emissions and that’s not going to allow us to meet our climate change commitments," said Stone, in an interview with National Observer.

He said it was impossible to burn the fossil fuel reserves currently available and meet the government's objective of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

For Trudeau it's all about moving Canadian resources to market, a dandy bit of sophistry that treats high-carbon, hazmat fossil fuels as indistinguishable from softwood or wheat. That is appallingly disingenuous. Worse, it's a craven betrayal of Canada, our young people and the generations to follow them.


6 comments:

Toby said...

For Trudeau it's all about placating to everyone. I foresee many follies in Justine's future.

Les Smith said...

I would have thought that by now, a sense of personal self-preservation would keep even politicians from taking steps to encourage carbon production.
The effects of climate change are more than palpable now, and within a couple of decades, things are all but inevitably going to get Really Bad. At that point, the courts are going to break out the metaphorical torches and pitchforks and start pursuing the people who got us into the mess. Some time thereafter, the torches and pitchforks may be more than metaphorical. Given the rate at which the climate is deteriorating, it's unlikely that the final generation of fossil fuelers will be safely dead of old age in time to escape retribution.

Dana said...

He obviously cares little for his children's future. Not to mention anyone else's.

Asinine.

the salamander said...

.. still waiting for anyone pimping any pipelines to define exactly what will be in the pipeline and its ultimate destination.. Whether Trudeau, the mainstream media, whomever.. we don't need any further conflations of dilbit miraculously tirning into Benchmark Brent Crude or West Texas Intermediate.. The 'unfair discount' of Canadian 'oil' is nonsense.. and comparable to whining that Canadian chuck steak is unfairly not selling at tenderloin prices.. because uh because (apply conspiracy here) .. And, the insulting proposition that Alberta dilbit will provide 'energy security' by replacing 'sweeter' or lighter crudes whether Canadian, American, Saudi or South American just conflates and confuses reality even further. Why don't we just pile it higher and deeper - and pretend that fracked gas can go directly into your car's gas tank.. so fracking is wonderul eh ! And all we need is pipelines so we can all fuel up.. We're being played for fools .. and mainstream media and elected public servants are leading the charge..

Unknown said...

Trudeau is following a Neoliberal agenda for Canada, even though he probably doesn't know it.
Harper who knowingly followed a Neoliberal agenda, must be really pleased that Trudeau is finishing the work on pipelines and "trade" deals that he started. Who needs a conservative party governing when the Liberals are doing what you want.

The Mound of Sound said...


Liberals, true believers, will never accept that their party - the party of Laurier, Pearson and Pierre Trudeau - would ever consciously sell out Canada. I understand their powerful cognitive dissonance.

During the Harper era I tried to steel myself, never convincingly alas, that I would rise up to resist the Northern Gateway even to the point of imprisonment. I would trade freedom in defence of my coast. Never was I entirely convinced that I would have the resolve to see it through if and when the time came.

That doubt has been erased by the perfidy of the Liberal government. If a self-identified progressive government intends to do the same thing to my coast I have no hesitation in accepting them as hostile.

The Exxon Valdez disaster involved relatively benign "crude oil." Today, 27 years later, it's still not be cleaned up. A bitumen spill would be infinitely worse. Neither Notley nor Junior can, nor will they, address just how in hell we're supposed to clean that up. There is no way to clean up that sort of catastrophe which, boiled down, means they're quite content to imperil my coast and leave us helpless when it all goes wrong. I didn't want them as my enemy. That's a path they've chosen to follow.