"I'm a big believer in polluter pays.
There will be an investigation into how this happened
... and how we can stop this from happening in the future."
Write that down somewhere you'll be able to find it because I think we'll need it before long.
The policy comes directly from the rabid mouth of Canada's EnvroMin John Baird. Bairdo (as in "Baird" + "Weirdo") was responding to the ruptured oil pipeline in Burnaby, B.C. earlier this week that resulted in the escape of thousands of litres of crude oil.
I, too, agree with the "polluter pays" principle. It's fair and it's just and, when done right, it can be really effective.
In Canada there hasn't been enough of this sort of thing. Take, for example, Big Oil. They've been running an enormous tab for a long time and maybe the moment has finally arrived for them to be presented with their bill.
Just a few days ago Big Oil was talking about the great benefits to be had from carbon capture and sequestration, something they followed with the suggestion that our government fund the programme. Hey Baird, why don't you take your "polluter pays" principle on the road. First stop - the Tar Sands.
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