Before It Wrecks the Climate It Wrecks Democracy

You won't hear this from Jason or from Moe and certainly not from Justin but pipelines aren't about strength and prosperity. No, they're about petro-statehood. They're about fiscal and economic instability. They're about the erosion of democracy.

It's an addiction. Ottawa has it. Alberta has it. Saskatchewan has it. Even British Columbia is succumbing to the contagion.

This came to mind when I stumbled across Andrew Nikiforuk's Ted Talk given to an audience of his fellow Albertans in 2013. Nikiforuk lays bare the dark underside of the petro-economy, ordinary people who no longer have voices, and a political caste indentured to the energy industry.