I am not a political person but I’ve always had an interest in politics and history. I read the paper, I listen to the radio – I vote – I can hold a semi-intelligent conversation on the issues of the day. And while I can feel passionate about issues there’s not much that could make me want to write about them or god forbid – go out and protest. I am so not French:)
A few months ago I was cooking and listening to Carol Off (CBC As it happens) interview with Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver. This is what I heard. A full transcript of the interview is here:
Carol Off : Mr Oliver, who are these radical groups you mention in your letter?
Oliver : Well I’m not going to name names but there are, as people know, a number of groups who are opposed to the development of hydro carbons – they even oppose hydro-electricity development. I don’t know where they think we’re going to get the energy to maintain our current level of civilization but that’s where they’re coming from and they’re trying to game the system.
Carol Off : Why can’t you tell us who they are?
Oliver : Well because I don’t think we need to get into that level of specificity. The point is they’re there, some of them are being financed by, er, by groups, and we think that these decisions which are so important for the Canadian economy, for Canadian jobs, should be made by Canadians in Canada.
Carol goes on to ask what the difference is between the multi-billion dollar foreign oil company investments in Alberta and the so-callled foreign capital fuelled interests of Canadian environmental groups? (I left radical out on purpose)
I thought it was one of the most interesting interviews I had heard in a long time because it’s the first time I had heard government refer to environmental groups as ‘radical’. In the end the Minister looked foolish but not so foolish for the government to alter its course. Because by keeping the message deceptively simple – ‘environmentalists are radicals’ and they are funded by foreign money and therefore foreigners are driving our national agenda…they have been able to put environmentalists on the defensive by making simple but wrong connections. Smart. We happened to watch Good Night, and Good Luck last night about the honourable Joe McCarthy who used a similar tactic to ruin people’s lives.
Anyways, that interview gave me the chills. It actually scared me. Because I realize the world is not necessarily filled with people who have the best intentions. That I live in a country where I can speak my mind (still). That I don’t want scientific research to be muzzled. I don’t want to live in a climate of fear. We have a government that means business. Serious business. So as a public service I will continue to bring relevant articles where I can. Because I can.
Now this is a very interesting article about the Koch Brothers and their investments in Alberta. It’s also about funding for the Fraser Institute.
Harper is right: Foreign radicals are after the oil sands
GERALD CAPLAN
Globe and Mail Update
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have courageously chosen to expose and confront foreign interests that have surreptitiously been infiltrating the Canadian oil industry – and they don’t mean their Chinese Communist partners. They are apparently in possession of revelations about these extremists and criminals that, in the words of Senator Nicole Eaton, “would make your blood boil.”
Launching a much-needed Senate inquiry into “interference of foreign foundations in Canada’s domestic affairs” and their “abuse” of registered charitable status, Ms. Eaton stated: “There is political manipulation. There is influence peddling. There are millions of dollars crossing borders masquerading as charitable donations.” I am glad to contribute to their work.
Welcome to the world of American brothers David and Charles Koch. According to Forbes, in 2011 Koch Industries was the second-largest privately held company in the United States with annual revenue of about $98-billion; the total revenue for the government of Canada for 2011-12 was $248-billion. The brothers each had a net worth of $25-billion, more than the Walton family of Wal-Mart fame. Among the most powerful men in the world whose holdings included major commercial investments in the Alberta oil sands, for years the Kochs have moved heaven and earth to protect the unrestrained pursuit of oil from environmental considerations. Continue reading
Condofire 