The Ridiculous Pipe Dream

This whole debate about the twinning of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline from Alberta's oil sands to the west coast has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous!

There is overwhelming evidence to show that the project will have minimum impact on the environment of either province.  A pipeline is much, much safer that shipping the oil by rail!  In my opinion, the economic benefits to Canada will be widespread and significant in a positive way! 

Yet the protesters and the support groups demonstrate against each other.  Folks are blocking access to the pipeline building sites.  The squabble has become a farce on democracy.   I suspect that most protesters don't even understand what they are really protesting and why!

Yet the fight goes on!   I think now the fight is being waged, just because!  The reasons for the initial debate have been lost in the rhetoric over the past few months.  Let's just quit all this silliness and build the pipeline!  And maybe we should build a huge oil refinery in Fort Mac. as well! 

Ridiculous!

I have heard that Dr. David Suzuki told a large gathering of Calgary teachers at their convention last week that "Alberta's oil must stay in the ground!"

What is the matter with this guy? 

What was even more alarming was that very, very few teachers walked out on him and many gave him a standing ovation!

What's the matter with those Albertans?

NDP vs. NDP!

Alberta's NDP Premier Rachel Notley is going head-to-head with British Columbia's new NDP Premier John Horgan over the building of a new pipeline from here to the coast! 

After very extensive research and study, the pipeline has been approved by the federal government and was accepted by the outgoing B.C. premier!

This ridiculous impasse has brought up some very thought provoking questions!

• Can one Canadian province hold another for ransom over access to markets?
• Can a province (in this case B.C,) simply thumb their nose at our federal constitution?
• Can a newly elected provincial government simply cancel agreements made in good faith by its predecessor?
• Can a very small group of radical environmental types derail a plan which has been accepted by both federal and provincial governments?
• Can two provinces in this kind of dispute simply be allowed to slug it out with each other without federal intervention?

If the answers to these questions are "Yes", we're in big trouble!