Carbon levels exceeded 400PPM recently and no matter how much Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver tries to deny climate change, the world is watching and the world is not impressed. Award-winning NASA climatologist James Hansen came under fire by Oliver, being dismissed as an alarmist. Hansen responded, exposing the “Neanderthal” Conservative government that climate scientists have offered to educate. The world responded and the European Union designated the Alberta tar sands as “dirty” and Al Gore started his crusade.
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are exchanging fire over speeches Mulcair recently made to the business community in Washington and New York that outlines a critical view of the current direction of the current government. Harper claims Mulcair is “trash talking” Canada while Mulcair points to Harper’s past. Meanwhile, how true is Mulcair’s pitch about the banking system?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has approved the CNOOC-Nexen takeover deal and Canada is now trapped in a 31 year deal where China will almost always get the final say. The Chinese government does not believe in our free and capitalist society, remaining totalitarian with a communist system that has one of the worst standards for human rights in the world. This was once a concern for Harper whom slammed the door on China but now, out of virtually nowhere, not only is China an important trade partner, it is trusted enough to own, for 31 years, one of Canada’s most strategic resources that is in very high demand and low supply around the world. In other words, Canada got royally ripped off with its flat rate $15 billion in one-time revenue.
The Conservatives are usually the ones prided with policies pertaining to national security and protecting countries from foreign threats. Not only did the Conservatives fail to live up to their mantra, they endangered our allies.
You may have seen the series of ads on TV recently that feature a soothing folk music and clips of diverse gatherings, beautiful landscapes and a sense of opportunity and hope. These ads are part of the American bid to adopt what was once the Canadian dream – a dream that has been under dismantling since Harper took office in 2006.
There is a detail about Prime Minister Stephen Harper that is very mum in Canada. It is a detail that may and will explain every decision he has made to date and every decision he will make in the future.
While the Conservatives and NDP divide the East and West over the effects of the tar sands in terms of the economy and effectively play political games, and while Harper gets funded by oil lobbyists to attack Environmentalists as radical terrorists, an oil spill in Alberta is proving the dangers of the project.
Environment Minister Peter Kent defended his government’s disdain and censorship of scientific facts claiming it was an “established practice.” This comes as the government plans to axe Environment Canada and cripple environmental assessments in their effort to quickly push forward the keystone pipeline project.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty introduced yesterday the first budget since the Conservatives won their coveted majority. The budget aims to cut $5.2 billion over 3 years by cutting an average of 7% per program and will phase out over 19,000 civil service jobs. It is worth noting that in the first 2 years of their first mandate back in 2006, the Conservatives increased program spending by over 40% and this budget is a far cry from restoring Canada to a prudent economic state.