I find it both bizarre and ridiculous that our Prime Minister was in Africa promoting oil and gas development, something he steadfastly refuses to assist with in his own country. I think Mr. Trudeau is hoping to change Canada into one big park reserve, and let other nations mess up their environment with oil and gas production. Of course, this eliminates millions of jobs in Canada, but perhaps we can all survive as “flower children” in our big national park.
The bigger question is why the Prime Minister was not home in Canada, fighting foreign interests trying to destroy all our gas and oil production, pipelines, mining, forestry and a host of other industries. In case you didn’t know, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Tides USA are two major U.S. environmental groups that have been funding environmental protests and obstruction in Canada. And when I say funding, I’m serious. Their efforts over the years have funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars into Canada to halt pipeline construction and eliminate the various tar sands projects in Northern Alberta. In fact, it seems kind of ironic that the Rockefellers, who first made all their billions in the U.S. oil and gas industry, are now trying to destroy the same industry in Canada.
I applaud Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s efforts to start fighting back, specifically with the creation of the new Canadian Energy Centre. However, this is not nearly enough. I believe that industry and government need to come together, form a grand coalition and begin fighting back, with Canadians joining the fight. Most protesters are ill-informed individuals who have been told only what their masters want them to hear. I think it’s time regular Canadians start fighting back, in conjunction with industry and governments.
This appeasement toward protesters has to end. At the same time, Canadian industry (especially in Alberta) has a wonderful story to tell about their technology and progress toward environmental solutions, progress that Canadians seldom (if ever) hear about. A friend of mine once told me: “It’s impossible to reason a person out of an opinion they never reasoned themselves into,” and he was 100 per cent correct. The protesters are running slick campaigns focused on heart-wrenching stories about climate disasters and the urgent need to stop oil and gas use right now. Canadians have to be armed with the real facts and then take themselves to the streets, fighting emotional protests with their own emotional protests. This is a nasty war, and for too long industry and government have tried to play a game of “safety in numbers”, hoping that when the lions attack, they will be the last ones eaten. This is a dangerous game, with a very unpleasant ending.
Canadians are smart people, and when supplied with truthful information, they can quickly figure out who’s telling the truth and who’s lying. But industry and governments both need to “open up” and provide the information and money to launch this fight. It won’t be easy, it won’t be quick, but educated Canadians can ultimately save our industries and save our nation. Otherwise, we will lose both. When Canadians realize how serious this battle really is, they will respond.
Brian McLeod is a St. Albert resident.
