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Gary Lunn shills for Big Oil.
By Kim, on December 15th, 2010
*Update from Holly Stick at the bottom of this post.
Today in the local corporate fishwrap, appears the local Harper Mouthpiece, Gary Lunn. He admonishes us to “Let the Professionals Decide on Tanker Routes”.
Decisions on the safety of supertankers transporting oil through B.C.’s northern waterways should be left to professionals instead of politicians muddying the waters, Gary Lunn, Saanich-Gulf Islands Conservative MP, said Tuesday.
“The people to do this correctly are the professionals, not a bunch of people trying to make political hay,” said Lunn, a former natural resources minister. He has pointed out that a moratorium on northern tanker traffic, brought in by the previous Liberal government, is voluntary, not legislated.
Read more:
http://www.timescolonist.com/business/professionals+decide+tanker+routes+Lunn+says/3978473/story.html#ixzz18DHUn3a6
The proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline, which would bring bitumen from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat, where it would be shipped to Asia through northern coastal waters, is under review by a National Energy Board and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel.
That is where decisions should be made, Lunn said. “You have to trust the process,” he said.
That is where Mr. Lunn and reality part ways. We have some very good reasons not to trust the process and we have expressed them to our MP’s. That’s where Ms. Murray’s private members bill comes in. Her constituents directed her to act on their behalf. Mr. Lunn and other proponents of these projects have clearly failed to make a case for these projects to the people who are the real stakeholders. Safety records speak for themselves. No profit is realised for the taxpayers of BC. The job creation is negligible. The residents of affected areas (with global supply implications for wild species of fish, mammals, fowl and entire ecosystems) carry all the risk. They drive a wedge through communities with the carrot of jobs and trickle down economics. They use money as a carrot as well, in forestry dependent communities who are currently being squeezed into compliance or out of existence.
But it’s not working. Entirely. While City Councils and Chambers of
Commerce
clamour for the carrot, there are many people who are willing to draw a line in the (tar)sand. One of my favourite BC publications is the
Terrace Daily Frontpage
. The Sacred Circle. Merv Ritchie writes great
editorial
about this and many subjects. He also hosts very good contributors,
Peter Ewart
especially. First Nations have declared no pipelines or tankers in their territories. Enbridge has been duly served notice. Again from the Terrace Daily, reporting on September 3rd from an information meeting,
here
.
Many in the crowd seemed ready to ask these kinds of questions, but they didn’t get a chance. Directly after Perret finished, a member of the Wet’suwet’en named Toghestiy stood and spoke. He said the Wet’suwet’en opposed the Enbridge pipeline, and that Perret and Brown were trespassing on their territory. He then handed Brown an eagle feather, which he explained was a traditional warning that a trespass had occurred, and said that if they trespassed again they would be dealt with according to traditional Wet’suwet’en law.
Both Perret and Brown quickly packed their bags and fled the building.
The Government will continue to impose their will, under the radar in the backrooms and boardrooms. Our responsibility is to counter every regressive move, loudly and aggressively. We must overcome our regional differences and stand shoulder to shoulder, eagle feather in hand, and serve our notice of trespass.
*Looks like barges could be a problem too: /7d7229901ac20b4cbf21fec6c4eaa2ce/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/12/16/bc-west-coast-spill.html
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Today in the local corporate fishwrap, appears the local Harper Mouthpiece, Gary Lunn. He admonishes us to “Let the Professionals Decide on Tanker Routes”.
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Um. Does this country not belong to its people? Are politicians not the representatives of the people? Are they not supposed to do what is in the best interest of the country and the people? Are the “professionals” going to do anything bigger than make a buck? I am so sick of these politicians and their narrow self interst and their corporate masters. I want there to be a land for my grandchildren to have grandchildren. I want there to be trees and water and animals. I want to know what to DO!
Karen. The most important thing we can do first is educate ourselves and pass everything we learn on to anyone willing to listen. We can write passionate letters to every politician involved in whatever scam we find. Facebook is a great way to share the information you gather and the letters and any replies (they are too rare, but you find out who’s doing their job that way)
Writing with passion is easy, but try to avoid letting the emotion get in the way of logic. Keeping your letters focused on the main point and as succinct as possible increases the likelihood that they will be read or published. Also write in to commissions like the CRTC, BCUC.
Find out if there are clubs or discussion groups in your community. For instance, Victoria has a chapter of Canadians For Political Participation that meets regularly, there’s the Ancient Forest Alliance…
Get involved in the political process, make a list of questions you want the answers to and ask them of all your candidates in any election. That is the best time to ask questions, during election campaigns you can and must learn alot about the candidates.
Very soon we will run out of time to follow these civilized methods though. Be prepared to physically protest, learn your rights, stock up on non-perishable food.
Looks like barges could be a problem too:
/7d7229901ac20b4cbf21fec6c4eaa2ce/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/12/16/bc-west-coast-spill.html
Thank you for that link. Very good point.