Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Prentice brings tough-love message to home of the oilsands

Canada and Alberta should set more stringent environmental targets for the oilsands and diversify energy trade away from the U.S., former environment minister Jim Prentice told the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

“Let me be categoric: neither industry nor the governments of Canada or Alberta can defend themselves in the absence of credible, science-based data that substantiates the fact that we are protecting the environment,” the senior executive vice-president of CIBC said in remarks provided to iPolitics.

Prentice said the absence of that data has left the oilsands vulnerable to criticism, but that investment in more “robust monitoring systems” could help mitigate the image problem.

Putting them in place, he continued, “will allow the industry to get out in front of its critics by setting tougher targets and benchmarks with respect to impacts on water, air and land.”

To that end, Prentice sang the praise of new Alberta premier Allison Redford, citing her recent address to the Economic Club of Canada as an “important new direction for the Government of Alberta”, and quoting from the script.

“Environmental sustainability is our most important shared outcome. In expanding our energy sectors, we must avoid compromising the health, safety and competitiveness of our agricultural, fishery and forestry industries,” he quoted the premier.

He also supported Redford’s focus on opening up new markets for Canadian energy, made more pressing by the “troubling” Keystone XL decision.

Having only one market for its single most valuable export commodity is too risky, he said. It’s forcing Canada to be a price-taker rather than a price-maker.

“Today, no one seriously advocates that Canada should be dependent on a single continental buyer for its oil. Even the Americans don’t say that anymore. We have been driven — perhaps by American politics, but driven nonetheless — into the international marketplace.”

Far from disastrous, therefore, Prentice said the Keystone decision is an opportunity.

“From our perspective, as a country that prided itself on being dependable, the whole sad Keystone experience has had a transformative effect on Canadian energy policy,” he said.

And though his central message hasn’t been popular in Alberta, he said, he continues to stand by it.

“I’ve said that in a low-carbon world, energy leadership and environmental leadership are two sides of the same coin. Canada will either be an environmental leader or have other jurisdictions dictate our environmental policies,” he said.

“While the delay on Keystone XL is not precisely an unfolding of this prediction, it’s close enough that you can feel the backdraft.”

Origin
Source: iPolitico 

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