Canadian MPs, Motivated By Climate Crisis, Arrested At Pipeline Blockade
Douglas High School student Emma Gonzalez
It’s quite possible that the “March for Our Lives” protests of March 24th, 2018 will be remembered as a watershed even in world history, as marches were held in more than 800 cities in the U.S., as well on every continent on the globe except Antarctica.
That said, I hope this doesn’t overshadow what’s happening in the protestation of oil pipelines. I encourage readers to take a minute and check out this short speech at Kinder Morgan’s Burnaby tank farm, given moments before former Liberal candidate Briony Penn, Green Party leader Elizabeth May (shown right) and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart, were arrested following an act of civil disobedience. We’re talking about Canadian politicians from three different parties joining together.
Here’s Elizabeth May: I’m a grandmother. And anyone who’s looking at what’s happening in the climate crisis on this planet who doesn’t recognize that it’s an emergency is sleepwalking toward a precipice. We need to wake up, take responsibility, and act as parents and grandparents, because I will not slip off this mortal coil thinking there’s something else I should have done.
Powerful stuff.
Craig,
Powerful stuff ? Not really, in fact a bit hackneyed and sadly silly.
You are also inaccurate when you claim “Canadian politicians from three different parties joining together” !
Although Briony Penn failed in one bid to unseat a Conservative as a Liberal candidate, she has been a prominent member of Green Party for decades. Briony is not a current Liberal Party member. It’s Liberal Party policies she is demonstrating against.
Perhaps you’re not familiar with the nuances of Canadian politics, but there is nothing remarkable about three candidates from leftist political parties appearing at a demonstration with the same political agenda.
Briony Penn is an extremely charming, highly intelligent, sincere advocate with opinions worth considering on many issues( Anytime Professor Penn wishes to repeat her naked horseback ride at a demonstration, she will certainly guarantee my attendance!:).
Seriously, Professor Penn’s ideas, although not always practical, are still worth consideration. ( I had the privilege of meeting Dr Penn at the University of Edinburgh).
(as in the UK and Australia, the NDP and greens are just splinter groups of the older more extreme left who once found a home in the Liberal Party. ( the term “Liberal” having different political connotations than the USA).
Canada’s population is just over 36,000,000. The importance of the oil and gas industry to the Canadian economy (and American) is immense. Canadian government revues are $ 310 billion, but Canada runs a deficit of nearly $30 billion.
As in the US, the largest Canadian Taxpayer is the Oil/Gas industry contributing directly, or indirectly just over 40% of all revenue, both Provincial and Federal..
About 115 people were arrested at the demonstration from a crowd estimated to be less than 6000. The Oil Gas industry supports 2,000,000 million Canadians directly, and every Canadian indirectly.
As Canada’s very progressive Liberal Party Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau states: “Our duty is to permit infrastructure so Canada’s resources get to market in a more environmentally responsible way, creating jobs and a thriving economy.”
That’s the bit you can’t seem to get your head around, isn’t it ?
No one is “leaving it in the ground” ! That’s just a silly fantasy !
The real question is how to build the safest and most environmental logistics and transport infrastructure.
Protesting against pipelines is counter-productive. Not only is it silly and annoyingly naive but reduces support for other more important environmental campaigns which are hurt by this sort of self-indulgent nonsense.
A grandmother’s angst about the quality of life she’s leaving to her grandkids is “a bit hackneyed and sadly silly?” I’m pretty sure you’re on the wrong side of this one. There ARE people who think that way, but, thank God, very few.
Craig,
Oh good grief! You really are getting desperate aren’t you ?
Elizabeth May OC MP, is hardly a “saintly, poor little old grey haired Grandma” !
At 63. Ms May is the exceeding active (and aggressive) leader of the Canadian Green Party, Member of Parliament, lawyer, environmentalist activist, founding Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada,founder of the fCanadian Environmental Defence Fund, political power broker etc.
Nor is she particularly “saintly” ! While she’s not exploding with profanity laden drunken outbursts or bullying employees and minions, she’s busy correcting her many gaffes and retracting false statements.
All in all, Elizabeth May is a pretty tough, experienced politician.
Like most nations experiencingthe ‘baby boom’, nearly a third of Canada’s population will soon be ‘grandparents’. Hey, I’m a grandfather ! ( Even Donald Trump is a grandfather!)
Being a grandparent bestows no particular knowledge or wisdom. As for me being on the “wrong side” or “part of a tiny minority”, Elizabeth May’s Green Party received only 6.8 percent of the Canadian popular vote.
Only in the bizzaro world of delusional leftists does 6.8% translate to a majority !
The vast majority of people are weary of endless emotive rhetoric with no practical solutions.
Most grandparents are more worried about the economic prospects for themselves, their children and grandchildren. They’ve grown disillusioned with self-indulgent ideologues wasting resources on useless, silly, self indulgent empty political demonstrations.
Who’s the better environmentalist ? Is it the futile anti-pipeline demonstrator, leaving behind a pile of rubbish, vandalism, excreta etc for others to clean up, or those innovators of clean technology working hard to create better, more efficient, safer, and more environment pipeline technology ?
Is it the self-indulgent nihilists or those replacing coal with natural gas supplied by pipeline technology ?
Is it those railroad and trucking big donors to the Democrats whose methods kill and injure scores of innocent citizens each year while producing a maximum of environmental emissions, or those developing high tech, safe pipelines ?
I know which side this environmental ‘grandfather’ is on, and I’m pretty confident I’m in the majority !