In case you haven’t already, check out www.ourdecision.ca
On January 10, the federal government opens public hearings to determine whether to approve a new pipeline to deliver oil from Alberta’s oil sands to the B.C. coast, where it can be shipped to new markets overseas. More than 200 groups have registered as interveners in the hearings and more than 4,500 people will testify before the panel: every single one gets a chance to make a case to the environmental and regulatory review panel, where they can argue for, or against, the Northern Gateway project.
One of those registered interveners is a group called Forest Ethics. They’re the hardcore, San Francisco-based environmentalists that pressured Chiquita bananas to boycott Canadian oil sands oil. The group says it plans to argue that the pipeline, which could ship more than half-a-million barrels of Canadian oil a day to a port in Kitimat, B.C., “is not in the national interest.” Read that again: Activists from San Francisco, California, U.S.A., want to convince our government that a significant energy project is not in our national interest. Since when did Canadians choose to let foreign groups make those kinds of decisions for us?
Yet, in the campaign against Northern Gateway, a horde of foreign and foreign-backed groups are teaming up to try to tell the government we elected that Canada shouldn’t go ahead with this project. They’ll pretend to speak for Canadians. They sometimes even claim to be Canadian. In reality, they use money from powerful foreign interests to sustain their campaigns against our oil sands and projects, like Northern Gateway, that help us develop that important resource. These groups don’t answer to us—they answer to their rich, foreign paymasters.
The Ecojustice Canada Society is one group fighting oil sands development. It has a Canadian name, but has actually relied on more than a quarter-million dollars from the multi-billion-dollar U.S.-based Hewlett family trust to fund its fights. And between 2003 and 2009 the Pembina Environmental Foundation cashed cheques worth more than $2.8 million from backers outside Canada to oppose development of Canadian oil.
It’s true that the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation represents the west coast: the U.S. west coast. Its campaign against oil tankers in B.C. waters is backed by nearly $100,000 in grants from the Wilburforce Foundation in Seattle. It also gets paid by the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers Fund to fight to “prevent the development of a pipeline and tanker port” in British Columbia, according to U.S. tax returns. That Rockefeller money comes from a vast family fortune made in oil production. Prospering from energy resources is apparently just fine if the Rockefellers are doing it, but their fund is using the power that wealth brings to keep Canada’s energy prosperity down.
Between 2009 and 2010, the San Francisco-based Tides Foundation paid $2.2 million to a group called Corporate Ethics, which in 2010 ran an ad campaign urging tourists to boycott Canada (definitely not in our national interest) over our oil development. Tides also paid a quarter of a million dollars in 2010 to Environmental Defense Canada, which calls the oil sands “the dirtiest project on earth” and is fighting to have them shut down.
Letting foreign groups buy influence in our national affairs isn’t something to take lightly. Elections Canada actually prohibits foreign money being used for federal campaign promotions, to stop non-Canadian interests from manipulating our vote. When it comes to important decisions about Canada’s future, we all recognize that Canadians should be the ones making the call.
Federal natural resource minister Joe Oliver has said that, by opening up oil sands exports to sizeable energy-hungry markets beyond the U.S., the Northern Gateway pipeline promises to deliver Canada “hundreds of thousands of new jobs, trillions [of dollars] in economic benefits,” and billions more dollars in taxes and royalties.
There’s a lot riding on this. And whichever way the Northern Gateway decision goes, Canadians will be the ones to realize the consequences. Foreign billionaires don’t care if we create thousands of jobs for Canadians, or if we improve our education and health care systems. And countries that compete with Canada for export markets might well prefer to see our national ambitions frustrated.
But Canadians have worked too hard setting this nation up for success to give outsiders veto power over our plans for our future. The Northern Gateway panel has already agreed to let foreign-funded groups intervene in their hearings; our federal government—elected by us, to represent us—should do whatever necessary to ensure it doesn’t let these foreign-backed groups interfere in our decision.
13 Responses to The Northern Gateway Pipeline is a Canadian Decision
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Frankly I am very disappointed that our government would even entertain hearing any of these foreign activists. It seems that we are determined to be the world’s biggest suckers.
The government needs to weed out these supposedly interveners and tell them where to go!
Canada will make its own decisions not some other biased parties who have no jurisdiction over our natural resources.
This makes me so angry I can hardly make a coherent comment. Suffice to say we are in a world wide recession and Canada needs the oil sands business and the Northern B.C. natural gas business.
We do NOT need to have our main economic engine hijacked by vested U.S. interests masquerading as Canadian greenies. These people should get short shrift at the hearings.
B.C.’s economy is in the doldrums,and we need this pipeline,or we will become a “Have-Not” Province in short order. I expect the usual suspects, the Indian bands to scalp their piece off the top,but we MUST go ahead with these projects,or we’ll founder.
Good work on this Katherine!
Your points regarding foreign organizations meddling in Canadian affairs are well founded. I wonder why our Governments allow this to occur? In addition to barring all these outsiders, I would suggest we have a forensic audit of all Canadian groups to prove they are not funded off-shore as well, and I would include all First Nations Bands and Band leaders in those audits!
Kathryn – keep fighting the good fight. We can’t let these leftists permiate and infest the public domain and shut down our economy with any more of their lies about the Canadian oil and the oil sands, global warming and energy pipelines. We all benefit, from the energy, economic activity, taxes, infrastructure and from the responsible, clean way they are developing our resources and energy. We are a model for the world, let’s hold our head high
First, I believe, these so-called enviromentalists (TIDEs Foundation) work around the law and fund the ‘Vision’ municipal election in Vancouver and now they attack Northern BC. I think it’s time their Canadian ‘charities’ had a full legal investigation. That’s where this should go from here. I for one will not rest nor go quietly until Canadian citizens have control of their destiny and democracy.
Stay the course Kathryn, and keep the faith in our country.
We Stand on Guard.
It’s at times like this that I most appreciate Pierre Trudeau’s leadership, as it relates to the U.S.A. – a little “fuddle-duddle” might be appropriate at this time!
Mention gun control in Canada and the NRA, and the left go on crazy rants about them damn ‘Mericans meddling in Canada.
Funny how that works…
the day these fruits and nuts from california start paying taxes and voting in canada they can have a say. that goes for every foreign group who wants to interfere in canadian business.
unfortunatly the leftist poison has already infested the public domain, media, courts etc. The real problem is how to get these toxic socialist lackys out
One would have to check, but i think some of these Canadianized foreign firms or individual doners may be getting charitable tax donation credits.
The PM noted today that foreigners should butt out. I am sure that Cabinet will be putting pressure on to cut back the reviewers.
Look at this: http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=8A52D8E4-1 They even have taxpayer FUNDING to help NFPs to have their say!!!!! Alert Tony Clement to cut this way back!
Who will be representing Forest Ethics and The Ecojustice Canada Society at the hearings — I want names and pictures. Let’s use this opportunity to record who these people are. And if the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation wants to speak against the Oil Sands, I want to know who is speaking. Same for every other Tides-funded lobby group.
“Letting foreign groups buy influence in our national affairs isn’t something to take lightly.”
I agree. But how should we respond to those who would point to foreign investment in the oil sands? Would you know where I could find information comparing the amount of foreign investment in the oil sands with the amount of foreign anti-oil sands money that’s made it’s way into Canada?