Making News
Making News
We need regulators, not cheerleaders
Media Release, February 3, 2012
Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent and his Alberta counterpart Diana McQueen are expected to unveil a new Tar Sands monitoring program Friday afternoon.
“It's time politicians put down their oil industry cheering pompoms and start enforcing the rules and regulations that are already in place,” says John Bennett, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada.
While Sierra Club Canada is not against an improved monitoring program, Mr. Bennett says: “It's imperative the $50-million a year program be totally financed by big oil and completely independent and free of government and industry interference.”... Read more »
Fired environmentalist sees conspiracy
A B.C. environmentalist claims in a sworn affidavit the Harper government labelled him and his organization, ForestEthics, an "enemy of the government of Canada" and an "enemy of the people of Canada" and threatened to pull the charitable status of its funder, the Tides Canada Foundation, because of ForestEthics' opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker project exporting tarsands oil to China.
Tides Canada is a major social-policy and environmental organization tackling poverty, climate change and social justice issues. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is a former board member.
After his affidavit went public, Andrew Frank was fired as senior communications officer for ForestEthics, one of the nearly 40 environmental organizations Tides Canada supports.
Three days after Frank's affidavit and letter went online, his colleague, ForestEthics co-founder Valerie Langer, issued this statement:... Read more »
Link to source site:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/fired-environmentalist-sees-... "Scary time" for Canada
ForestEthics whistleblower Andrew Frank claims that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office is resorting to threats to quell environmental opposition against the Northern Gateway pipeline. There have been conflicting reports on what actually happened at Frank’s organization, but for others in the environmental community his serious allegations come as no surprise.
... Read more »Interests without borders
The Harper government says it doesn’t want foreign influence on opposition to a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast. The PM and his Environment Minister, Joe Oliver, say American radicals are funneling money into Canadian environmental branches to unfairly challenge the project at National Energy Board hearings that began Tuesday.
Canada pursues trade agreements with countries the world over, allowing foreign interests a say in how we do business. Northern Ontarians are familiar with the success of the American lumber lobby in thwarting forest product sales from this region.
Canada allows foreign interests to take over Canadian companies. In the case of Electro-Motive, after loaning millions to facilitate the takeover, Canada sits mute while U.S. owner Caterpillar locks out workers in London, Ont., while apparently preparing to move the operation to a U.S. plant.
... Read more »
Link to source site:
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/editorial/daily_editorial/2012-01-11/interests-w... Human nature key ingredient when it comes to ethics
I watched the CBC news program Power and Politics last week when they had representatives from the Sierra Club and the group Ethical Oil discussing the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project. Host Evan Solomon repeatedly asked Kathryn Marshall, from Ethical Oil, if her group receives funding from Enbridge or any other oil companies with a stake in the pipeline project.
Marshall kept insisting Ethical Oil “is a small grassroots, public advocacy organization. We don’t take any foreign money. We are 100 per cent Canadian.”
She repeated the same statement each time Solomon pressed her to answer with a simple yes or no. When he asked why she wouldn’t answer the question she said she doesn’t respond to questions about conspiracy theories.
... Read more »
Link to source site:
http://www.guelphmercury.com/opinion/columns/article/660098--human-nature-key-in... Oil-sponsor role questioned at museum exhibit
Imperial Oil, a sponsor of the Museum of Science and Technology exhibition "Energy: Power to Choose," was actively involved in the message presented to the public, according to emails obtained by CBC News.
The Ottawa museum unveiled the exhibition last year despite criticism from environmental groups like the Sierra Club who said it was in part funded by the Imperial Oil foundation, which contributed $600,000 over six years.
The museum had defended the decision, saying it received funding from a number of energy industry sources, and said the final decision about what would be presented was with the museum itself.... Read more »
Link to source site:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/01/23/ottawa-science-energy-exhi... Harper and the Big Oil Party of Canada
Where will you be and what will you be doing when the first giant oil tanker (there will be two every three days), carrying over 200,000 gallons of tar sands goop diluted with solvent, spills its load into the pristine waters of the northern B.C. coast?
We often remember catastrophic events by recalling exactly what we were doing and where we were when we first heard the news, I guess because they were so unthinkable they brought us to a halt, emotionally and psychologically— time stopped. I was driving down a street in Waterloo, Ont., when I heard the news of the Montreal Massacre, and I can still vividly recall my stomach turning as disbelief turned to revulsion. I will never forget that moment. And you will never forget the oil spill moment, if we let it happen.... Read more »
Link to source site:
http://www.hilltimes.com/opinion-piece/2012/01/23/harper-and-the-big-oil-party-o... Sierra Club Canada welcomes Obama Administration decision on the Keystone XL pipeline
MEDIA RELEASE, January 18, 2012
"We welcome the decision by the Obama Administration to say no to the Keystone XL pipeline," said John Bennett, Executive Director of Sierra Club Canada. “Obama listened to Americans and shared their concerns about the environmental and social impacts. He made the right decision.”
"The Keystone XL pipeline is a bad idea based on bad economics. Today is a victory for the environment and future generations,” said Mr. Bennett. "We only wish the Canadian government would act as thoughtfully when it comes to other proposed mega-Tar Sands projects like the Northern Gateway Pipeline.”
John Bennett, Executive Director
Sierra Club Canada
jb@sierraclub.ca
613-291-6888
Foes fear losing their charitable status
Environmentalists are fearful that the Conservative government is planning to limit their advocacy role after Prime Minister Stephen Harper complained that groups flush with "foreign money" are undermining a controversial pipeline review.
Mr. Harper and Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver stoked activists' fears in recent days by lashing out at environmental groups that have taken money from U.S. donors to build opposition to the $6.6-billion Northern Gateway pipeline that would carry oil-sands bitumen to the British Columbia coast.... Read more »
Demonization of environmentalists stifles debate
On Jan. 9, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver penned an open letter to Canadians that lumped environmental organizations and advocates with un-named "other radical groups." The letter came three days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper parroted the aggressive oil lobby, suggesting that public hearings reviewing the Enbridge pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to the British Columbia coast at Kitimat and coastal crude oil tankers were being "hijacked" by "foreign interests."
... Read more »
Link to source site:
http://tinyurl.com/demonizing-enviros 
