Ontario and, Quebec Play key Role in Oil Collapse
- Thread starter Retired_Can_Soldier
- Start date
Your protectionist policies are simply appalling, you're your own worst enemy. It's as if you aren't Canadians, but rather a confederation of Provinces. Hmmm.
It was Ontario and Quebec that supplied most of the investment cash for developement of the Alberta oil but all they got from the rednecks from the heartland of wildrose is "let the east freeze in the dark." This is why there is pushback from Ontario and Quebec for the east pipeline. Alberta can be in boom times now and all they have to do is spread the wealth.
That is true, but to say we sound like a Confederation...... ya.....we are. It was the original idea that the Provinces would hold the majority of the power. Unfortunately, the provinces have allowed the Feds to slowly erode that power away.
When it comes to energy east. Ontario and Quebec can not prevent the pipeline from being built as that is under Federal jurisdiction. Trudeau has the power to push it through. Unfortunately, the little fu ck is doing everything he can to stack the deck against the pipelines, by keeping his mouth wrapped firmly around the dick of the environmentalists and the Montreal mayor.
You know what I like about you Gerryh. Your uncompromising honesty. You tell it like it is.
That also means Harper had the same authority, it is now quite likely Harpster was spending money helping delay the line even going south. (and certainly not to the east) Buying from Saudi is helping the US pay it's debt for their co-operation, it has nothing to do with keeping Canadian feet warm.
So, who decides these things, then? It's not a conspiracy. We are a piddly little player and others who are not make the decisions, carry the financial risks. He who pays the piper gets to call the tune. That's not a conspiracy (unless you are some manner of kook). That is business.
Bullsh1t. It was Texans who put the dough down. Maybe that is the problem. The oil patch has never been fully Canadian.
That's what I was talking about above. Trudeau is a politician, and the environmentalists carry a lot of political weight these days, more than enough to sway the outcome of an election if you piss them off too much. I'm sure he sees the economic benefit of Energy East (and the Trans Mountain expansion), he has said as much already, but as a politician he also sees the necessity of approaching the issue diplomatically.
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Point being I believe that is your Achilles Heel. From the outside you appear to be an indecisive, quarrelsome country teetering on the brink of disunion. Canadian politics are filled with terms like "regional disparity", and all sorts of regional rivalries. The protectionist policies you implement doesn't enable the free flow of commerce across your Provinces, why do you think the vast majority of your exports go to the US? Because it's easier to trade south than it is with each other. Your confederation is working against you, imo.
One of the few things I have never understood in Canadian politics is this division between provinces. The have and have not's, who is giving up money to pay who and the resentment that follows with it. I attribute all this to your decentralization of your government, yes gerryh your Confederation.
Granted, I'm an outsider and maybe I'm wrong, but that's what I observed over many years.
Actually, he "graced" our city earlier this week and was interviewed on the radio. Because I was at work, I was unable to hear the interview. I was out and about yesterday and low and behold the radio station was re-playing his interview so I heard a portion of it. I was really upset at the low-ball questions being asked (apparently by listeners who emailed/texted questions) like whether he had French or Heinz ketchup in his fridge. Are you kidding me??
He was asked about the ban on super tankers on the West Coast and he spoke about the environment and how 20,000 BC'ers rely on the waters for their living etc., etc. - a reasonable answer to be sure. I couldn't disagree with a lot of what he had to say (amazingly enough). The interviewer could have challenged him more on that answer but didn't.
When asked about the East Coast however that also had super tankers in their waters why Canada was getting oil from Venezuela as opposed to using its own oil, the bobbing and weaving was incredible. JT didn't answer the question - just the usual political rhetoric about how we need to investigate and study and blah blah blah. Was ticked me off was that the interviewer didn't challenge him for not answering the question at all.
I am soooo, soooo tired of the media not challenging our politicians - doesn't matter what stripe, but ESPECIALLY Trudeau and the Liberals it makes me so mad. I don't know about you but I want answers not rhetoric. I want to know why and how and when and where. Good grief doesn't anyone else? Even an "I don't know but I'll get back to you" would be better than the BS drivel we get on a regular basis.
When we finally have a media (The Rebel) who would challenge them, they're banned or ignored instead, likely because they don't like to be challenged. So much for free speech and open governments.
sigh....
JMHO
And we don't have a politician in sight that has the "balls" to stand up and tell it like it is. Sad!
That is the nature of the political beast. I would go so far as to suggest that in a case such as you described above, where Prime Minister Trudeau chose to bob and weave rather than answer directly, that it wasn't because he didn't have an answer, but because he didn't think it was the right time to deliver his answer. Of course he'd like to see Energy East go through, if you objectively weigh the pros and cons the only realistic answer is yes, let's get some western oil to eastern markets. But he has to make sure the choice is framed in such a way as to create the least amount of friction among voters, and give his political opponents the least amount of retaliatory ammo. A "ballsy" move in this case would likely be the one that loses him the next election, and it's a sad fact that a politician's job is more centered around keeping his job as opposed to actually doing his job. 
The Rebel has done for journalistic integrity much the same that Smurf-A-Getti did for fine Italian cuisine.