That approach has led it to ignore medical advice on Insite, Vancouver’s supervised injection centre; to adopt a lock-‘em-up-and-throw-away-the-key model for sentencing, contrary to the advice of most criminologists; to muzzle scientists who work for the government and to shut down long-running projects, such as ozone monitoring, that produce the data governments in the future will need if they want to make scientifically sound decisions.
And to be precise, he didn’t say that no politics would be involved in the decision his government will make on Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline. What he said was the decision on whether to allow Enbridge to ship bitumen from the oilsands to a tanker terminal in Kitimat would not be made “simply on political criteria.”
The notion that a government that has been so profoundly anti-science is now pledging to respect an independent scientific evaluation process is in itself worthy of skepticism. More to the point, however, is that the question of whether this is a real conversion may have become academic.
Despite Harper’s protestations, there is little doubt that the decision on whether heavy crude from the oilsands is ever loaded on a tanker in Kitimat will ultimately be “simply political.” The only real question is who gets to make that decision.
The irony is that while the fear has been that Harper would run roughshod over the science, the reverse is at play. The politics that have now emerged around the pipeline may have made it impossible for him to do so.
Opposition to the pipeline is running so deep in B.C., no amount of scientific evidence that it is the safest or best available alternative for catering to an energy-hungry world may be enough to turn it around.
Harper’s comments were made in the context of whether his government would make use of the power it has given itself to overrule the National Energy Board if it deems a project to be in the national interest. The National Energy Board is part of the joint review panel now holding hearings on the Northern Gateway Pipeline. Last week, Environment Minister Peter Kent and NEB chairman Gaetan Caron issued a deadline of the end of next year for the joint review panel to finish its work.
Harper clearly believes it is in Canada’s interests to develop the oilsands and develop a way to ship what comes out of the ground to markets in Asia. The western link is important not only as a marketing opportunity in itself but as a way of ensuring that Canada is not captive to the American market.
So in theory, if the joint review panel turns down the Enbridge application, cabinet could give it the go-ahead. But as Enbridge has clearly started to realize, getting the necessary approvals from the federal government, regardless of the route, won’t be enough to get the pipeline and tanker terminal up and operating. Enbridge’s full-page newspaper ads this week were the latest attempt by the company to try to directly influence public opinion, which has increasing become as important as a green light from the regulators.
Premier Christy Clark’s recently announced conditions for the province’s cooperation have become another significant hurdle, one that can only be described as political.
As political leaders, both Harper and Clark are at a point on the pipeline issue beyond which their potential followers aren’t willing to be led.
Perhaps more significantly, first nations’ opposition appears to be deeply entrenched. They are threatening a legal battle royal if the project is approved. At some point, Enbridge’s investors may simply decide it’s not worth it.
So even if Harper and Clark say it’s a go, all they may do is reinforce the lesson King Canute delivered down at the beach when he ordered the tide not to come in to demonstrate the limits to his power.
In B.C., the political tide has turned against Enbridge. Politicians who don’t want to drown are starting to take notice.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: CRAIG MCINNES
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