This weekend, a new federal NDP leader will be chosen to pick up the torch lit by the late Jack Layton - and that leader must put out one major fire. He or she will have to show Albertans that the party understands the importance of the oilsands to the national economy, and stick to the newly made promises on that issue.
Contrary to popular belief, it was not Layton who called for the oilsands to be shut down; that dubious distinction be-longs to NDP MP Michael Byers, who said it when he ran in Vancouver Centre in 2008. At the time, Layton wanted a moratorium on oilsands expansion, not a shutdown. Layton also spread untruths in Quebec about the oilsands during the last general election, falsely claiming that Quebecers "subsidized" the oilsands.
It's a new day for the New Democrats, however, and the leadership candidates are is-suing much milder policy statements. On their websites and in a series of interviews with Global News, their positions are very similar and the buzzword is sustainable development of the oilsands - a go-slower principle for which even former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed has publicly advocated.
Front-runner Thomas Mul-cair told Sun News Network: "I'm not saying shut them down. I'm not saying we shouldn't develop. I'm saying we should do it sustainably. We have to change our attitude and start adding the value to our own products now."
This common thread runs through the other candidates' platforms.
Mulcair's chief opponent, Brian Topp, says, "I take the position of that well-known socialist - Peter Lougheed. We must adjust the pace of our development to ensure the long-term environmental and economic viability of this resource. And we shouldn't be pounding raw bitumen down pipes to other countries so they can sell it back to us."
Niki Ashton calls shutting down the oilsands "a false choice" because "fossil fuels will continue to be part of Canada's energy mix." She wants better land and water stewardship - something with which both federal and provincial governments are already on side.
The other candidates have made similar statements about sustainable development. Except for clinging to their puzzling belief that the oilsands receive federal subsidies - no such subsidies exist - New Democrats sound like they're starting to grasp the fact that without the oilsands driving Canada's economy, there'd be far less money to shore up the social programs so dear to their hearts. Not that the orange wave is about to roll over Alberta any time soon, but if they ever were to form government - and we sincerely hope that never happens - the NDP would be indulging in a lot of spending, and they now seem to get it that the money must come from somewhere.
The NDP has been justifiably demonized in the past for its Kum-Ba-Yah stance on the oilsands that failed to take into account economic realities. Now that there seems to be a kinder, gentler, Alberta-aware party in the wings, it's up to the new leader to ensure that the meaningful positions espoused on the oilsands during the leadership campaign prove to be more than just empty rhetoric.
Original Article
Source: calgary herald
Author: editorial
Contrary to popular belief, it was not Layton who called for the oilsands to be shut down; that dubious distinction be-longs to NDP MP Michael Byers, who said it when he ran in Vancouver Centre in 2008. At the time, Layton wanted a moratorium on oilsands expansion, not a shutdown. Layton also spread untruths in Quebec about the oilsands during the last general election, falsely claiming that Quebecers "subsidized" the oilsands.
It's a new day for the New Democrats, however, and the leadership candidates are is-suing much milder policy statements. On their websites and in a series of interviews with Global News, their positions are very similar and the buzzword is sustainable development of the oilsands - a go-slower principle for which even former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed has publicly advocated.
Front-runner Thomas Mul-cair told Sun News Network: "I'm not saying shut them down. I'm not saying we shouldn't develop. I'm saying we should do it sustainably. We have to change our attitude and start adding the value to our own products now."
This common thread runs through the other candidates' platforms.
Mulcair's chief opponent, Brian Topp, says, "I take the position of that well-known socialist - Peter Lougheed. We must adjust the pace of our development to ensure the long-term environmental and economic viability of this resource. And we shouldn't be pounding raw bitumen down pipes to other countries so they can sell it back to us."
Niki Ashton calls shutting down the oilsands "a false choice" because "fossil fuels will continue to be part of Canada's energy mix." She wants better land and water stewardship - something with which both federal and provincial governments are already on side.
The other candidates have made similar statements about sustainable development. Except for clinging to their puzzling belief that the oilsands receive federal subsidies - no such subsidies exist - New Democrats sound like they're starting to grasp the fact that without the oilsands driving Canada's economy, there'd be far less money to shore up the social programs so dear to their hearts. Not that the orange wave is about to roll over Alberta any time soon, but if they ever were to form government - and we sincerely hope that never happens - the NDP would be indulging in a lot of spending, and they now seem to get it that the money must come from somewhere.
The NDP has been justifiably demonized in the past for its Kum-Ba-Yah stance on the oilsands that failed to take into account economic realities. Now that there seems to be a kinder, gentler, Alberta-aware party in the wings, it's up to the new leader to ensure that the meaningful positions espoused on the oilsands during the leadership campaign prove to be more than just empty rhetoric.
Original Article
Source: calgary herald
Author: editorial
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