May 31st marks the deadline set by Kinder Morgan for British Columbia to guarantee the Texas oil operator’s Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. The project has been massively controversial in BC, but its political import has made less of an impression on the country east of the Rockies.
Maybe that explains why Justin Trudeau’s Liberals have waded into the debate, saying the federal government will underwrite the pipeline should Kinder Morgan follow through with its implicit threat to quit in the face of implacable opposition.
But, the Liberals aren’t the only ones supporting Kinder.
Gerard Di Trolio is a Toronto-based writer specializing in Canadian labour and political issues. He also serves as an editor to the labour website, RankandFile.ca. His recent article, ‘The NDP’s Oil Problem‘ appears online at JacobinMag.com and puts that party’s would-be environmental ducks in the middle of the tar pond pipeline muck.
Gerard Di Trolio in the first half.
And; Israel’s blatant disregard for Palestinian life, as witnessed over the course of the so far seven weeks-long Great March of Return demonstrations in Gaza, has drawn calls for an accounting finally of that country’s criminal actions. Reaction in Canada has been muted across party lines, much to the frustration of grass roots activists within the New Democratic Party who want to see their new leader take a stand on the Palestine issue.
Yves Engler is a Montréal-based activist, lecturer, and author whose book titles include: ‘The Ugly Canadian — Stephen Harper’s Foreign Policy,’ ‘Lester Pearson’s Peacekeeping — The Truth May Hurt,’ ‘The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy,’ ‘Canada in Africa — 300 Years of Aid and Exploitation,’ and his latest, ‘A Propaganda System: How Canada’s Government, Corporations, Media and Academia Sell War and Exploitation.’
Yves recently wrote an anticipatory article about the NDP convention, ‘Burying Canada’s Anti-Palestinian Consensus‘, and attended to see which way the new NDP’s winds would blow on Palestine. He’s now joined a growing clamour demanding the party’s withdrawal from the Canada-Israel Interparliamentary Group.
Yves Engler in the second half.
And; Victoria-based greentrepreneur and horticulturalist extraordinaire, Christina Nikolic will be here at the bottom of the hour with the Left Coast Events Bulletin, bringing us up to speed with some of the good things going on in and around our town in the coming week. But first, Gerard Di Trolio and the NDP’s oil problem.
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/