With alarming frequency, the interests of the environment are quickly subjugated to the interests of profit and the economy in modern nations. In Canada, everything is viewed through an economic prism. If the nation is hit by a sudden crisis, the dominant concern is always about how it influences the economy. Environmentalism is seen as an economic opportunity or burden, carbon taxes are spurned because they throttle economic output, and economic elites get scared at the thought of a world without constant GDP increases. It is in this context that Canadian political authorities have remained conveniently uninterested in the troubling environmental data surrounding Canada’s economic golden goose, the Oil Sands. Alarming pollution information has been coming out for years but it is only recently that the Albertan provincial government has taken steps to address it (although in typical fashion, the Premier has decided to appoint a committee). I am sceptical of this plan because if the province cared that much about pollution in the first place, they would have made more of an effort to get companies working in the Oil Sands to follow stricter environmental regulations. Furthermore, Stephen Harper’s government has changed legislation so that new industrial projects no longer have to go through the same process of environmental testing before launching new projects. It is nice to read that the government in Alberta is finally taking the data seriously, but in Canada the mighty dollar is king.
Here is the link for my article:
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100924/edm_report_100924/20100924/?hub=CalgaryHome