Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
This conspiracy theory is a red herring. The real issue is that for a significant proportion of Canadians, environmentalism is a kind of religion. In their eyes, the oil and gas industry is a moral evil. These people are about as nuanced as pro-life campaigners.
The problem is that the media and government have bought into the idealistic fantasy of consensus. They believe (or pretend to believe) that there is some way we can get those people onside in supporting oil and gas development and pipelines, and reform the industry into some sort of morally sanctioned and benign engine of the Canadian economy. They're unwilling to treat the Canadian electorate like adults who can make a decision on economic trade-offs.
Unfortunately, we'll have to let the economic consequences of a hamstrung energy industry sink in before we'll move the dial politically. Even then, I have doubts. So many Canadians are completely ignorant of the economic reality they live in. They think the government spins up hospitals, libraries, and pensions from moonbeams and magical formulas.
|
I think you grossly overestimate the number of people who view environmentalism as "religion". The problem, however, is that there are just enough out there - both true environmentalists and the ones who do it because Tides pays them to - to muddy the waters just enough that people - including Trudeau - start to do idiotic things in a futile bid to form that consensus. The Canadian environmentalism front is a great example of a small, but dedicated group taking full advantage of the ignorance of the majority.
Which means, of course, that I fully agree with your final paragraph. Too many people have no bloody clue what drives this country economically. Though with oil in a slump and our trade deficit hitting new records every month, they are inching ever closer to finding out that "just diversify it" is nothing but an empty platitude. And platitudes don't pay bills or put food on the table.