CBC Calgary Eyeopener: Analysts from left and right say Danielle Smith is splitting her UCP base over senseless support of Australian coal grubbers
The end may be nigh for fish-killing, crop-poisoning, pro-coal policy
Listen to Calgary Eyeopener piece on premier’s catastophic town meeting with ranchers and farmers in Fort Macleod.
Trust Monte Solberg to 'both sides' the issue. And to paint opponents as 'emotional' and Danielle Smith as the sensible voice of reason. Just count our blessings he didn't say the word hysterical I guess. Ted Morton would like a word.
And Shannon Philips- this will remain a local issue if you keep talking about it as southern Alberta's little niche problem to deal with unrelated to other resource extraction. Nenshi's problem is that he is held hostage to the oil industry, as, of necessity was Notley. Hard to argue against one resource, just because it pits two divergent groups of conservatives against each other, while ignoring the devastation caused by another resource. Coal is your hill to die on? It's here and now that we start counting externalities into the price of extraction? Seems to be that horse is long out of the barn.
Calling the crowd “emotional” is a put-down that dodges the real issue. The problem for the panel wasn’t passion — it was that 70% of the attendees had done their homework. They knew the history: the AER’s original rejection, the economic failings of the project, the government's role, and the record of deflection and disinformation.
So when lies, half-truths, blame-shifting, and crocodile concern started flowing from the stage, the crowd called it out — clearly and knowledgeably.
When Mr. Kolijn pointed out, calmly, that the coal resource base in the Crowsnest isn’t even sufficient to cover remediation under a polluter-pays principle, the panel froze and scrambled to take his details — even though that exact point had been made in the original AER denial, upheld by both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
That means the Premier and her ministers either hadn’t been briefed or hadn’t bothered to read the foundational reports.
So, Mr. Solberg — before you sneer about people “emoting,” ask yourself who really came unprepared.