Canadian Tories Declare War on Environment
B. McPherson Tell me that an oil spill here could ever be cleaned up. The federal Tories have declared war on the Canadian environment. In their rush to cash in on the appetite for oil, uranium and potash from emerging nations, the Tories have slashed the environmental review process turning over most of the responsibilities to the provinces. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver has tried to characterize the moves as a ‘streamlining’ and ‘cutting of red tape’, but for most people concerned about the environment it smacks as a bow to Big Oil and Big Business. In the face of mounting opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project the Conservative government led by Stephen Harper has changed the law to apply retroactively in order to snuff out the chances of people wh...