How does a major resource development project get cancelled virtually the day before it’s possible approval?
As reported yesterday in iPolitics “Some critics are blaming Teck Resource’s decision to withdraw its application for a $70-billion oil sands project on Canada’s muddled regulatory process and climate policies, while others are questioning whether the proposed Frontier mine was even feasible under current economic and political conditions.”
And for someone who was previously railing against the federal government in demanding a “new deal” for Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney certainly didn’t come across as someone who is passionately fighting for the economic well-being of his province. His wet noodle response was:
“Weeks of federal indecision on the regulatory approval process and inaction in the face of illegal blockades have created more uncertainty for investors looking at Canada,” Kenney said. “Teck’s predicament shows that even when a company spends more than $1 billion over a decade to satisfy every regulatory requirement, a regulatory process that values politics over evidence and the erosion of the rule of law will be fatal to investor confidence.”
And without providing any background information on this organization, including the fact that it has a huge bias, the article goes on to quote:
“Julia Levin, climate and energy program manager for Environmental Defence, said said Teck’s decision acknowledged that moving forward with the project was impossible because Canada lacks a clear framework to align oil and gas development decisions with climate action.
“But there is a clear path to provide industry with clarity for future energy projects: the federal government must put in place a climate test that ensures that projects can only be approved if they are aligned with Canada’s climate goals, and are economically viable in a world that limits global warming to well below two degrees Celsius,” she added.”
This very bald and unsubstantiated statement doesn’t even begin to hint at the fact that Environmental Defence has been lobbying against this project from the very beginning, as shown on its website in an article entitled “Stop the Largest Tar Sands Project in History”:
https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/54448/action/1
Despite the fact that Teck had already negotiated agreements with the local indigenous groups in the area of the project, Environmental Defence concludes with
Tell the federal government to choose the climate, environment, and Indigenous rights over another hugely destructive tar sands project.
“Your letter will be sent to:
-Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
-Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
-Your local MP”
This further article on their Blog site further confirms their bias amid the usual rhetoric levied at oil sands projects in the name of climate alarmism etc.
It’s not surprising to see that Environmental Defence also wades in on the Coastal Gas Link issue, supporting the renegade Wet’suwet’en “Hereditary Chiefs” who are attempting to stymy the will of the majority of indigenous people who have already signed agreements with CGL.
https://environmentaldefence.ca/2020/02/14/statement-support-wetsuweten-nation/
Environmental Defence’s financial statements indicate that it’s major source of funding is “Foundations”.
In 2013 Tides Foundation gave them $212,500. One can only assume they’ve upped the ante since then.
For an arms-length evaluation of Environmental Defence:
https://charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/277-environmental-defence-canada
Readers will be interested to note “In October 2017, due to Environmental Defence Canada’s advocacy work in its Climate and Clean Economy program, TransCanada announced it was not moving forward its Energy East pipeline proposal.”
It has an operating staff of 26 with an average income over $60,000.
There are also some interesting revelations that have come to light about Teck itself and its connection to the UN Global Compact. Its website is just full of pandering to “sustainable development”. In the words of its CEO Donald R. Lindsay “Upon reaching this five-year mark of our strategy, we undertook a review to establish our next set of short-term sustainability goals that will take us further on the road to our long-term 2030 goals.”
The “five-year mark” refers to its relationship with the UN Global Compact that dates back to 2015.
And for the icing on the cake, one of Teck’s Corporate Directors also has major ties to the UN and the government of China.
It should be abundantly clear that what is being reported in the mainstream media and even in the self-styled “alternative media” that nobody is willing to really go down the rabbit hole and uncover the political interests at play.
It’s quite clear that Teck is getting its orders from the United Nations. Jason Kenney is a Globalist Bilderberger who speaks out of both sides of his mouth and the Koch/Atlas controlled “conservative alternative media” won’t let the cat out of the bag either: they’re too busy blaming Trudeau for everything. It’s a great front for never revealing the whole truth.
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