Climate Change Hypocrisy

A very interesting document arrived in my email yesterday.

And anyone who's wondering why Gerald Butts is back in the Prime Minister's Office may be interested in reading this too (maybe he just wanted yet another severance payment!)

But first, who is Gwyn Morgan?
Well, his background may put some people off reading the missive that is attributed to him.
But read it I did.

Morgan, the former Chairman of SNC-Lavalin indeed had something to say.
Some people may dispute the validity of his comments because of the recent SNC-Lavalin scandal and the Federal Liberals' attempts to downplay it.

Nevertheless, it is worth a read.

The rest of his bio, according to Wikipedia:  He is a director on the boards of several large corporations in Canada, including EnCana Corporation. He is also on the board of trustees of the think tank, the Fraser Institute, a director for The Manning Centre for Building Democracy and a non-executive director of HSBC. He is the former Chairman of SNC-Lavalin and President and CEO of EnCana Corporation.^[1] Morgan writes a column for the business section of The Globe and Mail.

One more word on his work: He is a vehement opponent to the Kyoto Protocol.

"Here are a few climate-change head scratchers for Canadian voters to ponder

An eclectic list of little-known facts, head-scratching paradoxes and utter hypocrisy

Canadians are facing a bewildering array of information and disinformation on the environment in the leadup to the federal election, writes Gwyn Morgan.

GWYN MORGAN   FINANCIAL POST   30 JULY 2019

With energy and the environment playing an important role in the fall election, Canadians face starkly different policy positions from political parties, together with a bewildering array of information and disinformation. Here is my rather eclectic list of little-known facts, head-scratching paradoxes and utter hypocrisy.

CLIMATE EMERGENCY

On June 17, the House of Commons passed a motion declaring a National Climate Emergency.

Firstly, there is no such thing as a “national” climate emergency. Climate change is global, not national, and Canada’s contribution to global CO2 emissions is a minuscule 1.6 per cent. Here are the answers to some questions that will help you assess whether there’s really a “climate emergency.”

Apocalyptic projections of rapid sea level rises are driving municipal and provincial governments on both our east and west coasts to implement “sea level rise plans” that include sterilizing waterfront from development, building sea barriers and even buying out and destroying homes that are deemed vulnerable. So just how fast are sea levels rising? Here again the NOAA provides the answer. Despite all the calamitous rhetoric, the NOAA states that sea levels “continue to rise at the rate of about one-eighth of an inch (3.2 mm) per year.” At that rate, a house built 10 feet above sea level today would still be 9 feet 7 inches above sea level 40 years from now.

CLIMATE CHANGE HYPOCRISY

South Africa, India, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and China, all signatories to the Paris climate accord, are building a combined 1,800 new coal-fired power plants. Coal plants emit twice as much CO2 as natural gas plants. Meanwhile, international environmental groups campaign against sending Canadian LNG to those countries. And here at home, the Trudeau Liberals have just introduced a tax specifically designed to discourage the building of new cleaner-burning gas-fired power plants as they continue to pursue the fantasy that wind and solar will keep the lights on. Good luck with that. After hundreds of billions of dollars invested, wind and solar contribute just two per cent of global energy supply. And that’s only when the wind is blowing, and the sun is shining.

CLIMATE CHANGE MONOVISION

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) would have us believe that fossil fuel emissions are the sole reason for climate change. But what about urbanization and deforestation? A study by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs states that the urban population rose from 750 million in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018. We don’t need the IPCC’s hugely complex computer models to know that cities are hotter. All we have to do is walk from a paved sun-heated street lined with concrete buildings to a grassy park. Rather than reflecting the sun’s rays back to outer space, all that concrete and pavement absorbs the sun rays, creating a giant heat sink. Likewise, deforestation is turning vast tracts of cool African and South American jungles into heat-absorbing barrens. The U.S. EPA summarizes the combined effect, “Processes such as deforestation and urbanization … contribute to changes in climate.” Trying to deal with any problem without considering all possible causes is both a foolish and dangerous strategy.

FIRST, DO NO HARM

The Liberal government’s proposed “national clean fuel standard” requires increased biofuel content in motor fuels. Government mandated biofuel content requirements in North America and the EU have driven the burning of critically important jungle habitat to make way for palm oil plantations. On the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, over 50,000 Orangutans have died because of palm oil deforestation.

WHO BURNS THE STUFF ANYWAY

Several municipal Councils, including Toronto and Victoria, are looking to sue fossil-fuel producers for causing climate change, but 70 per cent of emissions come from their own constituents. And imagine their outcry if fuel producers failed to deliver!

B.C. GREEN INCOHERENCE

B.C. Premier Horgan, a champion of carbon taxes, called an enquiry to investigate high gasoline prices, but prohibited the enquiry panel from considering the price impact of provincial taxes. He also wants Alberta to build a new refinery to supply his province, but he’s against the pipeline that’s needed to carry it.

SORRY, ONLY FOREIGN TANKERS ALLOWED

The Trudeau government implemented a tanker ban prohibiting movement of Canadian oil on the northern B.C. coast. Meanwhile, hundreds of tankers churn through the delicate and much more enclosed St. Lawrence estuaries carrying oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia, Iraq, Nigeria, Angola and Algeria. And while ship/whale collisions are virtually unheard-of on BC’s northern coast, those foreign oil tankers move through waters where a critically endangered Northern Right Whale was killed in a ship collision just last month.

THE GREAT ANTI-OIL INDUSTRY WARRIOR IS BACK

Gerald Butts, former personal secretary to the prime minister, is back to help the Liberals win re-election. Before joining the Prime Minster’s Office (PMO), Butts was CEO of World Wildlife Canada (WWF), an organization dedicated to “landlocking” the oilsands by stopping new pipelines. In his role as head honcho of the PMO, he was the mastermind behind policies that could cripple our country’s oil industry. Gerald Butts has admitted via his Twitter account to receiving $361,642 from WWF during his first two years at the PMO. He claims it was severance, but how many Canadians have ever received severance for quitting their job?

So there you have it, my list of points to ponder through those long and balmy mid-summer evenings that “we the north” enjoy.

Gwyn Morgan is the retired founding CEO of Encana Corp. "

Thought-provoking, yes indeed.

Canada's No-Penalty Prime Minister...a Misguided Blockhead

Yup...Justin Trudeau is indeed a blockhead, according to a good many folks these days, many of whom have paid Canadian taxes for longer than T2 has been on this earth.

Canadian taxpayers demand accountability, but Justin Trudeau doesn't see it that way.
Our "legalize marijuana" prime minister decided in 2015 after being elected that the First Nations Financial Transparency Act didn't have to be followed.

Even the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation--always in support of financial accountability--is outraged.

Their notification today to supporters is as follows:


"One of the first things the Trudeau government did after being elected in 2015 was to halt enforcement of a key piece of legislation – the First Nations Financial Transparency Act.

The FNFTA requires all 600+ First Nations Bands in Canada to open their books, show Canadians and their own band members how much the chief and council are being paid and publish their audited financial documents.

After it was passed in 2013, all but a few bands complied, and the Harper government used provisions under the law to withhold non-essential funds from bands that flaunted the law.

Yet, in December 2015 the Trudeau government released the money and told the bands there would be no penalty for ignoring the law.

We launched a petition calling for the government to enforce the law. That petition has just under 20,000 signatures. We want to go to Ottawa before the 2019 federal election and deliver a powerful message to our political leaders that this lack of transparency cannot be ignored."



The CTF financial accountability petition is here.

To be fair, "all but a few bands complied" with the FNTA, but the fact that Trudeau states there's no penalty for ignoring the accountability rules is disgusting.

Justin Trudeau is an embarrassing and shameful silver-spoon baby of whom many, many Canadians are ashamed.  His stammering and stuttering on the international stage is almost laughable.  Almost.

Well Done, Kingfisher!

The family headed out Sunday to Kingfisher Interpretive Center in Enderby so that our 5 year old grandson could participate in their Learn to Fish program.

"What a great event," said our daughter and son-in-law.  The hosts are wonderful and the knowledge they impart is really a benefit.  They are exemplary stewards of the fish resource, and promote awareness and understanding of its wise use.

And here's the big surprise...on his first fishing outing, our lil man caught a fish with his Dad!
oops, couldn't get the photo vertical!

Lil man happily displays "my fish"

Apparently, he wasn't so keen on "bopping it on the head", but was encouraged to do it as that fish was on the menu for dinner.

There's no word on how he enjoyed his dinner...*grin*

Congrats to Kingfisher on a fine program for the public.

Recovery, not Safe Injection Sites

Poignant anonymous letter published in the Morning Star today...from a Mother.

The letter almost broke my heart, and evidence the pain the woman feels, and has felt for years and years.

"I have never written a letter to the editor.  I have a story to tell that has been ongoing for a decade.  I was born and raised in this community.  I have never been compelled to tell my private story until this past month.

"I am being told by the government agencies

 to let him go to the streets and figure it out."

I have a son.  He is 30 this September.  He was born and raised in this community.  Completed Grade 12 in a resource room setting.  He is known by many.  We have had great support from the non-profit Venture Training, RCMP and Special Olympics.  He has an IQ of 52 (kindergarten to Grade 2), he has a new addiction (on and off two years) to crystal meth, and he has generational mental health issues.  I am being told by the government agencies to let him go to the streets and figure it out.

"One government agency helps you,

 and the next government agency

 sabotages all the steps forward

 you just made."

You would not believe what the homeless are provided with from the non-profits downtown.  Then there are the government agencies.  Social Services will give you a cheque on the spot, on a Friday afternoon.  Believing whatever story a particular client tells.  This particular client is connected to many other government agencies CLBC, social development and IHA (developmental disability mental health).  Why is there not one database that links all the clients' information?  One government agency helps you, and the next government agency sabotages all the steps forward you just made.

"Social Services will give you a cheque

 on the spot, on a Friday afternoon.

  Believing whatever story a particular client tells."

Why would you need to go home, even if you have a good one?  Would you let your Grade 2 son make that kind of decision by himself?  The government agencies think we should.

No to safe injection, they need recovery.

Please everyone, let your voice be heard at this critical time.  We need to change how we do things.

"Addiction has to be treated first.  Not a safe injection site."

I have a vested, emotional attachment to the subject of homeless vs addition.  Addiction has to be treated first.  Not a safe injection site. Are you kidding me?  This has become ridiculous.

If you want recovery there is nothing in B.C. that CLBC (Community Living) or Interior Health can come up with.  Smoke and mirrors.  Even if you are willing to pay.

"If you want recovery there is nothing in B.C.

 that CLBC or Interior Health can come up with."

CLBC, Interior Health and Social Services want you to throw your family member to the wolves and become another statistic of addiction and homelessness.  You are then off of that particular government agency's work plate and on to another.  You cannot maneuver the government agencies without your family involved.  Not with an IQ of 52.  It has been hard enough for me.  Non-profits are left to pick up the pieces way beyond their government contracts.

 "(they)...want you to throw your family member

to the wolves

 and become another statistic

 of addiction and homelessness."

I do not want to rant.
I have so many valid points and stories to be told, I hope I get the chance to share some of the ludicrous things that have happened.

Condoning the use of mind-altering substances is absolutely the wrong answer.

The Month of May I have had to be my own Detox Centre, psychosis is very scary.  My son is asking for hep.  There is nothing in our province for people with disabilities and addiction.  Most on the streets have both.

I will not give up.

My most grateful thank you to our non-profits, especially Venture Training, employment and home share, Special Olympic volunteers and without a doubt our RCMP.

If you see my son please give him encouragement to get his life back on the track.  Tell him he has a home and he best get there before it is too late.

Say no to safe injection sites.  They should not be injecting at all.  Help give them the chance at recovery in a clinically-staffed facility."

Name withheld by request.  (Morning Star editor's note:  the name has been withheld to protect the privacy of the individual and their family due to the sensitive nature of the content).

What incredible heartbreak this Mother must be going through.
And what a brave and strong and very important letter she wrote.

this picture was grabbed from internet images

Such sadness.
And despair.
And yet so many enablers...many of whom are in government! 

End addiction.  First.
Maybe it's time that Safe Injection Sites ended.
Because they are failing, and have failed in their responsibility.

Thistles by the Thousands!

...and yet there's a Noxious Weeds Bylaw at both the City of Vernon and the Regional District.

Is it a case of Do as I say, not as I do?

Or is the City of Vernon and North Okanagan Regional District expecting area homeowners to go across their streets and spray thousands of Thistles with herbicides?

The first humongous invasion of Thistles, almost in full bloom, is on the steep slope on the South side of Hwy 6 (across from the Health Unit), between 15th Street (the 7/11) and about 500 metres past the Speed 80 KPH sign.

The second obvious invasion, albeit somewhat smaller, is further East on Hwy 6, on the right, just before the trees that abut the Search and Rescue Building beside the Regional District Building...at about the location of the "pond" (unaffectionately known to residents as Mosquito Heaven, or Haven).

Prevailing winds are westerly.
So, very soon, millions of thistle seeds will be airborne...heading into Coldstream and Lavington.

Instead of sitting at their desks writing law after bylaw, how about actually performing the duties you so succinctly state belong to homeowners...
especially since these lands are city/regional district lands.

Let's see the thinly-veiled bylaw threats (click text to enlarge)

from here:  http://www.rdno.ca/bylaws/2381_noxious_weeds_fees_charges1.pdf