Well this is sadly unfortunate. I was going to sit this one out but the Alberta Premier's folly has forced me to weigh in and declare all bets are off. Justin Trudeau came to Vancouver Island to face the environmental opposition to a second pipeline in BC head on. At that time I thought the environmentalists were being petty and that twinning an existing pipeline was better than cutting a new pipeline through an old growth forest. I felt it represented a fair compromise.
A restaurant owner in Alberta said they were going to boycott BC wine because the BC government has expressed concerns about the volume of toxic oil sand bitumen that travels through BC. That was pretty petty and childish but I chose to ignore it because it was just one restaurant owner. Having worked in that industry I know very well that there is a slim profit margin after food cost and labour costs. That industry benefits from tourism. Do you think I will ever eat at that restaurant now? Not a snowballs chance in hell. Now that the Alberta Premier is foolish enough to repeat that pledge I am now forced to weigh in.
The Vancouver Sun is reporting that "Tuesday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said the agency of her government that is the provincial wholesaler of alcohol will stop buying B.C. wine." AYFKM? What a stupid child. Do you think you are some kind of trade union that will bring us to our knees by going on strike? You are delusional. That is not how things work in the real world.
Trade agreements are built upon mutual respect. No one likes arrogant entitlement. This is our home. We have a right to protect it. What does Alberta have to attract tourism? The oil sands. Come and see our toxic cease pool everyone. It's a great place to visit. Not. We have pristine oceans and forests that we want to protect. Banff and Lake Louise is wonderful. The people there respect the environment because they live in a paradise like we do, as opposed to a toxic dump.
John Horgan has every right to express a concern about the amount of bitumen that passes through BC because it isn't just oil it is toxic oil sand sludge that requires a significant amount of refining. Refining Alberta tar sands bitumen produces petroleum coke as a by product. This created a mountain of toxic waste in Detroit which I previously reported on.
The Guardian reported that "It was the dirty secret of Alberta's tar sands – until the black mountain of petroleum coke on the banks of the Detroit River grew to occupy an entire city block three storeys high." Any responsible human being needs to discuss what we are going to do with that toxic byproduct.
When the Premier of Alberta stomps her feet like a spoilt child demanding entitlement I say negotiations are over. I was on your side but you just lost my support. All bets are off. You lost the Northern Gateway project and now you just lost this one too. Now you will have to build your tar sands pipeline out east. We don't want it any more. Go F*ck yourself. No really. Take your petroleum coke and cram it up your a*s. This deal is dead in the water.
Chicago had the same problem Detroit did. Huge mountains of petroleum coke left over from refining dirty Alberta tar sands bitumen. They succeeded in getting rid of the petcoke mountains by shipping it to India. Only India doesn't want it any more either because it is even more toxic than coal. Now, Alberta wants to cram it on us claiming we do not have a right to express concerns. Yes we do. Just like everyone else has.
Quebec activists buy up B.C. wine in solidarity with the West Coast. Quebec has twice the population that Alberta does. It is a much larger market for BC wine. Je me souviens.
CTV is reporting that "An organic chardonnay icewine bottled in Kelowna, B.C. came in first in an international competition hosted in France. Summerhill Pyramid Winery's 2014 vintage beat out more than 700 entries for its spot at the top of the list, and was the only Canadian product in the competition's top 10. The majority of the other bottles in the Chardonnay du Monde's top 10 were from France, though second place went to a bottle from Spain, third was South African and fourth was Austrian." France is the centre of the world when it comes to wine. However, BC puts out some affordable credible wines. The Wines of British Columbia.
Remember this isn't Alberta that started this fight the federal government approved the pipeline, we have the Keystone XL to send it to Texas to be refined and shipped overseas the NEB has just passed down the decision that said it is a go and can go ahead, but I don't see BC Wine ever being back in Calgary
ReplyDeleteActually it is. The federal government made what was in my opinion a fair compromise saying no to the northern gateway but yes to twinning the existing pipeline.
DeleteThe problem arose when the premier of Alberta starts making demands of entitlement when BC expressed some valid concerns. We don't want a mountain of petroleum coke that Detroit and Chicago had.
That concern is even more relevant now because India doesn't want it anymore either. That means we need to discuss what we are going to do with it.
If a pipeline already exists to refine the dirty Alberta tar sands oil in Texas, then there is no need to build one in BC. Shipping unrefined tar sands oil is inefficient. Not refining it in Vancouver is preferable.
If they refine it in Alberta then they can use the existing pipeline to Vancouver. IMO the deal is dead in the water. They had my support but their childish demands of entitlement lost it.