Canada's Environment Minister Prepared To Defend "Ethical" Oil From Tarsands At Durban Climate Meet

[hatrack]

EDIT

In January, on his second day as environment minister, Kent referred to Alberta’s oilsands product as “ethical oil” during an interview with a newspaper reporter. Reports immediately linked Kent’s comments to the title of conservative activist Ezra Levant’s recent book, Ethical Oil: The Case for Canada’s Oil Sands.

The book essentially compares Canada’s human rights record to those of other oil-producing countries, and argues Canada’s “ethical oil” is preferable to “conflict oil” produced in countries with poor human rights records, such as Sudan, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia or Iran. The argument removes environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions from the equation, though Levant notes Alberta’s data on environmental issues is more transparent than information shared by other countries.

Kent says he hadn’t actually read the book at the time. “That came from somewhere in my unconsciousness ... After that event in January, Ezra sent me an autographed copy of the book, and it’s on my bedside table. But I’ve got to admit that more often than not after a hard day of work on (Parliament) Hill, I go to sleep without the assistance of Ezra’s poetic prose.”

Nonetheless, in the months since Kent’s appointment and the book’s September 2010 publication, critics and others have drawn further links between Levant’s advocacy website, ethicaloil.org, and the federal government. For example, the first spokesman for ethicaloil.org was Alykhan Velshi, who worked for Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and former environment minister John Baird. Levant himself, a television and newspaper commentator, was part of the original Reform party movement and in the 1990s organized nomination campaigns for federal Conservative Party members.

EDIT

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Federal%20environment%20minister%20will%20defend%20oilsands%20ethical%20energy%20source%20climate%20change%20summit/5773313/story.html

[canuckledragger]

1. is it ethical...

to poison the lakes, rivers & air where said oil is being extracted?

Alberta Tar Sands: The World’s Most Destructive Project

Oilsands pollution exceeds official estimates: study

[kristopher]

2. Well sure it is!

Didn't you know? If you rack up a life of making good ethical decisions, it means you get points towards a free pass for the heinous act of your choice. I've been living right for several years so that I can someday go on a month long ten state crime spree without having to feel guilty.

[Wild Thing]

3. ethical oil shill on Huffpost Canada

There is a never-ending series of blog posts from ethical oil shill Kathryn Marshall on Huffington Post Canada. Luckily, some of these are countered by other bloggers on that site, and by people who post comments under the oil spew.

The blogs on Huffpost Canada seem to be dominated by right-wing shills on important issues. I was wondering about that given Huffpost's leanings before its sale to AOL...then I found out that the managing editor for the blogs, Danielle Crittenden, is married to David Frum, who is the editor of Frumforum.com. Frumforum.com is "dedicated to the modernization and renewal of the Republican party and the conservative movement." Danielle Crittenden is also the stepdaughter of another right wing hack and co-founder of the conservative tabloid Toronto Sun, Peter Worthington. Frum and Worthington are prominent, regular bloggers on Huffpost Canada. Another regular blogger on Huffpost Canada is Daniel Alexandre Portoraro, who is also a regular blogger on Frumforum. Portoraro posts spews against Occupy Wall Street that are very poorly disguised as constructive criticism. By the way, David Frum’s sister, Linda Frum, is a Canadian senator. She was a conservative journalist before being elevated to the Senate by Frum family friends in the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.

Anybody feel slimed yet? How about another big "fuque vous Arianna Huffington". That would be the French spelling.