Given the person, the place and policy, this is an extraordinary statement :
“It’s a very major matter that threatens Canadian unity,” said Lougheed, who seldom speaks out on public policy matters.
While Ottawa, Alberta and the oil industry have historically clashed, Lougheed predicted that the bubbling battle “will be 10 times greater than in the past” because the public is more engaged than ever before.
“I’ve been worried about this confrontation growing and growing,” said Lougheed. “It’s just been boiling with me over the last few weeks.”
Peter Lougheed is speaking of climate change, and the Alberta tar sands. I went to the Calgary paper to see how his remarks were treated. From the Calgary Herald:
Alberta ground zero for green battle
On one side is the Canadian public, deeply worried about climate change, putting pressure on the federal government for strong environmental protection legislation that will lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
On the other side is the province of Alberta, which has constitutional power over its non-renewable resources, including the oilsands around Fort McMurray, which have been dubbed “Alberta’s Runaway Train” because they are the fastest-growing source of greenhouse emissions in the country.
Look, it’s a moral issue. We can continue to make ourselves rich and secure by mining the tar sands – so long as we are prepared to ignore climate change, discount our environment, both local and global, and, to put it most bluntly, write off the planet for our short-term advantage.
Lougheed looked into the mirror:
Now 79, the elder statesman who led the province from 1971 to 1985 remains an Alberta icon. He already sounded an alarm last summer over the oilsands, calling for a slowdown as the industry seeks sustainable solutions to cap pollution and the strain on the water supply.
Lougheed’s concern was sparked by a helicopter ride over the oilsands in June 2006.
“When you actually see the magnitude of it by helicopter, it just gets you,” he told reporters. “I was appalled by what was happening there.”
In three weeks, $38 billion was invested in the tar sands by just three firms.
