[R-G] Harper’s Victory is Bad News for the Environment

[Anthony Fenton]

Harper’s Victory is Bad News for the Environment
Published by Andy Rowell October 15th, 2008 in Canada, Politics, oil  
sands, tar sands
http://priceofoil.org/2008/10/15/harper%E2%80%99s-victory-is-bad-news-for-the-environment/#more-3199

The breaking news from Canada is that the Conservative Prime Minister,  
Stephen Harper has been re-elected with an increased majority,  
although he has fallen some 10 to 12 votes short of an overall  
majority, something he desperately craved.

Despite this, Harper’s political gamble to call a snap election has  
paid off, although he will still have to reply on the support of at  
least one of the three opposition parties to govern.

Not surprisingly the financial crisis dominated the later parts of the  
election. The 49-year-old told a victory celebration in his home town  
of Calgary it was time to “put aside political differences. We stretch  
out a hand to all members of all parties asking them to join together  
to protect our economy and to weather this world financial crisis,” he  
said.

But oil sands and carbon taxes also played a large part in the  
election. Harper’s victory is a bitter blow to the opposition Liberals  
as well as minority parties such as the Greens who had campaigned on  
climate change and what was seen as a “highly unpopular” carbon tax  
proposal. The only Green MP lost his seat.

As a commentator in today’s Globe and Mail noted: “It may be some time  
before we again see a political leader in Canada brave enough to build  
a campaign platform around saving the environment …. The environment  
was not a winning issue on this campaign trail”.

The oil industry will be pleased with the vote. Mineweb noted that  
Harper’s reelection might “prove a positive political development for  
the Canadian mining sector”, including the oil industry.

Another blogger notes that “under Harper, the brakes are unlikely to  
be applied to Harper’s plan to quintuple Tar Sands production over the  
next five years. Even as boycott campaigns gear up against the Tar  
Sands and Canada, Harper will here too buck world trends, doggedly  
adhering to the policies of another age.

Once the worst of the financial crisis is over, it will be back to  
business as usual for Harper and that is exploiting oil sands to the  
full. The problem for his is that, with a fast falling oil price, this  
may not happen..