Harpers plan to hold Obama over a barrel

Believing that you might as well get your only card on table Harper is seeking to protect Alberta's tar sands projects from the new US climate change rules.

Harper is proposing to strike a joint climate-change pact with Obama, an initiative that would seek to protect Alberta's oil sands projects from potentially tough new U.S. climate-change rules by offering a secure North American energy supply.

Because in Canada when we talk climate protection we mean protecting tar sands production as explained by our new minister of the environment, Jim Prentice.

When you're talking about the environment, you're also talking about energy, and when you're talking about energy, you're also talking about the economy.

Obama on the other hand has criticized the reliance on “dirty oil” from the tar sands and has promised tougher climate change action.

But Harper is hoping that Obama will be more concerned about the US eliminating it’s dependence on Middle East and Venezuelan oil which he also campaigned against and will cut a deal to protect the tar sands production.

Somehow I think Obama has bigger things to think about right now, like the US financial crisis and I think he is smart enough to see through Harper’s tar sands protectionism even if it is wrapped with a green environmental ribbon.

This should be fun.




From the Globe here.