I keep on hearing about how the NDP's Nathan Cullen has supposedly sold out the environment for some rainforest preserve that lies in his riding. However, it looks like another Liberal attempt to hinder the NDP's attempts of creating good environmental legislation. Furthermore, this allegation shows how the Liberals are so out of touch with the issues in Northern BC.
The charge that is being passed along Nathan Cullen is making some sort of deal with the Tories so that he can have a $30 million rainforest preserve, the "Spirit Bear Rainforest", in his riding so that he can get re-elected. It's a nice sounding theory, but it really does not work.
The fact is, Cullen's riding, like my own, is populated by those that are for the most part near nature. It is populated by those that extract resources for a living. Combine those two and what do you have? A population that is not particularly wowed by a nature preserve. The fact is, the people that are most impressed with nature reserves are those that live in cities like Vancouver and Toronto, places where nature ain't so close.
And that is where the pressure for the Spirit Bear Rainforest came from, Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. This has been an issue in discussion for a long time down, with the BC "Liberals" finally giving some money to fund such a preserve. This money from the Feds coincides with the provincial financing.
If Cullen was to set up a deal with the Conservatives in order to perform pork-barreling in his riding, it would not be for a $30 million rainforest preserve. It would be such things as hundreds of millions into such things like the Prince Rupert Port Expansion Project. It would be Pine Beetle money. It is these type of things that would get the attention of Skeena - Bulkley Valley's citizens. The preserve would actually create the most votes in urban areas, which Cullen's riding is not.
If the Liberals are going to create a pork-barreling narrative, they should at least make it sound realistic. It's so sad that "Fossil" Dion is so willing to attack those that want to protect the environment so that he can delay action so he use the issue in an election.
1 comment:
It seems to be yet another Liberal ploy to distract people from what is actually happening, and has been happening since they signed Kyoto...delay, delay, delay.....
At least the Conservatives, until now, have been up front in saying they don't believe in or support Kyoto...the Liberals, on the other hand, are all talk and promises with no real action on something they are apparently the best party for in this country...
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