DAY SEVEN … the week of September 8th to 14th

We’ve come to the end of another week and many voices were heard … commentaries from myself, along with op / ed pieces from Stewart Muir, John O’Fee … The Armchair Mayor, Mel Rothenburger … Cathy McLeod … The North matters … and from Adam Olsen.

Resource development has been a topic … suicides … the election … and much more.  So here they are once again, just in case you missed any, or would like to refresh yourself once again on any of these topics.

Let’s begin and get things underway with #10 …

When I joined Amnesty International, it was because you fought for prisoners of conscience in dictatorial regimes. Today, you are fighting on the side of foreign billionaires ~~ Jason Kenney (September 13^th)

… I am disappointed to see that you continue to squander the moral authority accrued in those brave campaigns on smearing the most responsible and rights respecting major oil-producer in the world.  There was a reason I singled Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela for comparison. They – along with Iran – would be major beneficiaries of a moratorium on Canadian oil production …

#9 … STEWART MUIR -- Gasoline inquiry challenges Lotusland’s cultural aversion to fossil-fuel truth (September 12th)

… with the underlying assumption that self-interested parties can never be trusted to make true statements, a natural tendency is to seek out an “independent” perspective that reliably contradicts anything that may emanate from crass commerce, resulting in the appearance of balance. This is how the evidence-free propagandists gain a foothold …

#8 … ROTHENBURGER - It’s a term from the days when suicide was considered a crime. I don’t buy it. Suicide isn’t legally a crime anymore but it is murder committed on yourself (September 14^th)

… this grief is made worse if we don’t talk about it, or don’t have opportunities to talk about it. But it’s not good enough to blame everybody else for this. Maybe suicide doesn’t get as much attention as other stigmatized events and conditions because it’s not a disease, it’s a consequence…. but it’s up to us to change attitudes …

#7 … The evidence showed there were many ways in which Justin Trudeau, either directly or through the actions of those under his direction, sought to influence the Attorney General (September 12^th)

… I have no doubt that the result of Mr. Trudeau's influence would have furthered SNC-Lavalin's interests. The actions that sought to further these interests were improper since the actions were contrary to the constitutional principles of prosecutorial independence and the rule of law …

#6 … JOHN O’FEE -- The Real Art of the International Deal (September 11^th)

… any political observer can see that the Americans have (mistakenly) elected a petulant narcissist to their most powerful office.  However, that is also Canada’s reality and the relationship has to be navigated carefully …

#5 … McLEOD – ‘This is a government that promised to be transparent and accountable … they came in 2015 talking about sunshine and I would suggest it’s been anything but’ (September 11^th)

… we have the NDP and Green of course who are dead set against it, and the Liberals think they can go with one and done … or perhaps it’s more like maybe None and Done”, said McLeod. “They overpaid for a pipeline which is now a government asset …

#4 … On this day, when so many people tragically died, Justin Trudeau is asking us to remember them ... all the while blotting that out by changing the focus to his re-election bid (September 11^th)

… there’s nothing selfless about that Mr. Trudeau, and to me, just ONE reason why you do not deserve to be re-elected ... however that will be for the people of Canada to decide over the next six weeks …

#3 … It's time the silent majority had a platform to be heard without fear of discrimination -- Canadian resources matter, jobs matter, people matter and, the North Matters (September 10^th)

… public dialogue and beliefs surrounding natural resource development in Canada is broken. All around us are self-interested parties. We witness large foreign funded influences pressure governments into policy positions that suit the activist’s goals, and we see resource industries react. At the end of the day it is the working people in Canada that pay the price …

#2 … THE MISSING Friday September 6th Vancouver Sun editorial – it’s been deleted but it still can be found (September 8^th)

… hugely controversial, the Editorial / Opinion commentary in the Friday Vancouver Sun has been scrubbed from all online media locations where they had it located.  It still can be found however, although it does take a bit of work …

And finally, we have the #1 most read commentary of the week …

ADAM OLSEN -- Skeetchestn Indian Band Chief Ron Ignace considers the spraying of herbicide ‘an act of cultural genocide, because you are killing our foods and medicines’ (September 9^th)

… at the same time were pounding the table claiming they were the defenders of the forests and forestry jobs -- nothing could be further from the truth. The people on the ground, who depend on the livelihood lament the loss, now they are put through consultation exercises and community engagements to develop management plans …

If you have a thought on any of these, or the other commentaries you see on the blog-site, please be sure to let us know in the Comment Section which is located below each and every post.

And remember, you don’t have to wait for the occasional email about posts on the blog --- all you have to do is hit the Subscribe Button at the top on the main page of the blog, and enter your email address.  You’ll see it on the right-hand side right next to the Search button.

Enjoy the rest of your day … and we’ll be back with more for you on Monday.