Pembina’s mission is shutting down fossil fuel industries. Not in OPEC countries, of course. Just Canadian oil, and the jobs that go with it. Many of which are in Calgary. Would the city of Windsor, Ont., home of Canada’s auto industry, give a third of a million dollars to anti-car lobbyist? Would Hamilton hire an anti-steel lobby? The Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed this shocking payment. But instead of expressing embarrassment, Mayor Naheed Nenshi admitted he knew all about it, and supported it. Nenshi didn’t dispute that Pembina has nine lobbyists registered in Ottawa to attack the oil patch. But he claimed Pembina was also a “scientific think-tank” and it was for this expertise that the city paid them so richly. When asked by Sun Media if the city would ever pay the pro-free market Fraser Institute for advice, Nenshi was dismissive. “As soon as they hire scientists who actually know something,” he sniffed. The Fraser Institute doesn’t accept government money. But they do seem to know a few things — their list of staff includes at least 38 PhDs. They just don’t share Nenshi’s big government, high-tax vision. But what about Pembina? Are they, as Nenshi claims, scientific experts? blogs.canoe.ca/.../column-levant-calgary-mayor-cuddl...
Posted on: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 18:11:29 +0000