We live in interesting times. I wish more of it was good rather than interesting.
The big news over the weekend was the long overdue meeting between Prime Minister Trudeau and the Alberta and B.C. premiers to discuss the Kinder Morgan Trans-Mountain pipeline.
Mr. Trudeau insists the economy and environment go hand in hand and the pipeline is in Canada’s “best interests.” B.C. can’t be blamed for wondering when we ceased to be part of Canada. Alberta says it needs the economic benefits from the pipeline to survive. B.C. fears both economic and environmental disasters if something goes wrong, like a tanker spill.
Mr. Trudeau is a charismatic young man, but not much of a leader. I guess you can’t have everything. He could have avoided the fuss in the first place by ensuring adequate environmental studies were done on all aspects of the project, not just the pipeline. And, instead of giving money to the huge Texas corporation so it doesn’t have to risk its own, the feds could pay for a comprehensive study on the shipping part of the pipeline process, and develop a plan to clean up — and pay for — any possible spills. Also, why is no one talking about building refineries?
•••
A number of cities are holding public information meetings to discuss what changes legal marijuana might bring to their communities. Haven’t heard of anything like that planned here yet.
•••
Heard this song before? U.S. President Trump & Co. launched an air attack to destroy Syria’s suspected cache of chemical weapons. In 2003, then president George Bush attacked Iraq to destroy that country’s weapons of mass destruction. No WMDs were ever found but the resulting war saw 500,000 deaths and cost $2 trillion at last count.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.
