By Dave Toderick
(Niagara At Large is pleased to post the following quotes chosen by Niagara, Ontario resident Dave Toderick as samples of the verbal, jackboot bullying any Canadian who dares to dissent is getting these days from a prime minister emboldened by a majority government and his partisan toadies.
These verbal assaults against any Canadian and against any of our American neighbours who question Harper’s narrow, 19thcentury recipe for economic growth are followed on this site by links to two versions of a song and video Toderick and fellow members of a Niagara-based band called ‘Bag of Hats’ put together on the controversial plans to build pipelines to transport crude from Alberta’s tar sands to refineries in Texas and to Canada’s west coast for export to China.)
Working the crude out of Canada's tar sands
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, in a recent open letter about the Northern Gateway Pipeline hearings: “Unfortunately, there are environmental and other radical groups … [whose] goal is to stop any major project no matter what the cost to Canadian families in lost jobs and economic growth.”
“These groups,” continues Oliver’s letter, “threaten to hijack our regulatory system to achieve their radical ideological agenda. They seek to exploit any loophole they can find, stacking public hearings with bodies to ensure that delays kill good projects. They use funding from foreign special interest groups to undermine Canada’s national economic interest.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a speech on the same topic; “We have to have processes in Canada that come to a decision in a reasonable amount of time, and processes that cannot be hijacked. In particular, growing concern has been expressed to me about the use of foreign money to really overload the public consultation phase of regulatory hearings just for the purpose of slowing down the process.”
Ezra Levant speaking on his Sun News Network television program: “Despite its flaws, oil sands oil from Canada is the most ethical oil in the world. It’s sometimes hard to realize that but the problem with oil is – I don’t know what God was thinking when he was handing out the stuff but he gave it to all the world’s bastards – Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Nigeria, Sudan – conflict countries, dictatorships, terrorist-supporting countries, even rogue states … Most of the anti-oil sands extremists are actually working for foreign multi-nationals like Greenpeace or the Saudi embassy.”
Harper, Oliver, Levant … Men like these, who speak so eloquently on behalf of, and fight so tirelessly for the rights of embattled folk the world over – Saudi women, the Venezuelan poor, Chinese oil company exectives, tobacco product manufacturers – should have songs written about them, honoring their contributions to making the world a better place. Follow the links below to my humble tributes to – dare I say it? – these Canadian heroes.
(Only in Canada) Ethical Oil (Keystone XL pipeline version):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UswGkWdr-T0
(Only in Canada) Ethical Oil (Northern Gateway pipeline version):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN9Liw1SgIE
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below. Please remember that NAL does not post anonymous comments or comments by people using pseudonyms. Only comments attached to real names work here.)
Niagara At Large 
I guess you’d have to consider me one of these “radicals” that Harper and Co. refer to. I must also be a “child Pornographer” as Toews has called me because I am against the Harperite’s pending law to allow police to willy nilly follow wherever I go on this internet. I’m surprized they haven’t jumped on me yet about my take on the Jets that they so desparately want. Why is it we want to lock up more of our citizens with more jails while our crime rates drop? Now they should probably refer to me as one of The “criminal loveing, peacenik, pornographic radicals!” “CLPPR” for short.
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We are either with the Fuhrer or against him so,off to the concentration camps.you are an enemy of the people.
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You’ll notice the underlying racism and intolerance of the right wing vitriol. it appeals to, and enables, unthinking belligerence.
You’ll also notice the Manichean/dualistic mind-set: our way or the highway. It also sets the tone for parliamentary clown shows: “You’re either with the spy bill, or you’re with the child pornographers.
We’re not a dictatorship yet, but this is how dictators stoke the flames of hate.
Consider the ironies: isn’t Sinopec a “special interest group”? It’s one of the largest and most corrupt oil companies in the world, and it has a huge presence in the tar sands.
Well done, Dave and the Bag of Hats.
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I was totally unaware that “God” handed out oil. That crazy Rick Santorum is at is again! It’s not Santorum? Ezra Levant? Now there’s a surprise …NOT!
Since when is environmentalism some kind of radical terrorist movement? If this government thinks that it’s definitely very sad and time for a major shift of paradigms.
If anything is being hijacked it is the rights of the Canadian people to speak their minds and actually be listened to and the hijacking is being done by the autocrats in Ottawa who act as if a majority of the citizenry elected them. Of course, that is the fault of our citizens who couldn’t be bothered to be informed and vote.
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This Santorum guy is off the wall when he says that God wants us to exploit the planet. I studied for the ministry 55 years ago, back in England. My Bible says the earth is God’s footstool and we are caretakers here., It also says God will destroy those that destroy the earth,( The earth is the Lords and the fullness therof.) these Republicans know how to twist things to their advantage.people swallow their storyl hook line and sinker. That’s what makes them so dangerous.
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Vic Toews owes Canadians an apology.
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