A News Commentary from NAL publisher Doug Draper
Tuesday, February 24th, 2015 was not the best of days for Canada’s supreme leader Stephen Harper and his corporate masters in the petro-chemical industry.
Canada’s tar sands agenda gets a presidential snub
It was a day that U.S. President Barack Obama, who seems determined to be remembered as a leader who did what he could to fight climate change and support greener energy alternatives, vetoed an attempt by a Republican-dominated Senate and Congress to approve the construction of a Keystone XL pipeline for caring tar sands crude through America’s heartland from northern Alberta to refineries near the Gulf coast.
In exercising his right to veto (a right this president has so far resorted to far less than a number of his predecessors, including George W. Bush), Obama had this to say: “The presidential power to veto legislation is one I take seriously,” he stated in a message to Congress. “But I also take seriously my responsibility to the American people. And because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest – including our security, safety and environment – it has earned my veto.”
Imagine that – a national leader on this continent who is prepared to place safety and environmental protection on par with economic growth.
All we get from Harper and company when it comes to the only industry it seems to care about in this country is that it is that Canadians have to make a choice between tar sands exploitation and environmental protection. And leaving us with that false choice, Harper goes on to claim that environmental protection is a “job killer.”
Thankfully, Harper’s tar sands party faces a federal election this year. And hopefully, Canadian voters will opt for alternative vision of a nation that invests in a more diverse group of sectors that builds a healther, more prosperous future for this nation in the 21st century.
(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)
Niagara At Large 
Of course if Obama uses the veto, which he VERY rarely does, the Rethuglicans say he is acting like a king. If they do it, that’s OK. Teddy Roosevelt, a Republican, used it frequently & is considered an icon. I wish he had been less conciliatory all along. He attempted to do a few good things but always tried to compromise with those who refused to reciprocate.
As for Harper, he makes me puke. He has scuttled science & the environment for the pipeline & short term profit of the few, audited & changed the tax status of charities whose policies he found contrary to his, changed the volunteer Therese Casgrain Award’s name to the PM’s award (disrespecting a pioneer of female rights), been secretive in his agendas & tyrannical with his elected fellow Parliamentarians, all with a “majority” of @ 40% of the popular vote (not to mention the non voters). He claims no knowledge of the corruption rampant in the “Harper” (not the Conservative) gov’t) such as the Duffy payoff by his chief of staff. Impossible. He controls the reins in every aspect. All sociopaths pass the buck. He uses public funds for attack asds against his opponents. He’s a schoolyard bully, period.
I call him Emperor Harperius but perhaps Caligula ll is more appropriate. He should also be tried for crimes against humanity for his awful renditions of Beatle’s songs!
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Thank God there is an American President who sides with the blue collared
In people and not with the CORPORATE REPUBLICANS whose only agenda is catering to FOR PROFIT CORPORATE INTERESTS….. In the early 1930s one finds America deep in the great “DEPRESSION”, a Depression caused mainly by the elimination of regulation by government after government, regulation that saw too many banks forced into bankruptcy It was at this time that President Delano Roosevelt with the able assistance of John Kenneth Galbraith (Born in Iona Ontario) began the task of putting the pieces back together and his first act was the establishment of the Glass Seagall Legislation, legislation that regulated and assured the stability of the Banking System…During the succeeding 50 Years there were no Bank Closures and America prospered….It was during the reign of President Clinton that the Glas/Seagall Legislation was repealed and the bubble of 2008 sent the country reeling back into DEPRESSION as banks teetered and closed. During the reign of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt he was forced to use the veto card over 600 Times and George Bush used it often also… I have said too much about HARPER already and my ardent prayer is that he lose the next election and retire back to Alberta.
I am totally amazed at Elizabeth Warren Senator from Mass who has made CNBC look totally stupid as three of their so called journalist were totally over their heads in attempting to debate with Elizabeth Warren.
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