The Hook

Praying for a Green Shift

So you found two. Well done! I guess it's better than one.

The less well financed environmentalists

It seems the less well financed environmentalists are tending towards the NDP, while the name-plate ENGOs with the multi-million dollar budgets are going Liberal. Isn't that the pattern generally in society?

Paying for a Green Shift

realistic"an
So you found two. Well done! I guess it's better than one.

Finding them is less expensive than attracting them with government patronage. How much has the Liberal Government promised to people in exchange for their statements during the election?

Teaser and the Firecat

ROBBINS out soon--Green vote -falling-
everywhere--falling most north and east of hope--half of BC Liberal support--in north and east support $10.00 min wage.

More surprises to be revealed.

glen

Sarcasm escapes realisticman!

Berman is no environmentalist! She is self-annointed!

Suzuki has lost all credibility with his clutching at a SYMBOLIC carbon tax put forward by BC's biggest greenwasher Gordon Campbell!

Where is David now? Quiet eh!

Afraid if the Libs win you will have to defend them for 4 more years David?

Yeah, I am sure Morton is a big financial supporter of the NDP. She is only looking out for salmon, not sleazy profits!

Liberal Enviros?

Which environmentalists have actually endorsed the Liberals? I'm pretty sure Suzuki hasn't and I'd be surprised if Berman has. ????

Endorsement for BC-STV

These are hardly ringing endorsements. They're both saying they'd like to vote green but are voting strategically.

What they actually should be endorsing is BC-STV so that they don't have to vote strategically any more.

actually, I heard vaughn palmer,

say on voice of bc that there are 16 major environmetal groups in bc, and 13 of these lean towards the ndp. The trouble is that suzuki is so famous, along with the stooge jacard, and the unending mainstream attempts to greenwash the premier's jet-black environmental record... I'd STILL like an explanation of where suzuki, jacard, and the media were in the premier's first term, when he gutted every environmental law on the books...handing him a drink presumably, heh, heh,...

Suzuki has never supported Campbell

I would have expected a higher level of research from the Tyee.

Neither David Suzuki nor the David Suzuki Foundation supports Gordon Campbell. The Foundation (which is non-partisan) has supported and advocated for a carbon tax (and cap-and-trade) for more than 12 years, before Campbell got into power.

Although the Foundation has supported the B.C. carbon tax in principle, it has argued that it needs to be strengthened.

The Foundation has also been openly critical of many other B.C. Liberal policies and positions - something that a brief scan of the Foundation website makes clear. Please see http://www.davidsuzuki.org/latestnews/dsfnews05060901.asp for more information.

Ian Hanington - thx for dropping by

Can you explain, please, the foot in mouth remarks from the Foundation's executive director then?

Has he torn up his BC Liberal membership and stopped donating to the party? Because until he does, or resigns, the foundation looks incredibly hypocritical, don't you think?

You might also like to see who MR Hoggan has on his twitter friends' feed while you're at it. Surprising the connections one can make just by keeping one’s eyes open – and don’t forget to follow the links all the way to Lara Dauphinee’s twitter friends too – sometimes this is just TOO easy…..

Do he and Gordon meet for drinks at the Opus Hotel often?

G West...

With all respect, there is a difference between an executive director and a board chairman. Jim Hoggan is chair of a board that includes people from across the political spectrum.

The Suzuki Foundation

Have been in the media slamming the NDP and supporting the Liberals. Never the other way around. Pretty clear who's side they're on.

Of course I don't doubt the loss of donations will generate some spin. Post-election of course.

The point is.. where is he when needed?

Sorry Ian Hanington, your protests ring hollow, I fear. I'm no denigrator of Dr. Suzuki, by far (God help us all, when those days arrive..), however, his silence during this election campaign with one single exception, to speak out in favour of Campbell's inane and utterly fatuous "carbon" tax spoke volumes, unfortunately. He should have known, from the strategic standpoint, what a dealbreaker that issue would become during the election, and if he didn't - I'm very surprised someone there at the DSF didn't advise him of this. If he was not prepared to also speak out against any of the utter environmental destruction and regulation decimation the Liberal party has overseen the past eight years - and understandly enough, if he had wished to remain totally non-partisan - then, he should have also kept quiet on any pronouncement of support for the "carbon" tax. With his decision to do the exact opposite, I, too, must submit my disappointment and anger at what he chose to say during this election campaign, and worse, question his motives for doing so. This was a serious misstep on his part, no matter his sincerity.

At the end of the day though - no matter which environmentalist, of whichever stripe, group, issue - large or small, well funded or meagrely funded-- we all know what we MUST do--- vote OUT this corrupt, destructive, and NON-environmental party that has laid waste to this province.

The Liebrels have to go

Well said aurora.

If Gordo and his slease bag cronies aren't gone this election BC will be lost. The Liebrels have to go.

...

"I would have expected a higher level of research from the Tyee."

I would have expected a more balanced criticism of both parties from the DSF this election. As Aurora noted, the only time Suzuki went "public" was trash to the NDP.

Taxpayers once again on the hook.

Yes one can barely flip open the Sun these days without a nice head & shoulders of Tzeporah.

Speaking of which, my local paper is running an ad for a BC Hydro open house in Pemberton on May 21 about the Southern St'at'imc Communities Grid Connection Project which is going to involve a major amount of power line building along the Skookumchuck and two new substations to connect these communities to the BC Hydro grid.

Oh and it will also serve the purpose of hooking up the Cloudworks IPP project involving four creeks (and more staked out) that just happen to be in the same location. So even though we the taxpayers of BC are forbidden by law to develop RoR for the benefit of ourselves, we have to pay for the hookups.

With respect Ian

That's Bullshit.

Hoggan has a very high profile and he likes it that way - I don't care a fig who he supports but his name on the letterhead stinks and you and David should know that. The cash be brings with him has strings - just like the cash he donates every year to Gordon Campbell.

Whatever credibility the foundation and David Suzuki (and I like the guy, our families sat next to each other at a UVic convocation ceremony a couple of years ago) had is being endangered by the fact a blatant and partisan hack is in that position and I think you know that.

There are dedicated and principled people who've served the cause for decades who are turning in their graves at what's happened over this issue - and I think you know who I mean.

If you want change on ANY file in this province there is ONE WAY and only one way to get it... AND IT SURE ISN'T BY VOTING LIBERAL

Oh and by the way

I hope you're watching what's going on up Burnaby Mountain this morning....another of Gordon Campbell's corporate buddies appears to be having some trouble with its oil....

Same strategy as at the federal level

Ian Hanington
Neither David Suzuki nor the David Suzuki Foundation supports Gordon Campbell.

David Suzuki has been following a pro-Liberal strategy at both the federal and provincial levels for at least the last two or three years. The fact that Hoggan is now effectively in charge of the organization is hardly a coincidence.

Federally Suzuki was mad as Hell at Jack Layton and Nathan Cullen, because they decided to work in Parliament for improvements to the Clean Air Act, rather than defeating the Govt as Suzuki wanted. What was worse, they made that decision without clearing it with Suzuki first.

Suzuki apparently still thinks the Liberals, then undergoing a leadership change, would have actually provoked an election, and does so despite all their votes sustaining the Harper administration.

And then there were the tax audits. Suzuki was openly furious that the CRA was auditing his Foundation, and blames this on Harper, and by extension Layton, because he's bought into the Liberal line that Layton is responsible for Harper's rise to power.

In the London North byelection in late 2006 Suzuki's strategy was on full display, with Elizabeth May in the race (who Suzuki hosted at his home during her campaign for the Green leadership), resulting in a Liberal hold on the seat, and a punishing setback for the NDP, whom Suzuki has come to despise and loathe.

Provincially, it didn't take much for the David Anderson camp of political operatives, who work at both levels and are good at using environmentalists, to recruit Suzuki to Gordon Campbell's side as well, given his growing hatred of Layton and an opportunity for access in Victoria, the same powerful attractant that has worked for Jaccard and Berman.

If you have time, Hanington, why not actually read through that press release from Robinson? Take a look at the section on run of the river projects. Where does it say anything about the financial aspects? Where does it mention Bill 30? Where does it say there have been any projects undertaken that have already damaged rivers or wildlife habitat? And read its conclusion on the party platforms. It says all three parties have some good points on run of the river, but none are perfect.

On open-net fish farms, which the DSF says it opposes, there is no mention of any problems being associated with the present party in power, there are just some problems out there in some vague, wishy-washy kind of way. If all this doesn't amount to deliberately, albeit rather obviously pulling punches, can you please explain what does?

Finally, what is your own relationship to the DSF? Are you a donor, volunteer, paid or contract employee, or just a committed but non-aligned environmentalist who genuinely believes the DSF is so important that any and all criticisms of its political maneouevres must be stifled for the greater good?

Gov. officials try to cover up run of river enviro breaches: CBC

Run-of-river power projects breach environment regulations, CBC has found. Something that conservation groups such as the Wilderness Committee have been saying for years.

The Liberals were planning to break that news to the public only after the May 12 election.

"Government officials involved in the strike teams say they can't discuss what they found until after next week's provincial election."

"A forestry official involved wrote, "I am becoming increasingly nervous about the lack of attention to the projects.""

"email also showed inspection officials had little faith in Kiewit, the construction company hired by Cloudworks to build the projects, saying it had a reputation for failing to comply with regulations."

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/05/06/bc-environmental-inspections-private-power-projects.html

Yes Kiewit Sucks

It was my experience working on the Upper Stave part of the Cloudworks project that the more employees were willing to shortcut existing rules and regulations they faster they moved up in the Kiewit hierarchy.

The general site foreman went by the nickname "No Permit" P------- and when, as a member of the safety department thanks to the BC Level III WCB requirement, I tried to enforce BC's seatbelt law I was told by the site superintendent from PEI I was being "a rat" and, even though it was absolutely consistent with Kiewit's own rules and regulations, it was only "a local bylaw" and that didn't need to be followed because "we are taking over the [Upper Stave Forest Service] road."

At one point the grand high poohbah of the project asked one of the few other locals on the job if he would shoot some beavers for him so they could improve the road through their habitat. When he refused, he actually trained the non-English speaking girlfriend of one of the also non-English speaking (also a safety hazard) Quebecois equipment operators to operate his truck while he was busted down to ditch with a shovel.