I wonder if Mulcair flew over the grass?

No fake grass on the Suncor site I work on. I can confirm, though, that it does indeed grow, and quite well as evidenced by the small ornamental patches planted in front of buildings for us to look at.

We need this stuff in Ontario, as we no longer have lawns due to Doltoid. Essentially our properties have turned into weed patches and grub feeding facilities. However, the thought of a wonderful green lawn like that, made from ' evil oil' makes my heart swell. Now if the manufacturers could impregnate an industrial strength herbicide into their product it'd be a winner.

Typical leftoid "talking point" lie, with the false data wrapped in a nice comforting layer of truth. The point of this one is to add to the picture of nastymeaneviloilcompanies destroying the environment.

Lawn grasses (and the grasses we grow for hay) are hybrids that barely resemble the kinds of grasses normally found in the areas being talked about. Their cultivation is a matter of decoration, aesthetics, rather than anything "ecological".

The lie is "can't grow on the oil." It's got nothing to do with the oil; it has everything to do with the climate, soil, and native vegetation. Look at pictures of those areas. They aren't "desolate", exactly, but the vegetation is pretty sparse. The local grasses grow in tufts and bunches, not in uniform or semi-uniform layers to be mowed down into a nice surface to lie on. The introduced grasses are somewhat delicate. So the companies spend a little money making pretty lawns, as Skytrail notes, but have prominent DON'T WALK ON THE GRASS signs to keep their decorations nice. The native grasses aren't comfortable to lie on for sunbathing &ct., so artificial turf is provided.

Don't spread destructive memes.

I've said it before, if there was no use for the oil sands, greens would demand it be removed, burned and replaced with uncontaminated soil that could grow decorative grasses.

Seems real grass, lawn, can't grow on the oil.

Keeping vegetation down by pouring used oil on the ground didn't work all that well. Only a rural person would know that. heh

"While Mulcair now tries to avoid the term "tar sands" - considered negative by many -"

Have we become so pussified we have to change every little thing to a more politically correct term? I was taught in school ,early 1950's,about the TAR SANDS of Alberta, no negative connotations,they were considered a unique and wondrous thing, a bloody tourist attraction.

Now,they are the economic engine of Canada,and I don't give a damn WHAT anyone calls them! We need to develop the "sands",period.

Mulcair has done us all a big favour with his "tar sands " smear,he's shown his true communist mindset, and if Western Canadians are ever stupid enough to support this guy for PM,they must have their heads buried in the Tar Sands!

You call 'em whatever you want,I call 'em MONEY!

dmorris, Mulcair is too stupid to figure out that unless the NDP wins seats in the West, where the party has usually fared better than the Liberals, especially in rural ridings, he stands NO chance whatsoever to be Prime Minister. I live in a small town on the coast of Vancouver Island; this riding swings back and forth from Conservative to NDP and back again. I know MANY people living here who work in the Alberta oilpatch, commuting that distance because the money they can make in Alberta is far greater than jobs pay here.

Yeah trying to grow a lawn in Ft Mac is as futile as establishing a palm grove....wrong climate...

Wrong, chutzpa. Mulcair is a very bright man, and that's what makes him dangerous. He plans to win the next election by making the oil sands and Western prosperity the enemy. Review the discussion of this in some earlier threads.

I have a friend who has been working in Ft. Mac for 6 months now. Recently talked to him about his experience to date. His comments were; you have to be a complete moron not to be able to move up the ladder quickly. Anyone with any where withall and willingness to work is a step above most who are there. He is in a 300 man camp and he estimates that half the workers are on drugs or booze. The fabled 'drug testing' is pretty much limited to the hiring process. The abidding passion by most is to do as little work as possible.

I have no idea how accurate his read is on the situation. It speaks to the rapid development and the need to have warm bodies present. It also indicates very weak management practises.

that must be why half the golf courses when I lived in Northern Alberta had signs advertising "grass greens" as if it was something new and exciting...and the other half didn't have them...and in Fort Mac, grass doesn't grow on muskeg...there isn't a whole lot in Inuvik either...but you can't pry a moonbat away from a meaningless 'aha' moment.

If there's fake grass around, would think it would relate to usage issues, not growing ones. There's a reason sports teams are generally going to artificial turf - it can take heavy usage.

Ric Locke, very well said.

What a pile of crap. If you want a lawn in Fort McMurray, you can grow a lawn. It's about nutrients, light and drainage, same as anywhere else south of 60. It's mostly climate zone 2, not the moon.

You can't grow grass on bare oil sand, or on your driveway in Montreal for that matter.

If you choose to put artificial turf down it's because you don't feel like doing lawn maintenance. Again, just like Montreal. Use your heads, people.

Mulcair wants another NEP by any other name.

I spent twenty years working throughout northern Alberta. I can say first hand that not much grows or lives in any muskeg areas which the oilsands are. I find Mulcair’s view of internalizing environmental costs quite interesting though. I spent a year working all throughout Quebec as well. I’d like to know what they are doing to internalize the cost of damage done by the huge areas flooded by their massive dams. They also have some huge open pit mines, I saw no reclamation projects going on there.

Is it any wonder that Canada is in the mess that its in when we continually elect people like Tommy the Commie and Lizzie May into office. I received an e-mail from a friend a while ago that showed an aquarium in Dubai, nothing like it in the whole of Canada. Dubai has no lumber to export, nor wheat, nor potash or any other mineral ore, or to my knowledge anything else of value other than oil. But these social do-gooders who've never worked a real day-job in their lives continually tell us how the 'Sands' are hurting us both physically and financially. They should all be "TARRED and FEATHERED" and exported on a rail to France or Maine or wherever!!!

Has anyone asked Mucliar if his criticism of the gas and oil industry also extends and applies to other parts of the country?

heres something for the media to chew on and press Tommy on the next time he wants to chastize the petro business for being dirty.

http://www.petroliagaz.com/en/exploration/carte.php

"Since its creation, Petrolia has been one of the leaders in oil exploration in Quebec. Through its acquisitions and agreements, the Company now holds around 70% of the exploration licences for areas with oil potential. At this stage in its development, Petrolia is now working towards definiting the next steps in its growth, maintaining its ultimate goal of producing, within 2014, 5% of the oil consumed in Quebec. This goal may seem ambitious, since it means producing around 20,000 barrels per day. However, the potential and extent of the territory covered by Petrolia's permits make this goal achievable. The Company has made this objective the focus of its corporate strategy."

cgh comes the closest to an actual description of what Mulcair is up to. Thanks cgh for the great short post. Mulcair does not need the west to form a government. Trudeau didn't have the west and he didn't give a damn. Turning to what would be a populist agenda in the east is something Mulcair clearly understands and is counting on.
Would it fan the flame of western separatism? Sure...but, the Quebecois like that game, now don't they.

cgh: "He plans to win the next election by making the oil sands and Western prosperity the enemy."

This is supposed to be a bright strategy?

M. Sac Gonfable, has a leg up on Lucien Bouchard!

His strategy depends on there being a liberal party in the next election. Then all that is needed is to keep the conservatives to a minority and dust off the coalition agreement.
If the liberal party folds it's tent, or votes to merge with the NDP before that, it puts Mucliar on the hot seat to have to win a majority of seats right across the country. In a situation like that he cannot afford to alienate the west or the regions outside of the MTV.
As it is now, Mucliar only feels the need to be warm and fuzzy to the Quebec and Toronto vote.
Things can change very quickly if the liberals tell Rae he can't run for the leadership. If the liberal leadership race becomes contentious it gives the media one more thing to report on during the summer while Parliament is in summer recess. With an open field the liberals can take some of the air out of Mucliars balloon, especially if the winner is someone from Quebec.
If anything can be presumed, it's that the Quebec voters will always go for the native son. If Quebec has two choices to make, it will keep both the NDP and liberals splitting the votes

His strategy depends on there being a liberal party in the next election. Then all that is needed is to keep the conservatives to a minority and dust off the coalition agreement.
If the liberal party folds it's tent, or votes to merge with the NDP before that, it puts Mucliar on the hot seat to have to win a majority of seats right across the country. In a situation like that he cannot afford to alienate the west or the regions outside of the MTV.
As it is now, Mucliar only feels the need to be warm and fuzzy to the Quebec and Toronto vote.
Things can change very quickly if the liberals tell Rae he can't run for the leadership. If the liberal leadership race becomes contentious it gives the media one more thing to report on during the summer while Parliament is in summer recess. With an open field the liberals can take some of the air out of Mucliars balloon, especially if the winner is someone from Quebec.
If anything can be presumed, it's that the Quebec voters will always go for the native son. If Quebec has two choices to make, it will keep both the NDP and liberals splitting the votes

Chutzpa, it is if it's the only one you've got.

Melwilde, it won't fan the flames of western separatism. 1. Canada's political axis is now Ontario - West rather than Ontario - Quebec. Why leave when you're already in charge? 2. Last I checked, the West doesn't have any seaports, which makes exporting oil to other countries than the US a bit difficult.

No, what it does is increase the irritation factor with Quebec, increasing the notion of "so here's the way it's going to be or we will kick you lot out".

Joseph, he doesn't want to merge with the Liberals, he wants to wipe them out. He figures that most of the Ontario Liberals will happily vote Dipper if there's no choice. He's not after a coalition, he's after the whole ball of wax for an outright NDP government.

This is why, like 2011, the next election will be fought in Ontario. That's the electoral turf which will decide the thing.

uh ...

".. Last I checked, the West doesn't have any seaports, which makes exporting oil to other countries than the US a bit difficult....."

----------------------

An explanation of the above-noted comment would be appreciated, cgh -- thanks.

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ejm

Yeah I kinda wondered when the Pacific ocean disappeared?

Oh, are you lot imagining that BC is going to join your little fantasy trip? Since when did you Alberta sovereigntists export your little project to the LEFT Coast?

I wonder what Mulcair will have to say about GM's shutdown of its Oshawa plant? Will he blame it on Alberta oilsands? I'm betting he won't mention GM's reason: high wages relative to the US, where production is being shifted. Or, to put it bluntly, low productivity per wage dollar.

canuck66 @ 9:06, this is exactly what happened in the mid 1970s to a chain manufacturer in St. Catharines, Ontario, that I did some cost accounting for until we made the move west. I believe the production was shifted to Buffalo, NY and Tennessee. The reason, you guessed it, low productivity per wage dollar.

Maybe the low productivity is related to the free Viagra.

@cgh

Two points
1. Most of the petroleum product used on the west coast comes from the oil sands - oh the humanity - so if they cut us off or we cut them off they have to import via tanker.

2. Fruitville is on the wrong side they have to go through Alt Sask to get to the greece portion of Canada.

part of my comment got cut off.

it should finish with. The reallity for B.C. is they are tied to the fortunes of Alt Sask just like the Alt Sasks fortunes are tied to them.

Anyone notice that an anagram of Mulcair is

U. McLiar

Peter O'Donnell: The man does act rather like a clown, doesn't he? Probably couldn't hack Hamburger U, so he went into politics, like the rest of his supporters.

Here's Mulcair's view and solution to the "problem" of the "tarsands:"

- the "tarsands'" caused "artificially" high dollar's cost to the ON/QC manufacturing sector is exactly equal to the "imputed" costs of the failure of the "tar sands" to "internalize" their cost to the environment (for primer read ridiculous Victoria Times Colonist article today).

http://www.timescolonist.com/business/Keep%2Bpolitics%2Bissues/6722371/story.html

- the "tar sands" must pay for their "artificial" profit "imputed" by the "internalized cost" of resulting "pollution" anywhere, anytime in the entire world.

To whom must they (we) pay - well, general revenues and those poor bastards in China forced to pollute in their filthy plants and cars because the "tar sands" sold them gasp, oil.

Any questions?

"..Oh, are you lot imagining that BC is going to join your little fantasy trip? Since when did you Alberta sovereigntists export your little project to the LEFT Coast?
Posted by: cgh at June 2, 2012 8:46 PM ..."

please note cgh.

I do not live on the 'left' coast. I live on the WEST Coast. British Columbia for your information. Since you obviously know so little about MY province and it's numerous port facilities your sarcastic rejoinder appears to be nothing more than an attempt to excuse your ignorance of the Sask/Alberta/B.C. alliances, including new pipelines, et al.

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