Ed Stelmach has finally forced the Mark Holland controversy into the mainstream. Unsurprisingly, the Canadian Press piece is framed as a dismissive rebuttal and expose’ of Alberta’s failure to curb emissions. That’s what “journalists” do when they’re dragged kicking and screaming to a story they’d prefer be buried – they get even;
EDMONTON — Premier Ed Stelmach warned Monday of “dire economic consequences” if Alberta were ever forced to slow oilsands development to curb emissions that cause global warming.
Stelmach called reporters to his office to respond to what he said were recent comments by Ontario MP Mark Holland, the Liberal natural resources critic.
Holland was asked on a radio talk show if the Liberals would nationalize the oilsands if Alberta refused to go along with federal efforts to curb developments that increase emissions.
He responded by saying that a Liberal government would try to “work with (Alberta) collaboratively,” but added “there will be consequences” if the province refused.
Stelmach described the comments as “reprehensible” and insisted the Liberals were threatening to grab control of the oilsands.
“When we hear talk of perhaps nationalizing the oilsands — a moratorium on oilsands development will bring about dire economic consequences right across the country.”
In fact, Holland had issued a news release Friday in an effort to correct what he described as attempts to distort his comments.
Mark Holland’s comments are on tape and in the public domain. For Canadian Press to weasel his statements into a case of “he said, he said” is a blatant example of journalistic misdirection. Contrast the brevity of the “quotes” selected from Rutherford interview with the space devoted to damage control;
“The Liberal party will continue to support the development and expansion of the oilsands in a reasonable and sustainable manner,” he said in the release. “Any other characterization of our position is nothing more than an attempt to fear-monger.”
In an interview from Ottawa on Monday, Holland said he couldn’t figure out why the Alberta premier and others were twisting his comments.
“Perhaps by creating fear and distorting not only what I said, but the position of our party, that they think they can extract some political gain from it,” he said.
Warren Kinsella, fearmongerer? Now, watch the tables turn as they uncover Stelmach’s ‘lie’.
Stelmach also threw out some figures Monday suggesting Alberta has taken a leading role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Alberta is the only province on record that has actually reduced CO2 emissions by 16 per cent,” he said.
But the premier later conceded he was talking about so-called emissions intensity, which is a measurement against the growth in industrial production rather than a total measurement of what’s coming out of the smoke stack. If a company increases emissions at a slower rate than it increases production, then emissions intensity is reduced even though absolute emissions have increased.
An Alberta Environment official later confirmed that total emissions have increased by 40 per cent since 1990, but emissions intensity is down by 16 per cent over the same period.
NDP Leader Brian Mason described Alberta’s record as appalling and called for a moratorium on new oilsands projects.
“There’s approximately 50 (projects) that are up and running or in some form of approval and 100 more awaiting various stages of approval,” Mason told a news conference.
The same reporters who couldn’t be bothered to phone the Alberta premier for his response to Holland trotted over to an NDP news conference to record their reaction? In Alberta?
If you thought the silence of last week was a mainstream media shielding Mark Holland from his own words, you’re wrong.
They endorse them.
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Update The Calgary Sun’s Darcy Henton was standing closer to the front.
