Jim Hoggan Op-Ed in Vancouver Sun: Who Gets A Say In Our Democracy?

onFeb 1, 2012 @ 13:45 PST

Jim Hoggan, DeSmogBlog co-founder and president, has an op-ed in the Vancouver Sun today discussing the “ethical oil” crowd’s attacks on democracy in the Enbridge Northern Gateway public hearings. Head over to the Vancouver Sun to read it: “Who gets a say in our democracy?”

Here is an excerpt from the ending:

If [Joe Oliver or Stephen Harper] is concerned that over the years the California-based William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has given $1.3 million to the Pem-bina Foundation for Environmental Research and Education, then they should be even more troubled that, during the same period, the Hewletts gave $40 million to the government’s own International Development Research Centre. Apparently, Oliver’s “radicals” fuelled by “foreign special interests” are as close as the nearest mirror.

If Enbridge or its political boosters wants to pipe unrefined Canadian bitumen directly to the most treacherous waters in the north Pacific – and then, by supertanker, into the hands of the Chinese – they should make their case. Attacking the rights of others to have input is a dodge unworthy of a democracy as advanced and robust as ours.

Read more at the Vancouver Sun.

Image credit: 1971yes | Shutterstock

By Brendan DeMelle

Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

Carney Government Knew Carbon Capture Was ‘Very Limited,’ Docs Show

ByGeoff Dembicki

onFeb 20, 2026 @ 06:01 PST

Briefing notes obtained by DeSmog reveal the Carney government had major knowledge gaps about CCS even as it made the technology central to its climate plan.

Series: Mark Carney’s Climate Betrayal

Series: Carney's Climate Betrayal

Analysis

Alberta Separatism Has Always Been About Joining Trump’s America

ByMitch Anderson

onFeb 19, 2026 @ 07:22 PST

Leaders of the Alberta separatist movement are insisting they do not want to become the U.S.’s 51st state, but their actions (and own words) say otherwise.