Calgary Mayor Gives $340k To Anti-Oilsands Lobby Group

[Anonymous]

Nice, the scumbag mayor if Calgary uses taxpayer money to hire unscientific lobbyists who will work against the livelihoods of many Calgarians.  I wonder if the mayor of Montreal will pay more than 1/3 of a million to an anti-hydroelectricity lobby.

Why did the city of Calgary give $340,000 to an anti-oilsands lobby group called the Pembina Institute?



Pembina's mission is shutting down fossil fuel industries. Not in OPEC countries, of course. Just Canadian oil, and the jobs that go with it. Many of which are in Calgary.



Would the city of Windsor, Ont., home of Canada's auto industry, give a third of a million dollars to anti-car lobbyist? Would Hamilton hire an anti-steel lobby?



The Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed this shocking payment. But instead of expressing embarrassment, Mayor Naheed Nenshi admitted he knew all about it, and supported it.



Nenshi didn't dispute that Pembina has nine lobbyists registered in Ottawa to attack the oil patch. But he claimed Pembina was also a "scientific think-tank" and it was for this expertise that the city paid them so richly. When asked by Sun Media if the city would ever pay the pro-free market Fraser Institute for advice, Nenshi was dismissive. "As soon as they hire scientists who actually know something," he sniffed.



The Fraser Institute doesn't accept government money. But they do seem to know a few things — their list of staff includes at least 38 PhDs. They just don't share Nenshi's big government, high-tax vision.



But what about Pembina? Are they, as Nenshi claims, scientific experts?



A review of the invoices shows 22 different Pembina staff billed the city of Calgary.



One was Roberta Franchuk. Her official Pembina biography says her specialty is "communications," including "editing, layout and production." She's not a PhD expert. She has an undergrad degree in science.



P.J. Partington's official biography says he's Pembina's "spokesperson on climate issues." Also, with just an undergrad degree. His real talent is politics. He co-founded the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition. That's the organization Brigitte DePape, the Senate page who stood up with the Stop Harper sign, joined after her protest.



Julia Kilpatrick has a master's degree — in journalism. So does Clare Demerse. They were also among the 22 Pembina "experts." So is David Dodge, who Pembina describes as "an environmental journalist and a photojournalist." He makes online videos.



Pembina billed for Emma Gilchrist's time, too. She was Pembina's "social media manager." A scientist? She didn't even go to university — she has a journalism degree from a college, plus an "e-marketing certificate." Maybe one day the PhDs at the Fraser Institute will get that.



Not scientists.



These aren't scientists. They're activists. Pembina's biggest biller, Jesse Row, isn't an environmental scholar at all — he's a mechanical engineer, whose official biography talks about his advocacy skills.



Two of the 22 did have PhDs, in fields unrelated to the contract, and they only worked very briefly. Matthew Bramley's publications includes an article in a Spanish newspaper, comparing Canada to Saudi Arabia.



Mary Griffiths' publications include a fantasy essay about Alberta if oil and gas development is allowed to continue.



"The Athabasca River is devoid of fish, and the surrounding boreal landscape is a patchwork of linear scars, and moonscapes of sand and grass that are undergoing reclamation, which has thus far proved largely unsuccessful ... Fort McMurray is largely a ghost town, with empty commercial space, homes for sale, and strangely quiet six-lane highways. This scene is replicated in both Edmonton and Calgary, where the once prosperous economies have stagnated."



Those are Nenshi's scientists. He liked one of them, Claire Beckstead, so much he hired her as Calgary's "community environmental specialist." So now Pembina has an activist embedded in the city government.



Nenshi isn't the only one funding Pembina. So is the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, out of New York. They launched a "Tar Sands" campaign — a $7-million-a-year anti-oilsands propaganda war. Pembina helped write the plan and acts as a Canadian front group, taking American money to fight against Canadian industry.

Nenshi defends this contract. The Rockefellers are thrilled. Pembina rakes it in. The only folks left out are Calgary's taxpayers. But they've grown rather used to their celebrity mayor abusing them.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/09/06/meet-the-mayors-scientists">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/09/06/m ... scientists">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/09/06/meet-the-mayors-scientists

[Anonymous]

A fine example of big government wirking hand in purse with big NGO's to fuck average Canadians. Nenshi ethical? He's a politician FFS!!

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has a carefully crafted public image of transparency and integrity. And he protects that image by constantly grooming the local media, chatting with them on Twitter around the clock. Most busy mayors don't have time to write 20,000 Twitter messages, as Nenshi has done. But it's important for him to make journalists feel like they're his personal friends.



Because it's tougher to ask a friend a critical question.



Like this one: Why has Nenshi not disclosed that the anti-oilsands group, the Pembina Institute, has lobbied him about city policy?



Nenshi's website claims he discloses every meeting with lobbyists. So why isn't the Pembina Institute on the list?



Last week Ed Whittingham, Pembina's chief lobbyist, told the Calgary Herald that he and his staff buttonhole the mayor regularly.



"Have we ever spoken to an alderman or the mayor about an issue when we've rubbed shoulders at an event? Yes. But have we sat down as a lobbyist? No, that's not what we do."



Actually that is the legal definition of a lobbyist, someone who is paid to change a government policy. Whittingham know this, since he is registered in Ottawa as Pembina's chief lobbyist.



But Nenshi's website is silent about their little chats.



Add in the fact that the City of Calgary paid Pembina $340,000 in "consulting" fees to promote carbon taxes and other anti-oil measures. In fairness, that bizarre decision started before Nenshi was mayor. But he continued it. And ramped it up.



So Nenshi meets with Pembina's lobbyists, off the record, while shovelling public cash at them. But he also taped a promotional video for their Toronto fundraiser this year, and praised their work — even citing their anti-fossil fuels mission.



When the Canadian Taxpayers Federation revealed the $340,000 payment, Pembina yanked that video off YouTube. They tried to make it secret, just like their cocktail chats.



Why?



Unlike the Media Party, Nenshi has not been attentive to me. He has not given me a birthday shout-out and he has not told me how handsome I am. So I did not find it difficult to ask him these questions. And on Sunday, I did so, using his favourite medium: Twitter.



Why did he say the 22 Pembina staff on the city's payroll were "scientists," when most of them were PR experts? Why was his pro-Pembina video taken off YouTube? Why he hadn't disclosed his lobbying meetings?



He didn't like it one bit. This wasn't how Twitter usually worked for him.



So I asked him one last question: "Will you disclose whether any Pembina staff are working on your election campaign, or have donated to you? Is this a quid pro quo?"



Firm. Tough, even. But fair. Fair for a big-city mayor who claims to be the most ethical in the country.



And then Nenshi tweeted back: "When did you stop beating your wife?"



I have never beat my wife, nor anyone else. That's a vile accusation to make against anyone. It's especially vile coming from someone like Nenshi who claims to be so sensitive to issues like spousal violence — to trivialize it, by using it as a political slur.



It was filthy. It was vicious.



But I think I — and Nenshi's other 130,000 other Twitter followers — got a clear insight into Nenshi's moral code. And the fact that he'll do anything, and say anything, and smear anyone, rather than answer tough questions about his ethical conduct.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/09/09/naheed-isnt-so-slick">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/09/09/n ... t-so-slick">http://www.edmontonsun.com/2013/09/09/naheed-isnt-so-slick

[Obvious Li]

i always suspected that muslim idiot was a closet piece of shit red tory.....too bad parts of calgary have become  fucking left wing cesspools....the prick will probably be in for the next 20 years..... :ugeek:

[Anonymous]

i always suspected that muslim idiot was a closet piece of shit red tory.....too bad parts of calgary have become  fucking left wing cesspools....the prick will probably be in for the next 20 years..... :ugeek:

The outgoing mayor of Edmonton had no respect for taxpayers either and he kept winning with 85% of the vote(which was low). Big city local politics in North America makes Roy Romanow look fiscally responsible.

[cc]

I wonder if the mayor of Montreal will pay more than 1/3 of a million to an anti-hydroelectricity lobby.

Or an anti-graft group, lol



Yes, that Calgary thing is atrocious. He should be impeached for that.

[Chickenfeets]

Are there any scientists on this forum?



Not machine-wankers but actual people doing science?

[Anonymous]

Are there any scientists on this forum?



Not machine-wankers but actual people doing science?

You mean like the lobbyists Mayor Naheed Nenshi paid $340,000 to?



Shen Li has a degree in earth sciences, but I don't know about anyone else.

[Anonymous]

CALGARY -- Mayor Naheed Nenshi has apologized to anyone who took offense to a phrase evoking domestic abuse he posted during an online debate.



In a heated Twitter exchange Sunday with Sun News personality and QMI Agency columnist Ezra Levant, Nenshi wrote, "when did you stop beating your wife?" when questioned about a city contract with a group linked to oilsands criticism.



The phrase has long been considered an example of a loaded question, meant to trap the recipient because to answer either way is to admit to the crime.



In a statement posted to his blog Monday, Nenshi, who declined to take reporters' questions, wrote: "The classic semantic argument for a leading question is 'when did you stop beating your wife?' Since Mr. Levant was my debating partner for many years and did attend law school, I know that he knows what this phrase means. In fact, I've heard him use that line in many debates himself. He now is trying to make an issue of my use of that phrase."



He went on to say, "If Mr. Levant or anyone else was truly offended by my use of this phrase, of course I apologize."



Levant took to Twitter to say he's never used the rhetorical device during his debating days.



"There is no one alive who has heard me call someone a wife-beater. I've never said it," he tweeted in response to the mayor's statement.



Though they agree -- they don't think the mayor wasn't being literal or intentionally offensive -- agencies that deal with domestic violence say the mayor's words were poorly chosen and it's a good time to have a conversation about the appropriateness of phrases like the one used.



"The problem with expressions like this is they do trivialize what is a very serious issue," said Gillian Weaver-Dunlop, acting executive director of the Calgary Women's Emergency Shelter (CWES).



While she called the quote a "poor choice of words," Weaver-Dunlop said it would be "positive if there's a public discussion" about the use of phrases that are dated and might carry different levels of meaning now.



Nikki Croft, manager of community relations at Discovery house, which provides integrated residential and community services for abused women and children, echoed Weaver-Dunlop's thoughts.



"Domestic violence is such a mammoth concern that it might have been more effective for Nenshi (to) have responded to Levant's prodding in a more direct and constructive way," she said.



"Having said this, the fact that the cliché exists in our everyday vernacular reflects the pervasiveness of domestic abuse.



"If Nenshi's use of the cliché helps raise awareness of the massiveness of the problem, then that's a good thing -- let's start that conversation."

http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2013/09/20130909-194933.html">http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/po ... 94933.html">http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/politics/archives/2013/09/20130909-194933.html

[Anonymous]

As usual, Ricky Leong pins the tail on the irresponsible, big-spending, hypocritical clowns running Calgary city hall.

Good and bad. Right and wrong.



For some many things in life, those guiding principles are essential to our existence.



It's wrong to kill. It's good to help your neighbour.



Such ideas permeate our lives and help create the harmony that keeps our society cohesive and pleasant (most of the time, anyway).



Politicians are people and they exist within our society — and yet why does it seem so difficult for them to let such basic principles guide their actions?



Look no farther than Calgary city hall for examples of this.



Where a binary moral filter on the world should be applied, it is not.



You've no doubt heard gripes about how leftover provincial tax room has been appropriate from ratepayers.



As you recall, it is the city's policy to retain money that was over-collected from property owners on behalf of the province, which normally (and rightfully) belongs to you.



This year and next, it's a total of $104 million sucked into city coffers which should not have (not without properly asking you first, anyway).



Last time I checked, stealing from people is wrong ... and yet, this is perceived as a morally acceptable choice.



Meanwhile, all of us who are offended by this sleight of hand are dismissed as idiots who don't understand what's going on, belittled as fear-mongers with hidden agendas, or deemed as anarchists who believe all government is bad.



Whatever happened to respecting your peers, even if you don't agree with them?



On the other side of the coin, where clear-cut, good-bad, right-wrong filters are a hindrance to the development of good policy, they are applied with impunity.



Calgary's Municipal Development Plan, for example, calls for all kinds of growth in all parts of the city.



And yet, to hear some of our councillors speaking, the only kinds that are revered are the medium- and high-density variety in the core, in mature neighbourhoods and near transit stations.



As much as these types of housing are desirable and make sense, one can't ignore the fact many families want low-density housing, because of economics or family. (Kids and pets need space, after all.)



Should we be turning such families away because some aldermen and planners feel low-density housing is bad?



In a similar vein, you get the sense from some city councillors that cars are only to be tolerated (or even just plain discouraged) because they are a necessary evil.



Bicycles, meanwhile, are worshipped.



Calgary previously had an awesome pathway system — and now it is more awesome and expansive, with bike lanes and cycle tracks popping up even in places where they might not have been needed.



Earlier this year, aldermen approved a study to look at turning part of 8 Ave. S.E. in Inglewood into a "woonerf," a pedestrian- and bike-friendly promenade where cars would be "guests," as it was described to the Sun back in early June.



There is nothing wrong with improved bike lanes, new cycle tracks, traffic-calming measures or even woonerfs.



What is wrong is why Calgary is choosing to install such things: The prevailing attitude among some individuals with a fundamental belief that the car is bad, period.



In real life, for most Calgarians, things are not that simple.



Cars, transit, bikes and walking each has advantages and disadvantages.



Each is different and has its appropriate uses.



None should be considered good or bad.



Ditto for our housing stock.



On such issues, were nuance is vital to the discussion, there is little to be found.



Our politicians have clearly demonstrated they have a moral compass.



If only they'd use it when they should.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/09/09/city-politics-missing-vital-discussions">http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/09/09/ci ... iscussions">http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/09/09/city-politics-missing-vital-discussions

[Renee]

"And then Nenshi tweeted back: "When did you stop beating your wife?"



I have never beat my wife, nor anyone else. That's a vile accusation to make against anyone. It's especially vile coming from someone like Nenshi who claims to be so sensitive to issues like spousal violence — to trivialize it, by using it as a political slur.



It was filthy. It was vicious."



Welcome to leftwing-nut side of the political spectrum   .



This is too funny. How can the author of the quoted passage honestly act surprised and outraged at that remark; he must be a political noob. When dealing with those on the far left you have to expect that kind of response when you expose them for what they are. They are nothing but petulant children who become incapable of civil discourse when forced to face the reality of their twisted, dishonest, behavior.

[Anonymous]

"And then Nenshi tweeted back: "When did you stop beating your wife?"



I have never beat my wife, nor anyone else. That's a vile accusation to make against anyone. It's especially vile coming from someone like Nenshi who claims to be so sensitive to issues like spousal violence — to trivialize it, by using it as a political slur.



It was filthy. It was vicious."



Welcome to leftwing-nut side of the political spectrum   .



This is too funny. How can the author of the quoted passage honestly act surprised and outraged at that remark; he must be a political noob. When dealing with those on the far left you have to expect that kind of response when you expose them for what they are. They are nothing but petulant children who become incapable of civil discourse when forced to face the reality of their twisted, dishonest, behavior.

White leftists are also some of the most vile racists and sexists I have ever encountered. Gramps insulting Chickenfeets character was proof of that.

[Renee]

"And then Nenshi tweeted back: "When did you stop beating your wife?"



I have never beat my wife, nor anyone else. That's a vile accusation to make against anyone. It's especially vile coming from someone like Nenshi who claims to be so sensitive to issues like spousal violence — to trivialize it, by using it as a political slur.



It was filthy. It was vicious."



Welcome to leftwing-nut side of the political spectrum   .



This is too funny. How can the author of the quoted passage honestly act surprised and outraged at that remark; he must be a political noob. When dealing with those on the far left you have to expect that kind of response when you expose them for what they are. They are nothing but petulant children who become incapable of civil discourse when forced to face the reality of their twisted, dishonest, behavior.

White leftists are also some of the most vile racists and sexists I have ever encountered. Gramps insulting Chickenfeets character was proof of that.

Well you know my feelings about the disingenuous lefty lumps of shit whether they be white, black, yellow or green. They all suck big time.



Their ideology lacks any form of common sense or logic. It is based solely in emotional rhetoric. Our own idiotic far left President tried to sell his version of intervention in the Syrian civil war to the American people the other night by using the plight of the Syrian children as a reason to commit an act of war. Never mind that chemical weapons have been outlawed since shortly after the First World War and never mind that atrocities are being committed against innocent people (especially women) all over the region and beyond. It was the poor Syrian "chilllldren" who are suffering and in need of his progressive divine intervention.



Makes me fucking sick every time some prog grandstands over the not yet cold corpses of kids and they do it every freaking time they see an opportunity to advance their twisted agenda. :x

[Anonymous]

"And then Nenshi tweeted back: "When did you stop beating your wife?"



I have never beat my wife, nor anyone else. That's a vile accusation to make against anyone. It's especially vile coming from someone like Nenshi who claims to be so sensitive to issues like spousal violence — to trivialize it, by using it as a political slur.



It was filthy. It was vicious."



Welcome to leftwing-nut side of the political spectrum   .



This is too funny. How can the author of the quoted passage honestly act surprised and outraged at that remark; he must be a political noob. When dealing with those on the far left you have to expect that kind of response when you expose them for what they are. They are nothing but petulant children who become incapable of civil discourse when forced to face the reality of their twisted, dishonest, behavior.

White leftists are also some of the most vile racists and sexists I have ever encountered. Gramps insulting Chickenfeets character was proof of that.

Well you know my feelings about the disingenuous lefty lumps of shit whether they be white, black, yellow or green. They all suck big time.



Their ideology lacks any form of common sense or logic. It is based solely in emotional rhetoric. Our own idiotic far left President tried to sell his version of intervention in the Syrian civil war to the American people the other night by using the plight of the Syrian children as a reason to commit an act of war. Never mind that chemical weapons have been outlawed since shortly after the First World War and never mind that atrocities are being committed against innocent people (especially women) all over the region and beyond. It was the poor Syrian "chilllldren" who are suffering and in need of his progressive divine intervention.



Makes me fucking sick every time some prog grandstands over the not yet cold corpses of kids and they do it every freaking time they see an opportunity to advance their twisted agenda. :x

I feel sorry for Americans. OBie is the worst president I have ever seen in my life. I am no fan of either American political party and I thought Bill Clinton was one of the best in my life.

[Anonymous]

"And then Nenshi tweeted back: "When did you stop beating your wife?"



I have never beat my wife, nor anyone else. That's a vile accusation to make against anyone. It's especially vile coming from someone like Nenshi who claims to be so sensitive to issues like spousal violence — to trivialize it, by using it as a political slur.



It was filthy. It was vicious."



Welcome to leftwing-nut side of the political spectrum   .



This is too funny. How can the author of the quoted passage honestly act surprised and outraged at that remark; he must be a political noob. When dealing with those on the far left you have to expect that kind of response when you expose them for what they are. They are nothing but petulant children who become incapable of civil discourse when forced to face the reality of their twisted, dishonest, behavior.

White leftists are also some of the most vile racists and sexists I have ever encountered. Gramps insulting Chickenfeets character was proof of that.

Well you know my feelings about the disingenuous lefty lumps of shit whether they be white, black, yellow or green. They all suck big time.



Their ideology lacks any form of common sense or logic. It is based solely in emotional rhetoric. Our own idiotic far left President tried to sell his version of intervention in the Syrian civil war to the American people the other night by using the plight of the Syrian children as a reason to commit an act of war. Never mind that chemical weapons have been outlawed since shortly after the First World War and never mind that atrocities are being committed against innocent people (especially women) all over the region and beyond. It was the poor Syrian "chilllldren" who are suffering and in need of his progressive divine intervention.



Makes me fucking sick every time some prog grandstands over the not yet cold corpses of kids and they do it every freaking time they see an opportunity to advance their twisted agenda. :x

I feel sorry for Americans. OBie is the worst president I have ever seen in my life. I am no fan of either American political party and I thought Bill Clinton was one of the best in my life.

[Renee]

White leftists are also some of the most vile racists and sexists I have ever encountered. Gramps insulting Chickenfeets character was proof of that.

Well you know my feelings about the disingenuous lefty lumps of shit whether they be white, black, yellow or green. They all suck big time.



Their ideology lacks any form of common sense or logic. It is based solely in emotional rhetoric. Our own idiotic far left President tried to sell his version of intervention in the Syrian civil war to the American people the other night by using the plight of the Syrian children as a reason to commit an act of war. Never mind that chemical weapons have been outlawed since shortly after the First World War and never mind that atrocities are being committed against innocent people (especially women) all over the region and beyond. It was the poor Syrian "chilllldren" who are suffering and in need of his progressive divine intervention.



Makes me fucking sick every time some prog grandstands over the not yet cold corpses of kids and they do it every freaking time they see an opportunity to advance their twisted agenda. :x

I feel sorry for Americans. OBie is the worst president I have ever seen in my life. I am no fan of either American political party and I thought Bill Clinton was one of the best in my life.

Well that puts it in perspective when Bubba dick nose Clinton was the best president you've seen in your life. It means for as long as you have been alive the US gubbament has had its head up its ass.