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mulberry handbags outlet Vaughn Palmer- B.C. NDP’
VICTORIA — One of the more cunning moves by New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix is his rejection of a moratorium on fracking in the natural gas sector while promising a full-blown scientific review of the process if he wins the election,mulberry handbags outlet.
The review was crafted to address concerns about the environmental impact of using pressurized water — hydraulic fracturing a,mulberry factory shop bicester.k.a,mulberry bags outlet reviews. fracking — to release natural gas from shale deposits in northeastern B.C.
The refusal to support a moratorium was intended to signal that New Democrats have no immediate intention of shutting down a process critical to development of a resource that, in turn, funds many provincial programs.
Dix gets to have it both ways. He placates the environmental wing of his party with the promise of a scientific review. He placates supporters of the development of a liquefied natural gas industry by rejecting a moratorium,mulberry bags outlet Martin Amis- A pusher of buttons 899.
But this province has been fracking for many years and Dix’s right-hand man,cheap mulberry bags outlet, NDP energy critic John Horgan, maintains that the process is environmentally safe and well isolated from groundwater.
So why the need for an scientific review?
“It is correct to say that hydraulic fracturing has been happening, actually, for 50 years, in different forms,” Dix conceded during an interview with me on Voice of B.C. on Shaw TV last week.
“It’s also obvious to everyone that there’s been a huge increase,mulberry york outlet, and the technology has changed that — changed issues around the use of water. This is something worthy of scientific review. We’re not proposing a moratorium in advance of the review but we will do a review — both of the use of water and of the impact of hydraulic fracturing.”
What if the review,Four ways to fake great legs, against expectations, finds some major problems with fracking? Could that not lead him to change his mind about the need for a moratorium?
“If the review were to cause that, there would have to be a reason for that,” he replied.
“Right now I don’t see reason to put in place a moratorium, but I do see reason for a review,mulberry factory shop, so we have to do that. I think it’s our responsibility as a province. “
He doesn’t see the need for a moratorium right now. But if the review were to cause the need for one ... well, fill in the blanks. And doesn’t that put the whole industry at risk, him allowing that the review might put a stop to fracking?
“You know what puts the whole industry at risk?” he replied, meeting the question with a question. “Not addressing issues. That’s what puts it at risk ... So I think that what you need to do is ensure standards are high and you meet the public test, and that’s what we’re attempting to do.”
Not to mention attempting to get through an election campaign without saying what an Adrian Dix-led NDP government might do about fracking in the long run.
Nor is that the only issue where the New Democrats have floated an open-ended review to avoid further discussion of their likely intentions after the election,mulberry sale 2011.
BC Hydro presents a whole range of challenges for the future, from the management of debt and deferral accounts, to the provision of enough power to underwrite the development of LNG, all contributing to an upward pressure on rates. All authored by the B.C. Liberals, too.
But the New Democrats are the ones promising change. What would they do about BC Hydro? “It will require a fiscal review after the election,” the party’s finance critic Bruce Ralston told reporters earlier this month.
Likewise, Dix announced this week that BC Ferries’ rates would be frozen pending the outcome of a postelection audit. The ferry commissioner already conducted a review that pointed to the need for service reductions, but the NDP didn’t like those findings.
Raw log exports? The New Democrats would consult with stakeholders. Public funding of political parties? Appoint a committee. The $18-billion capital plan? Another review. Liquor laws,cheap mulberry handbags? You guessed it.
Standard operating procedure for a party ahead in the polls and playing it safe. The B.C. Liberals put themselves on the road to ruin and the New Democrats aren’t about to help them get off of it by taking controversial positions.
But the “wait and see” dodge on so many critical issues is at odds with what the New Democrats have been saying for the past two years, namely that before British Columbians go to the polls they’ll know precisely what the party intends to do if it wins the election.
Here’s Dix from an interview with me late last year: “We have to say what we’re going to do, and say how we’re going to pay for it ... That’s what I’m arguing for: making choices,mulberry sale, telling people what those choices are before the election, and then — hopefully, if we’re elected; if people choose to elect the NDP — implement them.”
Here’s Carole James, former leader and now co-chair of the platform committee earlier this month: “British Columbians will know exactly what they are voting for if they vote NDP in this election. There will be no nasty surprises.”
Nasty is in the eye of the voter. But given the growing list of issues that Dix and crew are proposing to resolve in unspecified fashion after the election,mulberry outlet new york, there surely would be some surprises.
vpalmer@vancouversun.com</p |
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