I would suspect that many Canadians have a nose for a conflict of interest stench. Lets say I am TransCanada. Im hoping to build a pipeline from Alberta to Texas, and this must be approved. To aid in the approval process I have managed to choose, and pay, Cardno Entrix to draft the State Departments environmental and historical statement, manage public hearings, and receive public comments. Being a major client of Cardno Entrix, we welcomed the favorable report. Hilary Clintons (Secretary of State) former aides who worked for us (TransCanada) as lobbyists will come in handy. The American Petroleum Institute (big oils) lobbying group will run some positive tar sands ads for us on television. Now, if we manage to successfully sue at least 55 private landowners in the United States in order to assert eminent domain we should be good to go. The communities adjacent to tar sands oil refineries may not enjoy the increased exposure to heavy metals, sulfurs, and carbon dioxide emissions, but why focus there? We will focus, instead, on the threat to thousands of potential American jobs, and the disastrous consequences should Keystone not be approved. The alternative to developing Keystone will be portrayed as prolonging our dependence on Middle East oil, and this green energy thing will stay in its proper place; safely in the minds of wishful thinkers.
Josh Cranston