(Environmental activist David Suzuki addresses the media before musician Neil Young’s “Honor The Treaties” concert series at the Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg, Manitoba, January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Trevor Hagan)
The day after Alberta released its new climate change strategy Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall voiced his concerns about how any new policies might add to the already long unemployment line in Western Canada.
““Whatever it is we agree to going into Paris, whatever we agree to as a country, we need to make sure we understand what impact that’s going to have on jobs. What additional impact will that have on the energy sector, which is already suffering massive layoffs in our country,” said Wall Monday.
That same day environmental activist David Suzuki appeared on Everything is Political with Evan Solomon on SiriusXM.
He said that Wall’s willingness to apparently put the economy ahead of the environment reminded him on 19th century slave owners.
“It sounds very much to me like southern states argued in the 19th century, that to eliminate slavery would destroy their economy,” said Suzuki. “Who would say today that the economy should have come before slavery?”
Solomon even gave Suzuki an opportunity to step off his comments noting that oil workers would take offence to his comments but the environmentalist wouldn’t back down.
“It is the same thing,” said Suzuki. “They’re destroying the very atmosphere that we depend on.”
Although according to this MacLeans article Suzuki did clarify his comments to the show in an email afterwards.
“All I was saying was that southern states argued that abolishing slavery would destroy their economy and that is like the fossil-fuel industry arguing against action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will destroy the economy. In other words, they are putting the economy above the matter of slavery and climate change and I think that is immoral,” said Suzuki. “People caught working for the fossil-fuel industry will have to make a transition, they are not the target of my ire.”
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall responded, saying the remarks by Suzuki equating the oil industry to slavery are so “ridiculous” they might hurt legitimate arguments being made against the energy sector.
The show started with Suzuki ecstatically supporting Premier Rachel Notley’s new climate change plan.
“Go girl go! It’s terrific!” he said of Alberta’s plan to cap oilsands emissions at 100 megatonnes a year.
