Friday, December 28, 2012

Harper's Not Done Selling Canada to China

President Hu Jintao: Steve, sign right there.

So Harper wants to sell more Canadian natural resources to China. What happened to all this "one-off" talk regarding the earlier tar sands deal?

Harper wants the Chinese to come in on open pit mines in Nunavut, in an area that is a breeding ground for caribou, an important part of the Aboriginal economy. This puts the Idle No More protests in perspective, given Harper's narrow-minded focus on natural resource extraction, disregard for environmental protection, and disregard for the rights of First Nations.

Maybe there are  potential jobs benefits from the mines. However, there needs to be proper environmental reviews and oversight, as well as respect for the rights of First Nations, to determine if the project should go through in the first place. If it does go through, then proper environmental protections and respect for First Nations must be continue to be central.

However, it is hard to trust Harper on the environment and First Nations rights given his track record so far.

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