Time for a national energy policy

Re Keystone XL deserves significant second thought, March 7 Kudos to David Olive for spelling it out, loud and clear, on the Keystone XL issue. U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. Senate won’t approve a project with so little benefit for job creation in the U.S., not to mention the devastating consequences for U.S. aquifers and agricultural land should the pipeline break.

Add to this the indisputable increase in greenhouse gas emissions and we have a “no go” situation. It’s time for Canadian politicians to recognize this and to put their support behind clean energy alternatives and the development, as Mr. Olive writes, of a “coherent national energy policy.”

We need to keep our eyes focused on the real objective — reduction of greenhouse gases through a polluter-pay system and through the development of clean energy alternatives, which will create far more jobs than the pipeline. Barbara Willitts, Toronto

Re Oliver bashes groups that block pipelines, March 7 One can hardly blame Joe Oliver for condemning tree-hugging, democracy-obsessed fanatics who interfere with his party’s efforts to support the interests of those it serves. My God! These extremist weirdos actually put things like water, air, soil, animals and ancient aboriginal treaties ahead of the flow of Alberta oil.

And this dirty oil is hard to sell these days. Like Joe tells us, if a project is approved by federal authorities it must be good for us. So what right do these rabble-rousers have to advocate for the environment and aboriginals?

Hopefully Bill C-51 will finally put an end to this interference with the Conservatives’ service to the “Bigs.” Randy Gostlin, Oshawa

We pay for the RCMP. The oil companies do not. And we expect our government to act in the interests of the people. Jenny Carter, Peterborough

I found it deliciously ironic that the honourable minister’s words were delivered at the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. Is it perhaps located near the Harper Office of Transparency in Government and the new Centre for the Study of Eco-Terrorism? Peter Monahan, Alliston