Rex Murphy tells it like it is regarding National Geographic and the Oil Sands


Rex Murphy does a great job with this commentary on the Alberta oil sands and the recent photo spread in National Geographic. Video can be seen here.
-Darryl

High-Minded Hypocrisy

Rex Murphy Point of View
February 26, 2009

National Geographic, the best friend armchair naturalists ever had, has a huge spread on the Alberta Oil Sands in its current issue.

With the gloss photography for which the Geographic is justly famous, there are horrendous and ugly displays of despoliation – ravaged landscape – horrible sludge and ooze.

It’s going to be a big “hit” against the oil sands project – regardless of whether that was the Geographic’s intention or not. Getting oil out of the ground has never been pretty. Getting anything out of the ground has never been pretty. “An open wound on the fair bosom of mother nature” could be the caption for every single mine that has ever existed on this earth. Getting oil from the oil sands will be – during the process – even more scarifying.

But I’d like to offer some counter thoughts. If we want to live the way we do in the 21st century, and apparently we do, if we want to have jobs, houses, hospitals, schools, universities, cars, communications, a military, a transportation network - getting stuff out of the ground, and finding energy to run the world, is an absolutely necessary thing.

I dare say some of the great photo spread in the Geographic article came from a helicopter or plane: the photographer didn’t wish himself into the clouds with his high tech cameras: nor did this issue of National Geographic flood North America and the world on the wings of songbirds whistling the Ode to Joy: they probably went by truck and plane, on roads from airports – of concrete, and tar, and crushed gravel --- all the elements of which were harvested from ugly mines, or out of deep black sludgy drill wells that people sweated to build, and risked money to start. The printing presses that produced it probably weren’t staffed by baby seals or panda bears joyfully doing the press run in some sweet forest glade far from the dark satanic mills of any city’s downtown core.

National Geographic didn’t take pictures of rural Nova Scotia or Newfoundland for this spread either: of the tiny towns and out ports that have sent their sons and daughters to Alberta during the last decade – spared them from EI and welfare – kept their families intact and their dignity in place, with an honest dollar for an honest day’s work. No foldouts, either, of some of the hospitals and schools and roads and research equipment – revenues from the oil sands enabled; nor did or could they take pictures of what Alberta prosperity has meant for this whole country during the decade before the recession, and how it has left the whole country better positioned than most, now that the recession is here.

What comes out of that “necessary ugliness” is what’s missing – the dignity of the person or family who found a joy; the rescue of one region of the country by the prosperity of another; the smooth running of cities, manufacturing, the building of so many other necessary things. You can’t take a picture of misery that didn’t happen – or of hard times forestalled or mitigated.

The National Geographic itself is built on the energy and minerals that are so “ugly” to harvest in the first place.

National Geographic’s spread is simplistic and hypocritical: deplore the source; ignore the benefits. Bask in “green” applause while riding the great conduits of invention and communication “energy” has made.

For The National, I’m Rex Murphy.

Audition to be Canada's Next Great Prime Minister

Apply online at http://www.cbc.ca/nextprimeminister
Note: Deadline is November 15




Enter the Competition -- You Could Win $50,000!
That's right! Four finalists will be chosen to compete on national TV for the title of Canada's Next Great Prime Minister. The winner will receive $50,000 and a paid internship at Magna International, The Dominion Institute and the Canada-US Fulbright program.

If you successfully complete the challenges, you are guaranteed an interview with the judging panel and a chance to qualify as a semi-finalist!

Enter now!

1. Create a video
We're looking for Canada's Next Great Prime Minister -- someone with great ideas and an incredible ability to move the masses. The first step is to create a video so we can see you in action. Your video should include:

* Your name, age, city and province
* Your answer to the question: What would you do to make Canada a stronger country socially, economically and/or politically?
* Videos must be 3-5 minutes in length
* Upload your video to YouTube. Make sure it's embeddable!
* Please see our judging guidelines. They'll give you a sense of what we're looking for.
* Deadline: November 15, 2008 - Be smart, don't delay! Get your videos in EARLY!

The contest is open to Canadians aged 18 to 25 as of April 1, 2009.

You can also check out last year's top ten best audition videos. Just remember though, the question is different this year. We want to know, "What would you do to make Canada a stronger country socially, economically and/or politically?"

NEW! Web Winner!
The person with the most popular audition video will automatically qualify as one of our eight semi-finalists and attend the Boot Camp in Toronto. For complete details, visit the Web Winner page. The winner receives travel to and accommodation in Toronto!

The winner will be announced on January 16, 2009. Good luck!

2. Complete the entry form
Tell us about yourself, the URL of your video and agree to the terms of the competition. Click here to fill out the entry form now.

My CBC National Segment on Newmarket-Aurora

I think the segment came across well for Lois Brown in our riding. If you missed my segment on the CBC National yesterday, you can check it out by visiting the link below:

Click here to see the video

Darryl Wolk - Conservative Party

On- the- ground and inside. A Conservative campaigner's point of view.

Watch me on CBC National Tonight!!!!

Over the course of this campaign, I have been filming in Newmarket-Aurora. On Tuesday I submitted the last of the tapes and tonight the six hours that I sent will be edited down to about six minutes for the CBC National. The segment on the CBC National is for the segment "Your Vote". Basically they tracked 4 young volunteers from different parties and had them film the local campaign in each of their ridings. Denis Agar and Michelle Oliel have already had their segments representing the Greens and Liberals. Tonight I will be representing the Conservatives in the crucial swing riding of Newmarket-Aurora and Mehdi Mollahasani will also have a segment representing the NDP in Toronto. It will likely air in the second half of the CBC National tonight. It will also be online following the broadcast at: http://www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/archive/canada_votes/your_vote/

I hope it turns out OK and does a good job representing the party and candidate in our riding.

-Darryl

Below is the Introduction that aired a few weeks ago that sets up tonight's segment:

CBC Filming Complete

Six hours of tape has now been submitted to the CBC and they will edit it down to 6-8 minutes. The focus will be getting out the vote in Newmarket-Aurora. For now the air date is projected to be Friday October 10 during the CBC National "Your Vote" segment. It will also be posted on the CBC National website. I will keep you posted once the date becomes official. Below is the intro that aired earlier in the campaign.
-Darryl

Campaign Update Week 1 - Newmarket-Aurora


The campaign federally has gone well despite a few bumps early on. Polls show a gain in momentum for the Conservative Party and that is because Stephen Harper has played to his strengths, ran on his record and used the strong party organization to his advantage early in this campaign. There are three major issues right now. Leadership, the economy and the carbon tax. Harper is on the right side of all of those issues and it seems the Liberal campaign is falling apart under Dion's leadership. Right now a lot of Liberals are talking about who will be the next leader of the party and this has become the focus in the media. As polls increase, seats in Northern Ontario, the GTA, Quebec, B.C. and elsewhere become winnable. Newmarket-Aurora is of course one of those seats. The NDP is gaining strength. They are polling even with the Liberals and challenging for official opposition status. The Greens have had a good week. They are now in the debates and the media is giving them equal coverage to the other parties. They are seen as mainstream and are running in 307 ridings. Together the left is split with Harper taking more and more from the middle of the spectrum. Harper has had a great week as he is opening up a major lead in popular vote, leadership and on the majority of issues according to polls in the media. He is relaxed and showing his personal side more on the campaign trail. He is seen as a steady hand while everyone else seems like a risky option. It is looking like a majority or minority government is almost certain at this point unless we defeat ourselves in the next 30 days. As Harper and the Conservative Party continue to do well nationally, the better our chances to take back this riding federally with the same vote that elected Frank Klees here provincially in October 2007. Thanksgiving weekend is coming fast and Dion and the Liberals have a lot of ground to make up in a 5 week period of time.

The Toronto Star had this to say about the race in Newmarket-Aurora as one of it's Ontario ridings to watch:

"How will Finance Minister James Flaherty perform in a knock-down, drag-out fight in Whitby-Oshawa? The Liberals are nominating Brent Fullard, who has led the fight against Flaherty's decision to tax income trusts after the party had promised not to. Fullard has also worked for General Motors in Oshawa, which is struggling through the manufacturing downturn in Ontario. Newmarket-Aurora, outgoing Liberal Belinda Stronach's riding, will also be fascinating, maybe even bellwether. She first won it as a Conservative, before joining Paul Martin's Liberals. And, despite her personal wealth and profile, she won by less than 5,000 votes last time. If Harper nibbles toward Toronto proper, her riding will be one of the first morsels. In southwestern Ontario, a key battleground in these gloomy economic times, Cambridge is shaping up as a nail-biter. The incumbent Tory, second-termer Gary Goodyear, has gone through some tough scrapes in Parliament. Manufacturing accounts for 20 per cent of jobs. The fact that four Liberals battled it out for the nomination, and that was last November, may be a clue. Former Conservative, now Liberal, Garth Turner has a fight on his hands in Halton, where Tory party bosses upset the locals by installing the head of Toronto's port authority, Lisa Raitt, as their star candidate."

More info about our riding can be found here.

In Newmarket-Aurora we have had a great week. Our sign team has been committed since teh writ was dropped and today was no different. We have over a thousand residential sign locations in the riding and in my home town Newmarket looks like Alberta right now outnumbering the Liberals 20-1 in signs on people's homes. Aurora is about 10-1 in residential properties and the entire riding is at least 3-1 in public large sign locations. The blue stakes have also had a nice impact. This was all possible because of a large team of volunteers who are working tirelessly giving up their weekends, evenings or days to get Lois and the Conservative Party elected. It is also because requests are coming in like crazy demonstrating popular support among regular voters. Signs are not necessarily a reflection of voting intentions but it does say something about our campaign and what is happening with popular opinion within Newmarket-Aurora.

Last night we had a successful fundraiser with our Annual Founders Dinner. Jim Prentice spoke at the event and took the time to knock on doors with Lois Brown earlier in the day. Jim Prentice is one of the strongest ministers within the Harper caucus currently the Minister of Industry. His talk was important given the economy is the number one issue in Newmarket-Aurora like anywhere else. Our campaign budget is on track and we are seeing several donations coming in every day. We want to run the best campaign possible and we appreciate those that have supported this campaign in the past and those that came out last night. Unions and corporations can no longer donate money to political parties. The Conservative Party and its local riding associations have always thrived on small donations from large volumes of people. We are in a relatively good position but could always use more. It costs roughly $90,000 to run a local campaign if you want to spend the maximum.

For almost two years, Lois has been out knocking on doors and attending community events. This has not changed during the campaign and she has been working hard to earn votes every day. Lois is like the Energizer bunny and that motivates us because we know how hard she will work for the people of Newmarket and Aurora should she be fortunate enough to go to Ottawa. She has been open and friendly with the media as you will see on the CBC and have already seen in the local media. “I’ll be more media friendly. That was something I was not relaxed with and it showed through. I know I need to be forthcoming,” Lois was quoted in the Era Banner this week. Lois also launched her website http://www.loisbrown.ca this week and her Facebook group got 10 new members today surpassing the Tim Jones group. The official campaign launch and the opening of our second office in Aurora is coming soon. Our weekend canvass and sign blitzes are going well. New volunteers are coming in every day while are strong base and experienced veterans are engaged and motivated.

On Wednesday we started preparation for the debates and from what I saw, Lois has come a long way from the 2006 campaign. She is very prepared on policy and will be ready as the Newmarket, Aurora and Rogers televisions debates take place in the weeks ahead. Lois was very impressive on Wednesday night and we threw everything at her making it as tough as possible so that she could be properly prepared for whatever questions come up from the real debates and the partisan planted audience representing all sides. Lois is the only female in this contest as we now know Mike Seaward is going to be representing the NDP. Glenn Hubbers is the Green Party candidate, Tim Jones is the Liberal candidate and Dorian Baxter will be in this race representing the Progressive Canadian Party. There will likely be a few other fringe candidates who jump into the race as well.

As part of my assignment with the CBC, I can also tell you that momentum is moving throughout York Region. North of me in York Simcoe, Peter Van Loan is in a very strong position to be re-elected in what is considered by most as a safe Conservative riding. He is a major player in cabinet and has done a good job of representing his constituents. Newmarket-Aurora, Oakridge- Markham and Thornhill could go either way depending on how the rest of this race shapes up. I attended Peter Kent's campaign launch and was impressed with their large base of volunteers and how well received his speech was. If he gets elected he will be a huge asset to York Region and the Conservative caucus. Stephen Harper has spent a lot of time in the GTA in the last few weeks and I believe it is having an impact in those crucial 905 area ridings around Toronto.

Right now I feel very fortunate to volunteer along side an experienced campaign team for a candidate, leader and party we all feel enthusiastic and motivated to support. Get out the vote, media relations and the debates will be crucial along with the remainder of the national campaign over the next 30 days. After week one though, we are off to a good start. So far it has been a very fun campaign to play a role in. I have got confidence we are on the right track to getting Lois elected MP for Newmarket-Aurora.
-Darryl

Made my CBC debut last night



If anyone saw the show last night, feedback is always appreciated. Also if there is anything you would like to see me film as part of our campaign in Newmarket-Aurora; please don't hesitate to make a suggestion in the comment section. This "Your Vote" segment will air every Friday on the national with my segment on October 10, just four days before the election.
-Darryl

Darryl on CBC National this Friday

As part of the CBC election coverage, I have been invited to participate on the National in a segment called "Your Vote". The basic concept is that 4 young grassroots volunteers from different ridings will be given CBC cameras to cover their activities during the election. The segments start Friday night during the National. I recorded an introduction and was at CBC headquarters yesterday for training and to iron out the final parameters of the show. I had the opportunity to see the operation that goes into the National and I was very impressed. The panel is made up of strong volunteers with good representation from all parties. I will be covering Newmarket-Aurora and York Region in general. I started my work today filming at the Stephen Harper event in Toronto today. There will also be video on the CBC website at www.cbc.ca/canadavotes I appreciate the opportunity that was presented to me by the CBC and I am going to work very hard to make sure the blue team is represented well on the program. The Green, NDP and Liberal volunteers will be working in Toronto ridings. Hopefully the show will be interesting and provide us in Newmarket-Aurora with good exposure for our candidate and campaign. My full segment airs October 10 just before the election and is the last of the four representatives.
-Darryl