Wildfires erupt in Canada crude patch in threat to oil sands
One 7-acre fire is within about 6 miles of MEG Energy Corp.’s Christina Lake site, which produced almost 100,000 barrels a day in May.
Fidel Castro said Prime Minister Stephen Harper suffers from illusions regarding the extent of resource exploitation and the extensive claims the U.S. has on Canada.
In a rambling opinion piece printed in the Cuban News Agency, the 86-year-old leader of the Cuban revolution took aim at the oil sands.
“I knew about the damage caused by the Yankees to the people of Canada,” writes Castro.
“They forced the country to look for oil by extracting it from huge extensions of sand that are impregnated with that fluid, thus causing an irreparable damage to the environment of that beautiful and extensive country.”
Castro also accused Canadian companies of exploiting Latin America’s resources.
“. . . Guatemala has put up an admirable resistance against mining projects, thanks to the indigenous populations’ awareness of the value of their territories and their natural resources, which they consider a priceless ancestral heritage. However, in the last 10 years, the consequences of that struggle have been felt in the assassination of 120 human rights’ activists and (sic) advocators.”
Castro wrote wistfully about Pierre Elliott Trudeau calling him “. . . a brilliant and courageous politician who died prematurely . . .” and intimated that the country has been on the slide since then.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office declined comment on Castro’s statements.
Image from CBC documentary on Trudeau’s visit to Cuba in 1976
5 Comments
Arthur from Toorak
Let Fidel lecture, any visitor to Cuba learns what poor argument he wields.
Robertgleason
Harper is running a glee club for gangsters in Ottawa…all of them trying to create and fit into the blue blood ‘Olde Boys Club’ which they never will. Our new government just wants to look good and act like Hollywood stars and now they even wear make-up and eye-shadow. To lessen their work load our darlings in power create and hide behind swarms of government created… ‘arms length self regulated agencies’ …whose mandate is to confuse every issue, avoid dealing with the public, do as little as possible, rake in huge salaries and pensions for good friends, and of course tow the party line. And what’s saddest of all thanks to the ‘new age’ is that the majority of Canadians now vote for the cutest….not the smartest politicians. thus all the make-up and eye-shadow. My God they look like wax dummies!
Mike
What a lot of hot air. Bitumen has leeched into rivers and lakes and this has been documented as far back as the early 1800’s and the oilsands will actually become cleaner through the extraction processes.
Canadian mining companies operating in Latin America are accepted there because they have the highest standards in terms of fairness and caring for the people and the environment they work in.
Indeed, Fidel has no legs to stand on when it comes to Community Relations…
Jirka
As a frequent visitor to Cuba I would suggest Raul to worry more about the sanitary conditions of the outhouses so prevalent in Cuban cities and leave Canadians to worry about their business.
Biddulph Art
One comunist to another Trudeau and Castro. I pray we never get another Trudeau.
We will never forget what Trudeau did to us in western Canada with his national energy program.I do not understand why they say he was a great canadian. He was a comunistwho avoided conscription during ww2.