That was a very, very weak rebuttal to the environment impact claims that were made.

Here, I'll paraphrase:

Claim #1: We're not the world’s largest ecological atrocity. We're like #5 or #6. See isn't that better now?

Claim 2.: We contribute 5% of total greenhouse emissions for Canada but that's less than all of our automobiles. See isn't that better?

Claim 3: We admit our carcinogenic waste is making it to Fort Chipewan but you can't prove our levels are high enough to cause cancer. (Of course you can't prove they're not either.) See, now isn't that better?

Claim 4: Our environmental contaminants at current levels of exposure are unlikely to cause major health impact for the general population. Send your kids out to play in the dirt. It's unlikely to cause neurological damage to their developing brains. Now don't you feel better.

Claim 5. We won't take american property using imminent domain so long as they agree to our easement lease terms. Now don't you feel better?


The oil sands ARE an environmental disaster and any attempt to minimize that fact is hogwash.