Mayor Gregor Robertson seemingly lost his political mind this week by taking a risky position on a divisive issue that could see him booted from office.
In a widely tweeted op-ed in the pages of my former employerno, not Pravda but the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»SunRobertson shocked Vancouverites by declaring war on the oil industry.
The bicycle-riding, green tea-sipping mayor doesnt want Kinder Morgan to triple its pipeline capacity to allow more oil to be pumped down the existing tube from Alberta to Burnaby.
Nor does Robertson want to see an increase in oil tankers plying the waters of the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Harbour and Burrard Inlet.
Shocked?
Didnt think so. So, yes, that opening line was me being facetious.
Of course the political leader who wants Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»to be the greenest city in the world by 2020 is going to slam a proposal that promotes an increase from 350,000 barrels of crude per day to 850,000 coming to these shores.
Robertsons opposition is rooted in the same values that saw him and his ruling Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»party quash Paragon Gamings proposal to build a mega casino adjacent to B.C. Place Stadium.
Yes, a lot of people appreciated the partys position on gambling expansion and there will no doubt be those anti-oil types who make room for Robertson at the protests.
But Vancouverites shouldnt be surprised at Kinder Morgans request to increase its pipelines capacitynot at a time when politicians such as Robertson and those at senior levels of government continue to say that growth is good for cities, good for provinces, good for the country.
During the fall election campaign, Robertson promised a review of the citys regulatory framework on job spaces and taxes and an examination of business slowdown affected by red tape. He also promoted trade, too.
These measures are intended to reduce red tape, to catalyze innovation and to encourage and better prepare our city for increased trade with new global marketsa real focus, in particular, on China, Asia and South America, he said during a campaign speech last October.
Ive asked Robertson a few times how growth is good for homeless people, those on low incomes and housing. Never have received a clear answer.
Ive also asked how Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»can be classified as a world-class city when the child poverty rate continues to be the highest in B.C., the income gap between rich and poor is at its greatest and a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Foundation study found whats irking people most who live in Metro Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»isnot homelessness, not poverty, not mental illness, not oil tankersbut isolation.
But I digress.
What I didnt see in Robertsons op-ed was a list of practical alternatives to our reliance on oil. Im not talking pie-in-the-sky ideas or impractical solutions$30,000 electric cars for everybody!but alternatives that could be used in an argument against Kinder Morgan.
Keep in mind, not everybody rides a bicycle or uses transit.
So heres my challenge to you, Mr. Mayor: I will give up this coveted space in exchange for your 600 words of concise, practical and realistic alternatives to the crude, dude.
Please, no copying and pasting from the citys so-called greenest action plan. No use of the word sustainable, either. Get in touch. You know the number.
Twitter: @Howellings
