When Marley’s Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come came to see Canada’s Prime Minister, the ghost looked a lot like American President Elect Donald Trump. Justin Trudeau had many questions for him but the ghost never spoke a word. He just kept on twitting.
The ghost took the Prime Minister to breakfast with the Calgary Board of Trade. The members welcomed the PM and listened to him while he spoke of his efforts on their behalf. They applauded the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline to Burnaby, B.C. and he assured them that not all B.C. residents would resist. He bragged of the planned expansion of Line 3 that would take diluted bitumen to the American pipeline networks.
Later in a question and answer session with the business people, Trudeau assured them of his support for the Keystone XL pipeline and that the new American President would approve. All he wanted in return for all this bounty was for the reluctant Albertans to pay their carbon taxes.
Maybe the Albertans knew more about tar sands exploitation than the Prime Minister. They must know that they could never pay enough in carbon taxes to offset the melting of the polar ice caps.
The ghost showed Justin the end result of a greying and dying world. The internment camps for pipeline protestors high in the B.C. Rockies, away from the encroaching Pacific Ocean, tell their story of resistance.
He showed the PM the results he can expect of a government that promises Sunny Days and delivers pipelines. He showed how neoliberalism is but a shadow of extreme conservatism—and Harper-lite has returned to Ottawa.
He also showed the PM, the results of his revisions in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He had renegotiated and because he likes Canada he is willing to transfer the Mexican Maquiladora free trade zones to Sothern Ontario. Of course, Ontario will have to reduce its minimum wage to C$3.00 per hour.
And before he disappeared driving the last Canada-built GM truck, the ghost called out “Merry Christmas to all, and to all the best of luck.”
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Copyright 2016 © Peter Lowry
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