Don't These Guys Read Vanity Fair?

Going green, it appears, is trendy again.

Brian Mulroney, perhaps the most despised PM ever, has recently been rewarded the mantle of most enviro-friendly PM ever. To his credit, he did mutter something in his speech about 'being the best of a bad lot...'

Brian Mulroney's old policy advisor, the Cape Breton environmentalist Elizabeth May, is now running for the leadership of the federal Green Party.

Stephane Dion is trying to rebrand the federal Liberal party as a political vehicle that is actually enviro-friendly - never mind that the outgoing government's rhetoric on Kyoto had a rather pungent odour of we-talk-so-we-don't-have-to-act.

In New Brunswick, the environment has suddenly been promoted to the top 5 of provincial government priorities. Sorry, licence plate motto enthusiasts, your crusade will have to wait 'till next year.

Even Vanity Fair, the glossy magazine devoted to consumerism and gossip, has come out with an inaugural GREEN issue. (ADBUSTERS, eat your heart out. Internet-inventor Al Gore is demurely sitting at the feet of Julia Roberts on the cover..)

So why, can anyone tell me, has Ottawa gutted Energuide, and left Elizabeth Weir to advertise Efficiency NB programs that are now about as effective as NB Power's energy advisors service?

There's No "I" in Team...

The governing Tories have announced their latest proposal to end the legislative logjam in Fredericton, and Opposition House Leader Kelly Lamrock is predictably threatening to go nuclear.

In response to queries from the Telegraph Journal, Lamrock offered the following self-absorbed reply, taken from today's front section:

...Mr. Lamrock promised to fight the proposed rule changes to the bitter end.

"Just watch me. We'll have to see what we can do," he said.

Exactly what he's planning remains to be seen.

"I don't think it would be in my interest to set out a strategy here today," Mr. Lamrock said...

JUST WATCH ME? Has no one told this guy that Pierre Trudeau's self-absorption was in large part justified, simply because he was always the smartest guy in the room?

As for Kelly Lamrock, being one-time captain of the UNB Debating Team may give you some procedural heft, but in no way does it justify quoting PET. Heck, given his constant desire to get himself in the first paragraph of any legislative story, I'm not even sure if this guy merits comparison to Chubby Power.

Someone tell Shawn Graham nobody remembers the name of Louis Robichaud's house leader.

Atlantica and producing less poverty

The West has their Pacific Gateway initiative - and the billions of federal infrastructure dollars that go with it.

Now, the Eastern business lobby wants a piece of the action. They've developed a pretty sound business case around their idea, aptly titled Atlantica.


For those who are proponents of freer trade, it's a pretty easy sell - enhance trade links between both sides of the border, and both New England and the Maritimes will prosper.

There is a potential argument to be made that Atlantica could benefit the labouring masses as well. A few years ago, Statistics Canada released a compelling analysis of poverty in major Canadian urban centres.

One interesting factoid, discovered after 20 years of census collection? Little old Windsor, Ontario, home to the busiest Canadian border crossing, saw one of the most significant reductions in poverty of any Canadian city in the post-Free Trade era.

If the Detroit-Windsor corridor saw greater competition in border services in the form of an enhanced New Brunswick gateway promised under Atlantica, a number of average Joes and Jills could benefit. Truck drivers would be able to utilize better, more efficient routes, small accountant and delivery firms could morph into specialized customs brokerages, and more New Brunswickers could be happily found in a situation where government policy leads to more work, and not more structural unemployment.

Let's move forward with Atlantica. At the very least, it could mean a shorter drive to Montreal - Canada's one true metropolis.

For The Record: Tanker Malley Is Awesome!

Thank you, Tanker, for making New Brunswick politics interesting again.

Ever since you crossed the floor, ruined Cleveland Allaby's hopes of becoming a judge, fished for work for someone named Judy, got elected speaker, took credit for the budget, limited your media interviews to Miramichi's favourite (and only) rock station, THE RIVER, and then hop-scotched back into the Tory caucus, Fredericton has been blessed with political fun! fun! fun! unseen since poor old Dick Hatfield tried to share a doobie with our Queen.

Tanker Malley is one bus driver who knows how to start a pile-up. With both Bernard Lord and Shawn Graham trading insults on a daily basis (all the while being coached by their respective puppet masters, Percy Mockler and Kelly Lamrock), who knows when this legislative impasse will come to an end.

My guess? When Fredericton's May heat wave hits the legislative building, the first caucus to lose a member to dehydration will be the one to concede. Unless, of course, Frank Branch goes to jail.

Fredericton's legislature is now the baddest in the land. Take that, Stephen Harper and your boring accountability act!

Now Tony Soprano Can Visit NB...

In case you missed the latest press release from the Claudette Bradshaw International Airport, Moncton is now offering a daily flight to the Big Apple.

Well, almost. The flight doesn't get you to New York City, but instead takes you to Newark, New Jersey. If any of you have seen the opening credits to the Sopranos, you'll instantly recognize the bleak landscape as you take the shuttle bus to Manhattan.

For New Jersey residents looking for a similar feeling of bleakness during their visit to NB, I would suggest one of Moncton's big box stores. Either that, or the tidal bore.