Who will protect us from our supposed protectors? Bill 106 = Shale Gas
Mr. Alain D'Auteuil, from Drummondville, warns his fellow citizens against the Québec government's direction regarding oil and gas development in the province.
Who will protect us from our supposed protectors?
Bill 106 = Shale Gas
With this law, the government rolls out the red carpet for the gas companies. Let us protect ourselves from the enormous appetite of the multinationals, who, in the name of the economy, have no scruples in siphoning off our resources, dispossessing people of their fundamental rights, lying, and buying the media and the government with lobbyist bias.They eliminate all obstacles in their way, nothing is sacred, because the laws made over time to their benefit give them all the rights. Yes, the system that they have put in place serves their interests perfectly. But, in fact, who are "they", these disconnected narcissistic billionaires who rule the world like puppet masters? Having money is not necessarily synonymous with having good sense... The manager who dares put the client before the shareholder will be relieved of his duties and replaced with someone more compliant. This goes as well for governments and even those municipalities which under the enormous pressure of the private sector, end up falling in line for fear of reprisals. But there is a big problem: as is their wont, corporations hand the bill to the citizenry. When the government becomes the employee of the corporation, the citizen becomes the client and must pay the price: these are externalities. All of this is very well explained in the book The Corporation by Joel Bakan, published by Transcontinental Editions in 2004, also available on DVD.Keep in mind that these politicians wish to be re-elected and for that they must satisfy the population which in this case is in the great majority against fracking and the accompanying pipelines. Many elected officials limit themselves to saying: "the law will pass and we will negotiate it afterwards". As one never negotiates a contract after signing it, we must put pressure on the elected officials. This is our last chance to escape the absurdity of a path through hydrocarbons in order to move towards green energies. In fact, green technologies are simply "shelved" - for example, the Hydro Québec motor wheels. Trust rather in the scientific community, which will tell you the truth about our present environmental reality and the consequences of such projects, because the scientists are not selling anything.If we allow the exploitation of fossil fuels in Québec, once the rock is fractured, it will be impossible to go back, despite the billions and the regrets. Take charge of our business for once, before having to line up for food and drinking water. We cannot drink gas and eat money. If we must reduce it to the monetary: which will sell more dearly in the future, gas or water? At present, the government practically gives our water to corporations, which resell it at a high price. All fracking will contaminate the water for kilometers around … it will travel by watersheds; with time, all levels in the St Lawrence Valley will be contaminated. In the future, the truly rich will be those who have clean water sources.It is clear, more than ever, that we now stake it all; we are at the crossroads: either we go with fossil fuels, and pull the switch to our own loss (pollution, division, sickness and death), or we show foresight and protect our water, air and land. The choice is before us.We often meet a form of self-protection which consists of hiding from reality, but this time, we must not run, but face our fears and unite to get through it. There is no question of business as usual.Join a citizen's committee www.rvhq.ca (and sign the petition against Bill 106).We do not want to end up like the people of Pennsylvania and North Dakota, but, like the French and Algerians, who rallied and succeeded in halting everything and remaining free.
Alain D'Auteuil
Drummondville
November 20th, 2016