Ms Notley questions Minister of Energy about plans to teach Alberta’s oil sands in classrooms
The following is copied from the February 16, 2010 printed transcripts of the Legislative debate and discussion.
Ms Notley (Edmonton-Strathcona ND): Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Energy minister recently announced a plan to indoctrinate school kids
about oil sands and carbon capture plans. It appears the minister is worried
about media stories that are saturated with embarrassing scrutiny of his
government’s failure to protect the environment, and his plan is to turn a
blind eye to the black one they have created in the oil sands. Now,
instead of using propaganda in schools, why doesn’t the Energy
minister educate oil sands companies about protecting our environment
by forcing them to reduce actual emissions instead of paying
them to bury the problem underground?
Mr. Liepert (Calgary-West PC): Well, Mr. Speaker, I have to chuckle
because we have been successful at one thing: we have convinced those
two members over there to call it the oil sands. So our education program
is already working. Schoolchildren in this province are not going to
take as long to learn as those two members over there.
Ms Notley: Well, Mr. Speaker, I guess this just goes to show why
propaganda is something that ought to be carefully controlled.
Instead of introducing said oil sands propaganda into the classroom
– we know it will not stop the growing criticisms of this
government’s failure to responsibly manage our environment. So
instead of playing Big Brother, why doesn’t the Energy minister
teach kids a lesson in responsible governance and force oil sands
companies to clean up their act and reduce emissions?
Mr. Liepert: Well, Mr. Speaker, one of the things that is very
important is to ensure that – and this might be a better question,
actually, to be placed to the Minister of Education. As our Education
curriculum continues to unfold to changing circumstances, it is
important that we ensure that students in our classrooms are
apprised. Unlike what the member would like to lead this Assembly
to believe, there’s no propaganda involved here. This is a situation
where, you know, when curriculums were developed a number of
years ago, the oil sands was not in existence.
Ms Notley: Well, Mr. Speaker, I doubt the Energy minister’s plan
to infiltrate classrooms will include a frank discussion about the
pitfalls of carbon capture, I doubt it will teach children about global
warming and the effects the oil sands are having on our environment,
and I doubt that it will teach kids about lobbyists and how oil
sands companies can increase political influence. Why won’t the
Minister of Energy admit that this Orwellian plan isn’t about
educating but, rather, about hiding his government’s failure to
protect our environment today and for the very kids he’s going to
propagandize to?
Mr. Liepert: Well, what it will talk about, Mr. Speaker, is the
tremendous activity that’s gone on in the oil sands area relative to
reclamation. It will talk about and put in real terms the emissions
from the oil sands relative to not only the rest of the country and to
the world, but it will also probably talk about things like how many
jobs in Quebec come directly from the oil sands. I’m glad to see that
the Premier of Quebec has realized this and is now planning a
mission to Alberta to encourage Alberta oil sands companies to buy
products from Quebec. These are the kinds of things that we want
to ensure, that Alberta students have the real facts. (121)
