Posted on 04/14/2007 4:16:26 AM PDT by canuck_conservative
PORT ELGIN, ONT. - The "insanity" of the environmental movement is now the biggest threat to Canadian automotive jobs, Buzz Hargrove, the Canadian Auto Workers president, said yesterday.
Between the federal government's rebates to Japanese built cars, the threat of California- style emissions standards spreading to Canada, and the U.S. considering higher fuel efficiency, the CAW will almost certainly face more job losses, he said in a tirade at an annual council meeting.
He also charged that none of the environmental policies being promoted by politicians make sense or will stop global warming.
"It's the insanity of the environmental movement -- everybody's trying to outgreen each other," Mr. Hargrove said, singling out Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister, and George Bush, the U.S. president, for his harshest criticism.
"Politicians have gotten the green god and now they're running with it for the next election."
Four provinces --BC., Quebec, Nova Scotia and Manitoba --are now considering implementing California-style emissions standards, which would be "disastrous" for autoworkers and the Canadian economy, Mr. Hargrove said in his annual report to his members. Such standards would mean only one of 10 Big Three cars and trucks assembled by members of the Canadian Auto Workers in Canada could be sold in those provinces.
California standards "would mean every goddamn product we build can't be sold here except the Impala," which is built as an E-85 flex-fuel vehicle that runs on ethanol --even though E-85 is available in only two gas stations in Canada.
The biggest environmental threat to CAW jobs may be Mr. Bush's proposed plan to require that fuel efficiency of cars sold by the Detroit companies improve by four per cent per year, he said.
General Motors has put all development of its rear-wheel drive vehicles on hold until the matter is settled. GM's two Oshawa, Ont., assembly plants were to start building the next-generation rear-wheel-drive cars next year.
Mr. Hargrove said there is no clear indication yet as to how the American plan might impact GM in Canada, but said he knows that it is not good news.
The 4%-improvement rule could cause the cancellation of all of the vehicles scheduled to be built in Canada.
He also said that offering incentives to Ford to build more fuel-efficient engines in Windsor, Ont., would "make more sense" than bringing in new federal taxes and rebates that pay Canadians to buy foreign vehicles, as the latest budget did.
"You can't put penalties on people who need big vehicles for their families and to travel around North America."
"If I sound upset, I am," Mr. Hargrove said. "We're losing ground. Everybody seems to have given up on the autoworker."
© National Post 2007
Good 'ol Buzz. Ironically, his union's favorite party - the NDP - is also Canada's home for enviro-fanatics.
Must be a little conflict there.
Canada * ping *
It’d be nice to actually have a debate about this “science”. But no, can’t have that; it could lead to doubt. The church of Secular Humanism can’t stand doubters.
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
The Great Global Warming Swindle
The film is 75 minutes long. It is in .avi format. Fetchi it now, no delay, before Google finds out that it has been posted again and borks it again.
I run under the linux operating system. There is a set of tools for linux that make it easy to convert an avi file into a DVD disk image so that it can be played on an ordinary DVD player attached to a home television set. Probably there is an equivalent set of tools for Windows operating systems as well.
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Welcome to the party Buzz. Just remember that your socialist friends are responsible for this mess.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Does anybody here remember “Vaal” of the episode “The Apple” from Star Trek, the Original Series?
Yes, why?
We’re turning our food supply into ethanol to burn to stop three million years of climate change. It’s like throwing food into Vaal so the computer/god will continue to control the weather.
New!!: Dr. John Ray’s
GREENIE WATCH
Please ping me if you find one I’ve missed.
OKSooner and I are doing the POGW
ping list while xcamel is on vacation.
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