Beware the Bitumen Cliff! by TONY CLARKE, article originally appeared in Canadian Dimensions On the one hand, the Harper regime, fortified by the petroleum industry and related corporate and political elites, will likely make energy and the economy the defining issue of the election, perhaps even advocating the construction of these pipelines as a matter of national security in the light of recent events. On the other hand, the resistance movement against the tar sands largely led by First Nations and environmental groups, will continue waging pitch battles against each of the pipeline schemes in various regions, highlighting aboriginal land rights, climate and environmental impacts, as well as diverse local issues. However, tar sands campaigners will need to broaden and deepen their resistance if they hope to overturn the Harper agenda in 2015. The resistance movement cannot be effective if it does not broaden its scope to take on the energy/economy nexus with the view of building a broader base of solidarity that includes workers, youth, consumers, and other sectors of the progressive community.
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