WILL GREG THOMPSON SPEAK OUT AGAINST LNG???

greg, originally uploaded by Oldmaison.

I always like this guy. Last spring he spoke out loud and clear against the Monopoly of Newspapers in this Province by the Irvings! Will he speak out strongly against the LNG? Time will tell!!!

Here's an editorial in the Irving's paper!!!

NB Telegraph-Journal | Editorials
As published on page A6 on March 7, 2006

Where is the PM on LNG issue?

No one can accuse Prime Minister Stephen Harper of timidity. He has been quick to act on his campaign promises - moving to replace the previous government's day care funding program, modifying the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominees and authorizing his justice minister to look at how the federal gun registry can be dismantled.

For New Brunswickers, though, there is one issue Mr. Harper has not addressed as quickly or publicly as many people would like. Will U.S. tankers carrying liquefied natural gas be allowed to pass thorough Canadian waters in Passamaquoddy Bay?

The Conservatives ran on the promise they would oppose LNG projects in Maine that could threaten New Brunswick's environment and economy. Mr. Harper said he would take every step possible to keep LNG tankers out of Canadian waters. So why hasn't the public heard him say it since he moved into the Prime Minister's residence?

We appreciate that Mr. Harper is trying to strengthen relations between Canada and the United States. Several outstanding issues need to be resolved, from the question of whether Canada will participate in building a space-based ballistic missile shield to U.S. duties against softwood lumber. But to those whose landscape and livelihoods are most threatened by the LNG projects, Mr. Harper's official silence sounds exactly like Paul Martin's.

Is the federal government expressing its opposition through diplomatic channels? Are federal bureaucrats busy investigating Canada's options and marshalling legal arguments? New Brunswickers have no idea.

Charlotte County residents look across the border, to Washington County, Bangor and Augusta, Me. and Washington, DC and see corporations building up a head of steam behind LNG developments that depend on tankers passing through sensitive Canadian waters. They pick up their morning paper and read comments by the spokesmen of these corporations, claiming Head Harbour Passage is a "territorial sea" and predicting "the United States isn't going to back down."

While Mr. Harper's government is pursuing its case in the backrooms and corridors of government, the developers are making their pitch to the American public. They're firing the first, persuasive shots of a public relations battle, a battle that will result in lost opportunities on one side of the border or the other. Canada is not answering them - at least, not in the public forums where the debate is being waged.

LNG opponents have given Mr. Harper a "step in" deadline of April 7. If, by that time, the federal government has not stated its position, they'll start cranking up a public relations campaign of their own.

The first signal the new Prime Minister sent the United States was that Canada will not relinquish its sovereignty over the Arctic or other Canadian waters. It's time his government reaffirmed that message by taking a stand on Passamaquoddy Bay.