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David Suzuki: Green guru or political meddler?
Suzuki has shown a remarkable propensity for meddling in partisan politics. And as long as the David Suzuki Foundation calls itself just that, it calls into question their charitable status.
Credit: By CHRISTINA BLIZZARD, www.stthomastimesjournal.com 23 September 2011 ~~
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Translate: FROM English | TO English
Tell us, David Suzuki. Are you an environmental guru?
Or a political hack – kissing the right butts at the right time?
Because if it’s the latter, it brings into question the integrity of your charitable foundation.
A video showing Suzuki and Premier Dalton McGuinty strolling through a Vancouver park was removed from the Liberal website recently, following complaints from a group opposed to wind turbines. Under Canada Revenue Agency rules, registered charities are not permitted to dabble in partisan politics.
In the video, Suzuki praises McGuinty for his green initiatives.
Clearly, Suzuki hasn’t talked to the residents of rural Ontario I’ve spoken to, who are outraged at the turbine monstrosities springing up there. They say they’re a blight on the landscape.
Near Zurich, on Lake Huron, for example, there are plans to build 260 turbines, some of 49-storeys high, with blades the size of a Boeing 747 wing span.
Each turbine consumes .6 hectares of prime farmland – that’s about 405 hectares of land that could be used to grow crops.
How green is that, Dr. S?
A spokesperson for Suzuki’s charitable foundation told Toronto Sun reporter Terry Davidson Suzuki had, stepped down from the board of the charitable foundation some time in the summer.
James Boothroyd also insisted the foundation didn’t break any rules.
A Toronto Star article, July 2, quoted Suzuki not only endorsing McGuinty, but slamming PC leader Tim Hudak. Here’s the Star quote:
“I’m offering an endorsement of what Mr. McGuinty has done, absolutely. This is a great plan. Any party would be foolish to talk about abandoning it,” he (Suzuki) said, noting the David Suzuki Foundation works closely with the government on promoting energy conservation.
It quotes Suzuki saying it would be, “absolute insanity,” for Hudak to scrap renewable energy projects such as wind and solar.
Suzuki has also appeared in Ontario ads promoting conservation.
Remember the ad where he sanctimoniously tells us to change our lightbulbs to energy efficient ones? In another, he sticks his head through a basketball-sized hole in a wall to lecture homeowners on how they should wrap themselves in blankets and caulk windows when there’s a draft.
I asked a Liberal spokesperson how much the Great Green God was paid for those ads, and was directed to a Suzuki blog in which he said people are so sick of air pollution and climate change: “I volunteered for an energy-conservation ad campaign for Powerwise, a partnership between local Ontario electrical utilities and the Government of Ontario. We’ve completed two television commercials and some print and outdoor advertising, all of which folks in Ontario can expect to see plenty of this summer.”
I don’t know if that means he did it for free, or he volunteered his expertise and was reimbursed. I asked for clarification. I’m still waiting.
Suzuki has shown a remarkable propensity for meddling in partisan politics. And as long as the David Suzuki Foundation calls itself just that, it calls into question their charitable status.
Most Canadians are just sick of the soaring electricity rates the Liberals are foisting on us. And we’ve had it up to here with creepy ads where a pompous ass lectures us on how to live our lives. Go caulk yourself, Dr. Suzuki.
We’re doing our best.
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