Evidence of meeting #27 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was community.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

John O'Connor  Physician, As an Individual
Andrew Nikiforuk  Author, As an Individual

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Thank you.

I was looking for a comprehensive bio, if you will, about you. What I could find, for example, is that you're an award-winning author. If I count correctly, you've won seven National Magazine Awards, a 2002 Governor General's Award, and the Toronto Star Atkinson Fellowship. Those are certainly some impressive credentials when it comes to being an author and an investigative journalist.

What other educational degree, work experience, anything like that, do you have that would lend itself to some relevant expertise on the oil sands? A biology degree, environmental sciences, hydrogeology, chemistry--do you have any expertise like that, Mr. Nikiforuk?

10:30 a.m.

Author, As an Individual

Andrew Nikiforuk

No. I would say I'm largely a business reporter who's been writing about the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years. I don't have any degrees.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Okay.

10:30 a.m.

Author, As an Individual

Andrew Nikiforuk

I'm not a well-degreed fellow.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Okay.

We'll be evaluating your testimony under the rubric of a journalist, not a scientist, then.

10:30 a.m.

Author, As an Individual

Andrew Nikiforuk

I've never—I'm an informed labourer, no more, no less.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Your website home page features a press release—I believe it's by the National Farmers Union—that characterizes you “as an honest and provocative voice in Canadian journalism”. Do you agree with their assessment of your journalism?

10:30 a.m.

Author, As an Individual

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

What is your relationship to Land Advocate: news for Canadians living with oil and gas production? What is your relationship to that publication?

10:30 a.m.

Author, As an Individual

Andrew Nikiforuk

That is a publication that I occasionally edit about oil and gas issues and how they affect landowners throughout western Canada.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Okay. I am holding in my hand—

10:30 a.m.

Author, As an Individual

Andrew Nikiforuk

I am a landowner in western Canada.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

Okay. Very good.

I have a copy of the Land Advocate from February 2008. I'm looking at something you edited for it, “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” It's about 750 words long, plus or minus. In it, you characterize Alberta as “an oil sands sheikdom”. You call them “a poster child” for the “First Law of Petropolitics”. You accuse them of being a “one-party state” and former Premier Ralph Klein of being “Alberta's number one petro bully”. You talk about “making propaganda”, hiring spies. You accuse the EUB of “acting with the same authoritarian élan championed by Hugo Chavez or Vladimir Putin”. Health Canada and Alberta Health is—

10:30 a.m.

Some hon. members

[Inaudible--Editor]

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Bezan

We are talking about oil sands and water and he is talking about oil, so go ahead, Mr. Watson.

10:30 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

It's not only that, Mr. Chair. The witness has agreed that he is both an honest and provocative journalist. I'm simply exploring that, if you don't mind.

You accuse Health Canada and Alberta Health of acting with “Russian-like malice”. This is all in 750 words. The icing on the cake is that the Public Affairs Bureau “works much like the Politburo in the former Soviet Union”. I'll remind you, Mr. Nikiforuk, that the Politburo was complicit under a true totalitarian regime of Josef Stalin for having killed tens of millions of its own people, including millions of Ukrainians who were starved to death, my mom's side of the family being Ukrainian.

June 11th, 2009 / 10:35 a.m.

Bloc

Bernard Bigras Bloc Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Chair, I would think that questions and comments should have a bearing on the agenda. However, I do not think that the comments have anything to do with the subject. Therefore, I request that you call the colleague to order.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Bezan

On the same point of order, Mr. Warawa.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

Speaking specifically to that point of order, Mr. Chair, there has been broad dialogue this morning from all around this table. So for Mr. Bigras now to try to muzzle one of the members of this committee and restrict his questioning is not appropriate—

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON

That's very totalitarian in fact.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC

—to the dialogue and he should continue.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Bezan

Order, here.

We have Mr. Woodworth.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON

Thank you.

I know this committee doesn't exactly test all of the evidence it receives, but it's quite a common thing to test the credibility of a witness. If a witness has made weird and unusual allegations previously on the very subject that we're here to study, I think it's very relevant to the witness's lack of credibility. I believe that's a legitimate point for us to explore.

10:35 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Bezan

Mr. Trudeau.

10:35 a.m.

Liberal

Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC

I believe that bringing in Stalin and his role around the politburo and the actions of 50 years ago as somehow being a parallel that the author brought in is a little beyond the reach of this study on oil sands and water, even with the generous sense of scope that we are applying here.