Stephane Dion: The man without a clue

This is really rich. The new so-called "leader" of the Liberal Party of Canada, and Prime Ministerial wannabe "didn't know".

In a National Post report this morning Stephane Dion denies knowing anything about a Liberal plan to greatly expand the oil sands to supply oil to the U.S.A. while he was the Environment Minister of Canada just one year ago!

To quote the report:

"The plan - made public by a joint committee of government experts from Natural Resources Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy who met in Houston, Texas Jan. 23-24, 2006, before Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government was sworn in - encouraged decision makers ''to streamline the regulatory approval process,'' with a ''one-stop-shop'' for project proposals and facilitate a ''fivefold'' expansion of oil production in Alberta from one million to five million barrels a day.

The committee was set up under the Security and Prosperity Partnership between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, which scheduled the talks several months earlier.

''This meeting, if it took place, I wasn't aware (of it). Certainly not,'' Dion said at a news conference Thursday."

Well he's consistent, because I'm sure he "wasn't aware" of Adscam either, even though he was a Quebec-based minister in the federal cabinet of Jean Chretien while the whole shameful affair was being perpetrated on you and me.

There are only several possible explanations here on both issues.

1. He honestly didn't know. If this is true, it can only be because he was viewed as such a lightweight that he didn't need to be kept in the loop of real decision making. This, of course, would be entirely consistent with Liberal dogma which has a handful of the annointed telling the rest of us what's best for us. Dion has already said he will override local constituency associations and appoint his own hand-picked candidates if he feels that's what's best. He studied and learned from the best at this type of regal arrogance. So if his own party's leadership didn't feel it necessary to tell the Minister of the Environment about a plan to boost oil sands output by five-fold to the U.S.A., our largest and most important trading partner, then why the heck would I want him to be my Prime Minister?

2. Some people simply wander through life "unaware". They go to meetings, but don't take notes. They don't read memos, they don't answer their e-mail for weeks and even when they are "on the team", they simply don't "get it". In my experience it's sometimes easier to simply leave these loners out of the loop than to expend energy trying to keep them up to speed, and just call them in for the mandatory rubber stamp when all of the real decisions have been made in advance. So maybe his ministry was indeed involved, but he, as minister, didn't need to be told, and "didn't realize what was happening" ... i.e. "he didn't know".

3. Maybe he's lying. Maybe he knew full-well what was happening, but the new "green" Stephane Dion would look hypocritical now if he knew about, and approved plans just 12 months ago to ramp up the biggest greenhouse gas emitter in Canada to feed the U.S. appetite for oil. Maybe the cabinet minister from Quebec knew full well what was happening with Adscam, and either approved, or turned a blind eye while the corrupt party machinery delivered majority after majority. That too would be hypocritical for the "new" leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

The explanations for federal cabinet minister Stephane Dion not knowing so much of what he darn well should have known can only be some variation of one of the above three possibilities. None of these bodes well for a man who thinks he has what it takes to be my Prime Minister.

I know one thing for sure. I don't want this man and his slick gang of cronies anywhere near the reins of power any time soon. I don't believe him, I don't trust him, and it is my personal belief that this man is simply more of the same. The smoke and mirrors show that this bunch has perpetrated on the Canadian people for over 13 years is alive and well, and he's just their latest leader.

Now let's all join Kermit in a rising swell of ... "It's Not Easy Being Greeeen ...."