President Obama met the Los Angeles Kings, and their coach, Darryl Sutter. According to a Globe and Mail front page story published prior to the meeting, Sutter was determined to speak to the President about the need to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Globe and Mail, which editorially supports Keystone XL, gave Sutter’s determination performance front-page status.
Environmentalists can count on support from movies stars and starlets. So why shouldn’t the tar sands be supported by hockey stars? Mind you, there is a difference between showing up at a public demonstration and giving the President an earful at a promotional meeting for the National Hockey League.
So apart from being the winning coach of the Stanley Cup winners, what were Sutter’s qualifications? A commentator on the CTV Website set out his qualifications in these terms:
“Darryl Sutter is an Alberta boy. He has lived here all of his life and still does. He has family and friends that work in our oil fields, he is more than qualified to act on Alberta’s behalf. Those of us who do live here, especially those that grew up in the small communities (as Darryl has) know that the oil and agriculture in the province is our lifeline. We’ve been educated all of our lives on the importance of the oil sands.”
Similar sentiments frequently animate visitors to the 4RG site who respond with comments critical of our position adverse to Alberta’s tar sands.
So far as we can tell the Los Angeles Kings meeting took place without approval of Keystone XL intruding into the ceremony. We doubt that Sutter’s opinion has changed, so we conclude that wiser counsel pointed out that his blunt advice might actually backfire.
We recognize that north of the Border, certain people reacted favourably to Sutter’s comments. Here is the spin on his remarks by the communicators from the Conservative Party Head Quarters.
Darryl Sutter Shows Thomas Mulcair How to Represent Canada on the World Stage
When Stanley Cup champion Darryl Sutter takes his Los Angeles Kings to meet President Obama today, he has vowed to deliver a message to the President – approve the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Darryl Sutter said he “absolutely” supports the Keystone XL Pipeline and that opposition to it “doesn’t make sense”.
Darryl Sutter’s decision to stand up for Canada when meeting with President Obama later today stands in sharp contrast to the actions of NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair who recently attacked the pro-Canadian Keystone XL Pipeline and Canada’s national interest on a trip to Washington D.C.
Thomas Mulcair’s betrayal of Canada’s national interests on the world stage drew fire from Canadian leaders including Premier Wall, Premier Redford, and media from coast to coast.
Our Conservative Government applauds and thanks Darryl Sutter for his efforts to promote Canada’s national interests and Canadian jobs on the world stage. We can only hope that NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is paying attention.
When it comes to the Keystone XL Pipeline, Thomas Mulcair needs to start listening to Darryl Sutter and stop listening to Daryl Hannah.
