Is our world a little cuckoo?

I am of the belief that we are living in a world of movie sequels, or better put — sometimes it seems that the future of our world is being determined by the theatrical ambitions of our political leaders.

When searching for a movie title to best describe our current ‘What-did-I-just-step-in?’ predicament, the movie that encapsulates the current mood for me is, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. This 1975’s Oscar-winning film is about an institution for the deemed mentally challenged whose challenge is to challenge the challenge. And in the end, some patients win!

There never was a sequel to the movie, but just by looking at our political landscape that is in dire need of landscaping, I offer a follow up sequel title — The Two Who are Running the Cuckoo’s Nest.

It is cuckoo to consider that in British Columbia a party that won just three seats (the Green party) with 332,000 out of two million votes now has the swing power if it teams with the NDP to determine the future of the oil sands in NDP-friendly Alberta — as well as our national energy profile on the global stage. But that global stage has some very loose planks in it, that our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not seem to have the nails to fix.

It looks like it’s easier for Justin Trudeau to travel the globe and answer slush ball questions on breakfast television in the U.S. rather than answer hardball questions in Parliament or anywhere else in this country.

Alberta’s sequel may well be, Who Just Pooped in Our Cuckoo’s Nest? Premier Rachel Notley will have cause to pose the titled question to maintain some form of credibility within her party, not to mention in the voting minds of Albertans. The 2015 Climate Leadership stage show, with some oil sands producers linked arm in arm as her backdrop, has but one supporter left. The Kinder Morgan federally approved Edmonton to Burnaby pipeline expansion is now in doubt due to the precarious political cliff that the project finds itself on — thanks to the, ‘Here today, maybe gone tomorrow,’ governing coalition in B.C.

Meanwhile in Ottawa, where our political leaders go to become confused, the head of the graduating class would be our own Justin Trudeau who insists on imposing a national carbon tax while ignoring the fact that some provinces like Manitoba and Saskatchewan don’t like being imposed upon.

They quite rightly argue that unless there is a similar carbon penalty imposed by President Donald Trump on a national basis in the U.S., then a pan Canadian carbon tax would financially alienate us from our largest trading partner — and as such should be panned.

Unless of course we Canadians want to star in the final sequel, The Cuckoos That Got Stuck in the Cuckoo’s Nest.

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Roger McKnight is the Chief Petroleum Analyst with En-Pro International Inc.
Roger has over 25 years experience in the oil industry, and has held senior marketing management positions responsible for national and international accounts. He is the originator of the card lock concept of marketing on-road diesel that is now the predominant purchase method of diesel in Canada. Roger's knowledge of the oil industry in North America, and pricing structures has resulted in his expertise being sought as a commentator by local, national, and international media. Roger is a regular guest on radio and television programs, and he is quoted regularly in newspapers and magazines across Canada.


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