Alberta's finest

[grassfarmer]

Been some hilarious entertainment in AB this week. The "Bernard the Roughneck" charade. A publicity stunt gone wrong. Congratulations to the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors and Rebel Media for making a complete fool of yourselves.

[Hamloc]

Grassfarmer He is interviewed on the left leaning Albertapolitics website read it and draw your own conclusions.

[boarderbloke]

grassy, why shoot the messenger? Absolutely everything on the left is astroturf, all day all the time, you only seem to care if the right does it.

[tweety]

So funny

[Oliver88]

Here is the interesting story which Bernard the Roughneck is trying to address tough times in the oil patch to the House of Commons....missed it during a few dry harvest days.


http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/business/roughneck-calls-on-feds-to-champion-hard-hit-oil-industry-1.3088761?autoPlay=true


Alberta oilfield worker and self-described roughneck Bernard Hancock has become an unofficial spokesperson for Canada’s beleaguered oil and gas industry, after he made an impassioned plea to federal politicians on Parliament Hill.
Dressed in a red hard hat and greased work overalls, Hancock was in Ottawa last week, for the presentation of one of the largest-ever e-petitions presented to the House of Commons. Signed by more than 34,000 Canadians, the petition calls for better respect for Alberta’s oil industry.
Hancock said he’s speaking out for his fellow Albertans, many of whom are desperately seeking employment.
“I’m not a guy from Calgary in a suit, I’m not a guy who’s knowledgeable about public policy or the processes that go on in buildings like this, I’m a roughneck,” he told reporters on Parliament Hill. “I’m a guy who has a job in Alberta whose livelihood has been threatened.”
In an interview on CTV’s Your Morning on Monday, Hancock said he made the trip to Ottawa to try and persuade the government to take action. The situation in his home province remains bleak for those who depend on the oilfield industry for employment, he said.
“It’s extremely difficult,” Hancock said. “There’s guys out there who work in minimum-wage jobs, just to make it. There’s consultants out there rough-necking, breaking their backs and they’re 45 years old.”
What’s worse, Hancock added, is that the unemployed people trying to get those back-breaking jobs won’t get hired, “because these employers know that once the patch picks up, these guys will leave.”
Blaming the current employment situation on low oil prices is a “disingenuous” argument, Hancock said. “Interest rates are low, the Canadian dollar is low, and services are cheaper than they’ve ever been, and oilfield companies plan on 20- to 30-year timelines.”
The petition presented to the House of Commons calls on the government to champion the oil industry and “recognize that we need to get our product to tide water,” Hancock said.
He said a lack of new pipelines inhibits Canada’s ability to move oil, and thus be competitive as possible on a global scale.
“We need safe, reliable transport of our resources and we want to promote the most ethical and environmentally responsible jurisdiction in the world, and the good Canadian people that work in it,” Hancock said.
He said, while pipeline leaks are a “reasonable concern,” no one wants to see another tragedy like the 2013 rail disaster in Lac Megantic, Que.
“We’ve got to think about what the alternative is to not building these pipelines, and … that’s more rail transport,” Hancock said.
He also said Canada shouldn’t be importing oil from countries in the Middle East, where he says many citizens, such as those in the LGBT community, face human rights abuses.
“Canadians don’t seem to realize that if don’t produce this product here, it’s geo-politically destabilizing, and we’re helping out our enemies in countries that do not respect human rights,” Hancock said.
Back home, Hancock said he doesn’t think Canadians outside of Alberta understand the scope of the pain being caused by high unemployment rates in the province.
“Families are being destroyed, guys are having to come to the banks with the keys to their homes,” he said, adding it’s “time Canada sticks up for Alberta.”
In a statement to CTV’s Your Morning, the federal government said it will be tabling a response to the petition in Parliament, and until then can’t speak to the specifics of the petition. The Ministry of Natural Resources also said it is working to address the situation in Alberta.
“Budget 2016 includes measures to support the creation of a more resilient sector over the long term and help Canadian families affected by the recent downturn in the industry,” the statement said.

[Guest]

Quebec will understand when alberta has no money to send them to fund their subsidized daycare , education , liquor , etc., etc. , etc.