In Mark Carney’s worldview, Canadian energy sector workers need to sacrifice and be part of the ‘energy transition.’ But Carney can invest heavily in oil in foreign countries. They expect you to ignore this rampant hypocrisy.
It has become fashionable to criticize ‘the elites,’ and I certainly do it quite often.
However, aside from the fact that they aren’t really ‘elite’ in terms of the performance sense of the word, Canada’s so-called elites often differ from those of the past.
Whereas those who succeeded most in the capitalist system were often advocates of ruthless competition (which gives opportunity to all who have the strength to seize it), the ‘new elites’ can’t even admit what they are.
As a result, what we call ‘elitism’ is more of an attitude than a station in life, as many successful people don’t have an elitist attitude, while many failing individuals do.
Rampant hypocrisy has become the order of the day, with a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ mentality permeating everything.
Consider Jagmeet Singh.
Jagmeet Singh ripped ‘anti-maskers’ as ‘far-right’ people who don’t care about those around them.
Then, Jagmeet Singh was found to have broken mask rules:
“Jagmeet Singh in his own words:
“Jagmeet Singh says there’s a link between anti-maskers and far-right extremism” @CBCNews 10 May 21
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh apologizes after video shows him breaking COVID-19 rules”
Jagmeet Singh in his own words:
"Jagmeet Singh says there's a link between anti-maskers and far-right extremism" @CBCNews 10 May 21
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh apologizes after video shows him breaking COVID-19 rules https://t.co/wK6SjY5LwL #cdnpoli
— Rex Glacer (@rexglacer) May 27, 2021
However, there is something else interesting here.
Singh appears to be driving a BMW, which is presumably a gas-powered vehicle.
It’s also not cheap.
That’s nothing to criticize of course, and the fact that Singh appears to like fancy cars and fancy suits brings a sense of style that Canadian politics often severely lacks.
But the broader issue is the hypocrisy, the attitude that Singh should be able to break the rules, and enjoy a luxurious lifestyle based on expensive consumerism, while holding himself up as the opposite and pushing policies that deny those same opportunities to others.
After all, Singh has moved the NDP in an even more socialist direction, and regularly rails against ‘the big oil companies’ and the wealthy, while enjoying a lifestyle akin to those he criticizes.
Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised, since leaders living it up while the people are impoverished tends to be a common feature of socialist states.
And that brings us to Mark Carney.
As you may have recently seen, Carney was questioned in committee by Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre.
It didn’t go well for Carney:
“Carney tells Industry Committee he opposes western Canadian pipeline project, but supports his company’s multibillion-dollar-pipeline investments in Latin America and the Middle East.”
And this wasn’t the only thing Poilievre grilled Carney on.
Turns out Carney supports corporate welfare for solar panel manufacturers – with most of the components coming from China:
“Mark Carney favours massive corporate welfare for solar panels.
He admits most solar components are from China.
China’s coal-powered mines & factories make solar products in a region suspected of forced labour.
Does his company get its solar products there?
I asked.”
As you consider the clips above, notice how for all of Carney’s attempts to reposition himself as if he was ‘educating’ Poilievre, and all his verbal evasions, Carney simply couldn’t extract himself from the reality that he opposes a pipeline in Canada, while seeking to profit from pipelines in foreign countries.
It is that simple.
If Carney opposes a Canadian pipeline project, he is taking the stance that the positives of investment and job creation for Canadians are outweighed by the negatives.
Yet, he then makes the opposite calculation when it comes to foreign pipelines, meaning there is support for foreign energy sector workers, but not for Canadians.
No matter what Carney said, he couldn’t escape that hypocrisy.
It’s the hypocrisy of Canada’s ‘elitist class.’
They don’t hold themselves to the rules they expect you to play by.
They don’t seem to care about the prospects of their fellow Citizens.
Even worse, they actively attempt to restrict economic opportunity and wealth creation in Canada, while being glad to profit from it in foreign countries.
Where is the consistency?
If someone disagrees with you, you can at least respect if they are consistent.
If Carney was opposed to all energy sector investment, and if he advocated that all energy sector workers, all across the world, transitioned to ‘renewable energy,’ he would at least have the credibility of holding to a set of principles.
Further, if Carney refused to invest in any energy that wasn’t ‘renewable,’ that would also be consistent.
It also works the other way.
There’s no problem with Carney’s company seeking to invest in and profit from oil pipelines in foreign countries, so long as they also support pipelines in Carney’s ‘home country’ of Canada.
That too, would be consistent.
But instead of consistency, Carney offers hypocrisy.
Oil sector jobs in Canada = Bad.
Oil sector jobs in foreign countries = Good.
Canadian virtue-signalling
In many ways, Carney’s hypocrisy is simply another example of Canada’s rampant virtue-signalling.
We see this attitude in how Justin Trudeau is willing to accuse Canadians of genocide, yet won’t say the same about China or ISIS.
We see this attitude in how our elitist political class opposes Canadian pipelines, but is glad to import oil from places like Saudi Arabia.
And we see it in how prominent Canadian ‘environmentalists’ lecture everyone while enjoying a life of luxury that features a massive carbon footprint.
In all these things, they expect us to act like serfs who notice the hypocrisy of a feudal lord:
Be quiet, put your head down, and ‘listen to your betters.’
Of course, that attitude is completely in opposition to the idea of democracy, where our leaders are supposed to serve us and be held accountable.
Thus, the same people who claim to be so concerned about the supposed ‘decline of democracy’ are themselves the biggest contributors to that decline, by embracing an arrogant hypocrisy that destroys trust in our leaders, generates more anger, outrage, and division, and employs gaslighting and a sense of helplessness as people witness hypocrisy and are expected to pretend it doesn’t exist.
As long as we continue to allow hypocritical ‘leaders’ to oppose our national interest, Canada will never achieve our full potential, and will remain in danger of breaking apart.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
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