David Suzuki's Attack on Friends of Science Countered with Expose of Suzuki Fund’s Astroturf Corporate Connections, says Friends of Science
CALGARY, Alta. (PRWEB) July 19, 2018 -- In the Georgia Straight on July 10, 2018, Dr. David Suzuki unleashed a virulent attack on Friends of Science Society and other grassroots Canadian non-profits who are speaking up in support of common sense energy and climate policy issues in Canada, says Friends of Science. In response, on July 17, 2018, Friends of Science Society posted a commentary entitled “Uprooting The David Suzuki Fund Corporate Connections” critical of what they say are Suzuki fund's astroturf activities on behalf of major corporations and institutional investors, some of which were participants at the recent G7 conference in Charlevoix.
Suzuki has been an outspoken opponent of the Kinder Morgan TransMountain pipeline expansion projects, dating back several years as reported in this Nov. 23, 2014 report in the Vancouver Observer. The Friends of Science commentary reveals that there is a curious connection between Desjardins and Power Corporation to the David Suzuki Fund, both of which are associated with Caisse de Depot et Placement of Quebec, which is both a major investor in Kinder Morgan and Power Corporation. As reported in the Toronto Star of May 13, 2018, "Canada’s second-largest pension fund, last month disclosed holdings of 10.2 million shares in Kinder Morgan Canada, making it the largest investor outside of its parent company."
Determined pipeline blockade activists, as well as pipeline rejection by the BC provincial government and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, egged on by high profile anti-oil activists like David Suzuki, are the main reason the Canadian federal government entered into an agreement to purchase Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline expansion project from the company for $4.5 billion, as reported by Maclean’s magazine on May 29, 2018.
Friends of Science Society says the David Suzuki Foundation appears to have been astroturfing for Power Corporation, which has been funding the Suzuki Fund since 2007, according to Power’s 2017 CDP report. In 2015, David Suzuki Foundation submitted a proposal (#398) for the implementation of wind to Alberta’s Climate Panel. Power Corporation subsidiaries are now building a wind farm in Jenner, Alberta – a project opposed by Friends of Science.
The Competition Bureau of Canada has recently issued guidelines for advertisers working with social media influencers, requiring them to acknowledge material connections and that their material is not false or misleading.
Friends of Science Society says David Suzuki Foundation’s claims about renewables are not supported by the evidence, outlined in their April 26, 2017 report entitled: “Due Diligence on Renewable Demands by David Suzuki Foundation.”
In related news, Friends of Science Society have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, expressing concerns about unauthorized foreign interference in Canadian domestic climate and energy policies, and outlining recent climate science findings that render the COP-21 Paris Agreement irrelevant.
Friends of Science Society says the sun is the main direct and indirect driver of climate change, along with natural variabilities like ocean cycles. Carbon dioxide is not the control knob on climate.
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Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens who are celebrating its 16th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).
Friends of Science Society
P.O. Box 23167, Mission P.O.
Calgary, Alberta
Canada T2S 3B1
Toll-free Telephone: 1-888-789-9597
Web: friendsofscience.org
E-mail: contact(at)friendsofscience(dot)org
Web: climatechange101.ca
Michelle Stirling, Friends of Science, http://www.friendsofscience.org/, +1 5879682595, [email protected]
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