Indoctrination - just another Stelmach service.

On the taxpayers’ dollar, of course.

T he Stelmach government plans on taking its energy and environment education blitz to the classroom to inform Alberta youths on the importance of the oilpatch and value of expensive carbon capture and storage technology.   

Some people are saying, well fine, as long as the info is factual, and both sides are fairly presented.

Two problems with that: there aren’t two sides, only facts.  Secondly, Stelmach has already shown he has no intention of striving even for the semblance of balance:

The initiatives were identified in last week's provincial budget documents that also revealed a 12 per cent boost to Energy Department spending and a five per cent cut to Alberta Environment, sparking questions about the government's priorities.

Those damn environmentalist making it harder and harder to sell oil!  That damn environment should have the good grace to just roll over and die - quickly - so we can get on with making more money.

While the government looks to ratchet up its efforts (on behalf of the oil industry) in schools, it intends to cut back on some of its environmental monitoring in the energy sector as a result of budget cuts.

Specifically, it will reduce the frequency of air and water monitoring in areas that have, over recent years, shown positive results and are not near population centres, according to Alberta Environment.

So air and water quality (already showing red flags) affecting school children will not be monitored as well, but those little ones will be told more about the value of selling oil.

Good priorities, there.  Maybe Stelmach can hire a bunch of those defenders of cigarette smoking to eventually inform the kiddies that no, the increase in asthma, cancer, and other deadly diseases has nothing at all to do with the development of those lovely oilsands.