1. The Pipeline Debate: Energy, the Environment and Equal Opportunity?
Alberta Oil (Tar) Sands
to be shipped to market……Asia (China)?
highly profitable?
long-term jobs
tax revenues
employment contracts
bituminous oil uses more energy than conventional oil production
a pipeline through BC’s wilderness may be too much of a risk
rugged coastline of BC considered dangerous for shipping
Trans Mountain Pipeline
strong support for pipeline in Alberta
Canadian Petroleum Industry
strong opposition for pipeline in BC
First Nations
Environmentalists
BC NDP v. Alberta NDP ……..Trudeau Liberals?
Trudeau has stated ‘the pipeline will be built’
the ‘common good?’
Trudeau (Liberal) Government –
supported Trans Mountain Pipeline
denied Northern Gateway
let Energy East die on the vine…..
seems to be in support of Keystone….

2. Why is politics important?
‘…..(hu)man is by nature, a political animal.’ - Aristotle ( BC)
the ‘master science’
politics is predicated on the existence of competing interests and values…..
really, all societies contain differences that have to be managed in some way
Defining Politics?
So….competing values and interests, then…..
In relation to decision-making – consider the following questions:
Do the decisions made serve the values of justice or liberty?
If so, what do we mean by ‘justice’ and ‘liberty?’
Is a just decision one that is made in the interests of the few, the many, or all?
Does one person do the decision-making, or a few, or many, or all?
Is there anything special about democratic forms of government?
Are we under a greater obligation to obey decisions taken in a democratic way than in other ways?
politics -
the study of which values and interests dominate, who bears responsibility for the decisions that are made, and on what grounds those decisions can or cannot be justified

3. Aristotle’s Classificatory Schema of Political Systems
But….
How do those who make decisions ‘enforce’ them? By what right(s)?
‘Power’
implies some form of coercion:
those with power are able to force those without power to behave in ways they would not choose
‘Authority’
really, defined in terms of legitimacy:
the people recognize that the ruler has a legitimate right to exercise power and they therefore consent to be ruled
Converting power into authority is the goal of most regimes……..
Number ruling
Rulers rule in the interest of…..
….all
….themselves
One
Monarchy
Tyranny
Few
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Many
Polity
Democracy

4. The Distribution of Power
Power or ‘influence’ is not distributed equally:
wealth
social status
race
gender
age
Economics and Inequality – Canadian Inequality
Two factors explain Canada's growing gap:
a widening disparity in labour earnings between high- and low-paid workers, and
less redistribution.