Columnist Tom Fletcher mocks David Suzuki for leaving his Foundation to reduce the risk of it losing charitable tax status at the hands of the federal government. He speaks scornfully of this very human individual as a supposed “saint,” prone to making “left-wing political rant[s],” guilty of “tabloid journalism” and sensationalism.
He bases his aggressive posture on a book he’s been reading, written by Patrick Moore, an original Greenpeace member. Moore angrily left the organization decades ago, went into private business, and became an official spokesperson for corporate forestry in B.C. He has been attacking his former associates – and their associates – ever since.
Fact: I have met Patrick Moore as well as heard him speak in person, and followed his public comments for years. He’s a verbal street-fighter who’d far rather win an argument than engage in dialogue. He’s not always precise about his facts: excellent qualities for a Greenpeace founder – and for an industry proponent.
Fact: I’ve met David Suzuki on a number of occasions. He’s a feisty and engaged scientist, impatient with people who know or care little about environmental science. In the Nature of Things, I know (from personal experience) that he will not state anything that hasn’t been fact-checked extensively first.
Fact: I’ve met and worked with U of Alberta scientist David Schindler, known internationally for his work on acid rain. He has participated in most of the independent studies on the effects of the “tar sands.” He is a determined and highly respected researcher, whose findings (which I have read) contrast radically with bland reassurances from the federal and Alberta governments and the oil companies.
Fact: Patrick Moore has written a self-congratulatory book, which Tom Fletcher has uncritically endorsed.
Fact: David Suzuki and David Schindler have both been awarded the Order of Canada.
Warren Bell