Warren Kinsella: Chemical Lobbyist

Remember when Warren Kinsella, during the depths of his hair-pulling contest with Norm Spector, would refer to Norm as, “Norman Spector, Big Tobacco Lobbyist”? Well, it would now appear that Warren is not himself averse to lobbying for (and, of course, getting paid to lobby for) big corporate groups whose interests are not necessarily in keeping with those of the general public.

Yesterday the G&M reported that Warren had been registered as an industry lobbyist in Ontario, and here is the registration information. Honestly, it makes for interesting reading. Here are two interesting tid-bits I pulled out of it.

• The group that Warren will lobby for is a coalition named the Coalition for a Sustainable Environment. Sounds wonderful, except that it is a coalition of industry groups and one of the groups represented in the coalition is the Canadian Chemical Producers Association. So Warren is now being paid to lobby for corporate chemical interests? Gotcha.
• If this surprised you as it did me given Warren’s impecable progressive pedigree, you will be further surprised to learn that the reason Warren will be lobbying the Ontario government is to either water down or scrap entirely Bill 133 2004 – Environmental Enforcement Statute Law Amendment Act An Act to amend the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act in respect of enforcement and other matters. So Warren is now in the pay of corporate chemical interests, with the goal of watering down or trashing an environmental protection law.

Which might lead one to ask: What is so odious about Bill 133 that Warren would be willing to become a Chemical Lobbyist and work to see it watered down or trashed? Is it the part where an offense is created when a contaminant is discharged into the natural environment? Or maybe it’s the part where such contaminant discharges are required to be immediately reported? Both are such hideous infringements upon the chemical industry. If the chemical interests that Warren represents want to dump chemicals into waterways, then why shouldn’t they?!

Answers to such questions have not been forthcoming on Warren’s chatty website. Until they are, I hereby dub thee, “Warren Kinsella, Chemical Lobbyist.”