Conciliatory

Conciliatory

Shell Canada is succeeding where Edmonton and Ottawa have largely failed to date: it is trying to engage environmental groups to discuss Alberta’s oilsands. Granted, the Canadian wing of the Dutch-based energy giant had the encounter with Greenpeace foisted upon itself after more than 20 protesters entered the Muskeg River mine Tuesday and temporarily forced a shutdown of operations, but the oilsands operator struck a conciliatory note as the protest entered its second day before ending yesterday afternoon. “Frankly, we welcome the attention on the oilsands issues,” said Shell Canada spokesman Paul Hegel. “This is an opportunity for us to tell people why this resource is required. We want to engage Greenpeace. Greenpeace, however, hasn’t yet responded to an invitation to talk with executive John Abbott.

Chances are Shell’s carefully designed message will be heard by an international audience, as the Greenpeace protest is making headlines in North America and Europe. Still, it is doubtful there’ll be a meeting of the minds, because Shell’s viewpoint that the oilsands have to be developed as energy demands grows is diametrically opposed to Greenpeace’s position that the “tarsands” are a “climate crime.” “We’re willing to sit down with any reasonable critic and anyone that’s willing to listen to our perspective and meet us halfway,” Hegel said. As a result of the protest, however, Shell is reviewing its security practices and intends to share the findings with government and industry. "There's not a one size fits all to getting legislation passed or to getting people to cooperate with you. In some instances you have to stand up and be tough, in some instances you have to shame them, and in some instances you have to be cooperative and compromise," he said.

Gov. Jon Corzine's first term was marked by tension with the Legislature, most notably in the 2006 state government shut down. Christie pointed to that as part of the reason for what he called Corzine's "abysmal failures." "It really is very issue dependent, and what you need to do is establish enough of a relationship with these folks to be able to know when to use which method which time. Jon Corzine has shown no interest in that during the time he's been governor." Before taking questions, Christie gave a variation of his usual stump speech attuned to urban concerns and the economy. Although he was in the state's second most populous city, he focused most of his talk on Camden - 90 miles south - blaming Corzine for failing to lift Camden it out of economic desperation. Christie instead emphasized that New Jersey was set to close the decade with fewer private sector jobs than it started with - the first time that's happened since the 1930s. Corzine, he said, was basically handing the voters a resume.