Brad Wall and His Republican Buddies

From the Globe and Mail:

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Lindsey Graham is not your typical South Carolina senator. He thinks global warming is real – hardly a unanimous stand among Republicans – and he wants Canada to join him in his efforts to put in place a North American green economic strategy.

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Sounds good so far, right?

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Regardless, Mr. Graham's position thrills Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, whose province is not only (for now) the world's biggest miner of uranium used in nuclear reactors, but is also seeking $100-million (U.S.) from Washington to fund a $280-million cross-border carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) pilot project.

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Ok, so Wall wants some money. I guess he would given this:

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A proposed $270-million Saskatchewan-Montana carbon capture project could become solely a provincial venture if funding from the United States government doesn't come through, Premier Brad Wall said Tuesday on the eve of a trip to Washington, D.C.

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But what do Wall and Graham want?

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“The bill I'm trying to craft will be very pro-nuclear,” Mr. Graham offered. “We also have to utilize the coal we have and make it clean coal. I'm trying to combine energy independence with the renaissance of nuclear energy and controlling carbon.”

Some environmentalists are skeptical of Mr. Graham's support and note that he has accepted large donations from Scana Corp., which owns several coal-fired plants in South Carolina and is seeking to build two nuclear reactors in the state.

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So a pro-nuclear, pro clean coal agenda. Starting to sound familiar? But I guess it makes sense that these two guys would find each other. I mean, they agree on issues so why shouldn't they work together. It's not as if there is anything wrong with that, right? It's not like taxpayers are paying to get the two of them together...

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Mr. Graham and Mr. Wall have struck up a working relationship in recent weeks, thanks to the intermediation of former U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins. Saskatchewan has retained Mr. Wilkins's law firm to represent it in the U.S. capital. Mr. Wall insists the $400,000 (U.S.) one-year contract is taxpayers' money well spent, and it's hard to argue with him, considering the access it has bought him on Capitol Hill

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I guess we will see if that $400,000 is well spent. No one in their right mind could argue it is well spent on the meeting themselves, but rather how it benefits Saskatchewan.

So I guess if we get the $100 million for the carbon project we can talk about the $400 k being acceptable or not.

If we don't then Brad has some 'spaining to do...