I had a chance to read William Marsden's Stupid to the Last Drop (subtitle "How Alberta is Bringing Environmental Armageddon to Canada (and Doesn't Seem to Care)"). As you'd imagine from the title, it's a polemic directed at the oil industry and particularly the "support" it receives from the Alberta government.
The general message is not new or shocking (well, except to the people who've been trained to react to any possible criticism of the oil industry with "damn you Eastern bastards, it's our oil and you can't tell us what to do! We remember the NEP!"). The less known details of particular policies or events though can be truly horrifying, and bundling them together just magnifies that.
Of course, it's not like we're short of other examples of governments acting on behalf of industry groups instead of the people it's supposed to represent. And the people cheering that the government is doing a fantastic job. Will omit practically obligatory reference to current federal election campaign.
