Last Thursdays paper treated Citizen subscribers to yet another expensive full page advertisement for the Northern Gateway Pipeline, introducing Janet Holder and talking about how she will be sharing details behind a number of the Joint Review Panels 209 conditions over the coming weeks.
The page was headed As a proud British Columbian, protecting our coast is one of our greatest priorities. Who in this sentence is the proud British Columbian? Does this singular noun modify the verbal protecting or the possessive plural pronoun our? Or is Janet Holder merely assuming Crown perogative and using the Royal Our? I know of many First Nations who would be alarmed by this, especially in view of Northern Gateways dismal attempt at fulfilling the Crowns Duty to Consult. Or perhaps the ad is a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters by conflating the interests of Northern Gateway with those of all British Columbians.
One of the common traits I have observed in petroleum industry executives is their inability to communicate with precision, a failing which causes misunderstandings that severely detract from the effectiveness of their message.
Chris Peter
Prince George
