Canada’s most popular coffee chain has dropped Enbridge ads and the country’s fossil fuel loving conservatives are up in arms. Tim Hortons was inundated by a barrage of protests against the decision to allow the pipeline giant to advertise on their in-store screens.
Responding to the campaign Tim Hortons twitter feed announced, “We value your feedback and Enbridge advertisements are no longer airing on Tims TV”
Enbridge has earned the public’s ire for wanting to build a fossil fuel pipeline from Alberta to BC. The company is also working on another pipeline called the Clipper that would ferry tar sands oil to the US just south of the Great Lakes. They are also well known for spilling vast quantities of oil.
The Enbridge add flaunted the role that fossil fuels play in providing energy to make Tim Hortons coffee, a role which the companies advertisement describes as “java joy”. In response to the manipulative ad protests were organized by the activist group called SumOfUs. As explained on their website, the truth is that Enbridge’s “tar sands project will put ecosystems, salmon and wildlife in danger, create virtually no local jobs, and accelerate climate change.”
Their actions included an online petition that garnered more than 28,000 signatures.
Anyone who wants to know why fossil fuel pipeline companies are viewed with such contempt need only review the number of spills that have occurred in Alberta.
Unsurprisingly members of Harper’s federal Conservatives joined other conservatives from Alberta in denouncing the decision. These people are quick to say that Canada’s climate destroying oil industry provides jobs and helps buoy the Canadian economy. Conservative politicians offended by Tim Hortons decision to pull the ad are saying they will be the ones to boycott the coffee chain.
“The people who drink Tim Hortons coffee are the workers in Alberta.” said Alberta’s Wildrose leader Brian Jean. He is also the provincial representative of Fort McMurray the home of the oil sands. Jason Kenney, the Conservative Minister of National Defense said he hopes Canadian businesses would “support our energy industry rather than attack it.”
He also refers to the decision to pull the Enbridge ad as being the work of “some very junior employee in charge of the social media account,” which suggests he does not have a clue about the importance and the power of social media.
The remarks of Kenny and Jean show that they are both ignorant about what it means to be a responsible and responsive corporate citizen. While these two want business to stand with dirty energy, others hope that business will stand up for a livable planet. At the very least environmentally concerned citizens believe that responsible corporations should not promote companies like Enbridge who are leading contributors to climate change.
