By Lloyd Mackey

FREEDOM books, mediatory log jam removals and a possible oil-giant merger, are all grist for the mill in this week's view from the Ottawa perch.

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Since his decision to resign from the organization he founded, Equipping Christians for the Public-Square (ECP), Tristan Emmanuel has been working on another, less-obviously-Christian project, that of publishing books under the Freedom Press imprint.

What has not changed is Emmanuel's commitment to polemics as a contribution to the body of public debate, as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of a polemic as "an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another."

I recently read two books in the Freedom Press quiver: Loyal to the Core: Stephen Harper, Me and the NCC, by Gerry Nicholls; and Standing on Guard for Thee: The Past, Present and Future of Canada's Christian Right, by Michael Wagner.

Both tomes articulate strong and doctrinaire stances and argue for those stances against the more middling forms of conservatism -- which, they suggest in various ways, are drifting toward liberal or left-leaning positions. Wagner identifies and defends Christian-based social conservatism, the kind that takes strong stances in opposition, for example, to gay rights and abortion. Nicholls traces both his and Stephen Harper's involvement in the National Citizens Coalition and defines what he sees to be a clear parting of the ways between himself and the prime minister. He suggests that Harper has compromised his fiscal conservatism in order to build a power base -- one which relies on sharing influence with red Tories and blue Liberals. (The latter is my term, not Nicholls'.)

Both books are quite readable. They keep the arguments simple and don't draw too many red herrings into the mix. That having been said, they do require the reader to do his or her own extended research: The authors' arguments are often based on assumptions that might be difficult to accept in other parts of the faith or political spectrum.

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Following my reading of the books, I received an e-mail from the Ottawa chapter of the Christian Legal Fellowship. (Despite my not being a lawyer, they keep me on their mailing list. I occasionally attend their meetings, much to my benefit.)

The event advertised in this e-mail features law school gold medalist Roger Beaudry, who, the meeting notice says, "will draw on over 25 years of experience and an international reputation as a mediator, arbitrator, law school lecturer and dispute prevention/resolution consultant to illustrate how to deal with impasses in mediation." His speech topic is 'Things Mediators Do to Break Log Jams.'

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I will have trouble benefitting from Beaudry's lecture because it is being delivered in French.

That point is illustrative of the symbolism in a lot of the cross-partisan faith and political discussions these days. I refer, not simply to the French-English divides and the east-west tensions they create, but to the log jams to conflict resolution which result from various sociological "language" barriers.

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Suncor/Petro-Canada merger plans are big news this week. If they can work out their "language" barriers, it could be good for Canada. Already, there has been an uptick in the TSX, apparently as a result of those talks.

A bit of faith/economic/environment background to these plans is worth noting.

Over half a century ago, Ernest Manning, premier of Alberta, and J. Howard Pew, head of Sun Oil, built a level of trust that led to the first plans to develop the Alberta oil sands. Eventually, a separate Canadian company was spun off from Pew's American firm, to independently handle those Alberta developments.

One of the interesting factors relating to the Manning/Pew trust-building, was that some of their "language" for communicating was based on their common understanding of the Christian gospel.

Both men are long gone. But the Pew Charitable Trust -- built originally on Sun's economic success -- is worth some observation. It has a record of an open-faced faith base and strong support for constructive environmental action.

That latter emphasis may well indicate underlying reasons for the merger -- both economic and environmental. Two recent controversies suggest the reason. One was the public "dissing" of the oil sands by National Geographic magazine. The other was the admission by American President Barack Obama that his own country has even greater difficulties with "dirty coal."

Both issues make it timely for Suncor and Petro-Canada to put some of their blended resources into reassuring environmental action.

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Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006), More Faithful Than We Think: Stories and Insights on Canadian Leaders Doing Politics Christianly (BayRidge Books, 2005) and Like Father, Like Son: Ernest Manning and Preston Manning (ECW Press, 1997). Lloyd can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.

March 26/2009