Gore Opens His Mouth Again

With a hat tip to the Drudge Report, our illustrious Al Gore has accused the Canadian oil industry of pouring huge money behind Canadian Prime Minister-elect Stephen Harper.

Canadians, Gore said, should vigilantly keep watch over prime minister-designate Stephen Harper because he has a pro-oil agenda and wants to pull out of the Kyoto accord -- an international agreement to combat climate change.

"The election in Canada was partly about the tar sands projects in Alberta," Gore said Wednesday while attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

"And the financial interests behind the tar sands project poured a lot of money and support behind an ultra-conservative leader in order to win the election . . . and to protect their interests."

We know that Al Gore is a technical genius through his cutting-edge work on the internet, and we know he is a relationship/communication icon as the book and movie based on his live, "Love Story" show, but how much does this multi-faceted genius know about Canadian political finance laws?

As it turns out, nothing.

Darcie Park, spokeswoman for oilsands giant Suncor Energy, said she's taken aback by Gore's remarks and hopes they don't resonate with Canadians.

"Our company just doesn't do business that way. We're really puzzled about where these comments came from," she said.

"Canadians understand how elections work in Canada and understand there are these very tight restrictions around what individuals and companies can contribute to individual parties or campaigns."

The federal Elections Act limits how much money individuals, corporations and unions can donate to political parties. Individuals are allowed to give as much as $5,000 a year, while companies and unions are capped at $1,000 a year.

As the saying goes, you're a nobody until Al Gore has slandered you. Welcome to the big time Mr. Harper!