Alberta’s bad economic news keeps coming

The two characters in Ernest Hemingway’s classic 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises could have been discussing some future Alberta.

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked. “Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

Of course, we’re a very long way from the threat of provincial bankruptcy, but things, in the real world just as in an imaginary one, can move darn quickly once momentum enters the fray, and these days the economic bad news just keeps-a-coming at a fast and furious rate of knots.

These days buying a case of beer will put you back more than purchasing an entire barrel of Alberta heavy crude, given the ludicrous differential to the regular North American price currently imposed upon us because of a lack of pipeline capacity and the sad fact that, after decades of blather about diversifying markets, we still essentially are left with only one.

And just when things looked as though they had hit rock bottom in getting our oil to market along comes a judge in Montana to rule construction work on TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline be halted as environmental studies about greenhouse gases and the possible effects of oil spills were not up to snuff.

It’s like some malevolent compass has settled over Alberta. The proposed Northern Gateway pipeline being kiboshed by Ottawa, the Energy East project abandoned because of endless protests, while the westward-bound Trans Mountain expansion is again stuck in legal limbo.

So with this latest southern route debacle, we’ve got the complete 360 degrees of distress.

Meanwhile, the Band-Aid solution here in the province is to cling to a strategy of hope: that this is all going to work out just fine in the end so, in the meantime, we’ll just load up on debt to tide us over.

Today, we’re on our way to the dubious distinction of having $100 billion in IOUs, an increasing bill racked up in remarkably short order. Remember when Ralph Klein held up that sign proclaiming Alberta’s debt was Paid in Full? A hint: it was only 14 years ago.

Yes, as Hemingway suggested, things can move downhill in a hurry once they build a head of steam.

Meanwhile, in Ottawa, our fearless federal leader is still engrossed in his tedious “Happy days are here again” routine. It is wearing mighty thin for most Albertans, but as it appears to be Justin Trudeau’s only strategy it’s not likely to be dumped for a dose of reality any time soon. Instead, his government is engaged upon a course to exacerbate the problems we already face.

Given that national GDP is so dependent upon the energy industry, it’s unlikely they are doing this deliberately (many would argue this, of course), but they are doing it nevertheless, courtesy of their proposed Bill C-69.

Politicians enjoy devising legislation making them look like such caring, loving people (though Tony Clement devised a rather more personal strategy). They like words such as engagement, consultation, human rights, stakeholders and such. Invariably these make it into actual bills and — to everyone’s surprise — are then actually read by judges who are charged with interpreting such language once court challenges are inevitably launched.

They are at it again. In Bill C-69, now before the Senate awaiting approval, the government inserted a clause requiring proposed new resource projects to make sure they take into account “the intersection of sex and gender along with other identity factors.”

Lawyers have no clue what that actually means when it comes to possible challenges to any future pipeline project, for example. But you can bet some interest group or another is going to merrily try to find out in some future courtroom.

This thoughtless pandering has to stop or we are going to end up as an economic basket case, where the idea of international investment in Canada is as appealing as garlic to a vampire. Right now we’re way beyond the gradual stage in this harrowing journey downhill.

It’s like some malevolent compass has settled over Alberta.