LETTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WEALTH CREATION SLIP AWAY ENDS UP HAVING A MAJOR EFFECT ON OUR STANDARD OF LIVING.

let alone Quebec’s humanrights standards, is not very “green,” nor is it very “progressive.”

Second, Quebec is now in next-to-last place in Canada in terms of median household income. The salaries paid in the oil and gas sector, though, are much higher than the average. As if by coincidence, Quebec is the only Canadian province slip away ends up having a major effect on Quebec’s standard of living.

Third, a majority of Quebecers want the province’s oil resources to be developed, rather than importing them. In a Leger poll released in May 2017, 56 per cent of respondents considered it preferable for Quebec to exploit its own oil resources, versus 20 per cent who favoured continuing to import oil and 20 per cent who preferred not to answer (perhaps because of the cognitive dissonance caused by the recognition that, after all, they consume the stuff ).

And fourth, while the much-touted energy transition will eventually arrive, it is still far away. According to the International Energy Agency, global energy demand will increase by 30 per cent between 2015 and 2040. Even if renewable energy plays a larger and larger role, the IEA predicts that the demand for natural gas will increase by 50 per cent over this period, largely at the expense of coal, and the demand for oil will grow by 12 per cent. Quebec will not buck this trend: It consumes hydrocarbons, and will continue to for a good long while.

It’s time to stand up to the vocal minority who suffer from the NIMBY syndrome (Not In My BackYard), or worse, the BANANA syndrome (Build Absolutely Nothing Anytime Near Anything). Let’s establish the necessary safety rules to govern this industry, and then let Quebecers benefit from these natural resources that are at its disposal — even if it upsets those who are opposed to everything, all of the time.