Oil alive and kicking, despite some setbacks
There’s no need to prepare for funeral any time soon, Warren Steinley writes.
For the past several years under this Liberal government, Canadian oil and gas producers have been wrestling with one setback after another, including legislation like bills C-48 and C-69 handcuffing our ability to build new infrastructure and world oil prices experiencing unprecedented valuation changes. While the Canadian oil and gas industry has been particularly hard hit by this crisis, one thing is certain, it is not dead.
But “dead” is the very word chosen by the leaders of two political parties with seats in the House of Commons when speaking to media, pronouncing Canadian “oil is dead” on May 6.
Why May 6, 2020? I’m not sure either. I for one am surprised by oil’s untimely alleged death. I, along with millions of Canadians, knew that oil had been feeling a little under the weather, suffering from an acute case of incompetence on behalf of the Trudeau Liberal government, and some difficulties in world oil markets. That said, the crazed and sudden announcement of oil’s death by the radical environmental leftist Green Party and anti-western, antifederalist, Canadian separatist Bloc leaders truly shocked most Canadians, especially us out here in Western Canada. I can’t decide whether it is more disappointing that Ms. May and Mr. Blanchet would appoint themselves masters of our fate in the West despite not holding a single seat in the Prairies, or that they completely fail to appreciate the contributions that the oil and gas industry has made to this federation. Mr. Blanchet should be thanking oil for decades of equalization payments from oil producing provinces; but instead he is rooting for oil’s death, seemingly relishing a future without it around.
We all thought oil was just staying put at home, trying to get through this new normal like most of us. Oil still has lots of friends because supporters of the oil industry understand how reliable and helpful it really is. Oil was always there to keep the furnace running, the lights on, and their cars running smoothly. Even
Ms. May and Mr. Blanchet hypocritically rely on oil to travel between their ridings in British Columbia and Quebec, and Ottawa.
Fortunately for oil, there are still many of us who are not ready to start the funeral arrangements just yet. Some of us know that the oil and gas industry continues to be a huge contributor to Canada’s economy, employing thousands of good, honest Canadians. I am and will always be an unapologetic friend to oil and promise to check in more to make sure that it is doing all right, even in slow times, because I remember how a thriving energy sector helped Canada weather the financial crisis of 2008-09.
It’s time to stop treating oil like that embarrassing cousin we always forget to invite but is always there for you when you need them most. It will be no less important to helping us recover from the hard times ahead, but only if the government acts now.
Contrary to untimely reports, oil is not dead. Demand for oil will continue for decades to come, due to the number of essential products and services that rely on it. And as long as oil is necessary for our way of life, I for one would like the oil in my vehicle, the oil running Saskatchewan farm machinery, and the oil keeping our manufacturing and electrical plants running to be Canadians oil; because I will continue to support the hard working Canadians employed in the Canadian oil and gas industry.