Trudeau: Canada’s regulations bring clarity oil companies need
HOUSTON — Boosting confidence in both the energy industry and the environmental regulators that oversee it will help attract investment in Canadian natural resources over the long run, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday as he wrapped up two days in the U.S. energy heartland.
“The one thing I have heard consistently from leaders in the energy industry is the need for clarity,” Trudeau said Friday in Houston, Texas, where he attended an influential gathering of politicians and energy executives.
Trudeau was at the CERAWeek conference to deliver a keynote address — a first for a Canadian prime minister — to pitch investment in the Canadian oilsands and other energy sectors while also making the case that natural resource development needs to be done alongside steps to protect the planet.
On Friday, he made it clear that his government believes the thoughtful development of both renewable and traditional energy sources, coupled with suitable environmental oversight, is the road to economic prosperity.
Once that happens, “we are going to see many people invested and interested in partnering in drawing on Canadians’ great natural resources,” he said.
Those steps in Canada include a carbon-pricing plan aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which means the Liberal government is heading in one direction while U.S. President Donald Trump is going another — moving away from environmental regulations and promising to boost fossil fuel production.
Critics of the plan, including the Conservatives, argue it would put Canada at a competitive disadvantage, especially as lower crude prices and the quick growth of shale oil prompts international energy giants to reconsider investments in the oilsands.
Trudeau met Lisa Murkowski, the U.S. senator for Alaska who is also chair of the U.S. Senate energy committee.