We must fight untruths spread by enviro-zealots

Canada, world need Alberta energy, Gary Mar says.

Anyone with a modicum of knowledge of Canada’s energy industry and those armed with common sense can identify the lies and distortions of the opponents of Canada’s energy industry. The reality is that Canada produces the most responsible energy on Earth and it benefits the quality of life of all Canadians.

Canadians should be proud of how we develop our resources and we can credibly lay out the case for Canadian energy for Canadians and Canadian energy for the world.

Canada sells low and buys high: Our oil exports go to a single market, the United States, and trades at a discount compared to world benchmark prices. This is because we lack pipelines to access other markets.

We import oil from places like Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Nigeria at world prices. This is because we lack pipelines within Canada to supply Canadian refineries. Instead, foreign tankers sail into Canadian waters laden with oil from distant lands. Not all these countries share Canada’s rule of law, commitment to democratic values, human rights, or environmental protection standards. We need to build pipelines.

The assertion by so-called environmentalists that the demand for fossil fuels is declining and suggestion that we’ll soon be off of them is ludicrous. Canada would just miss out while others profit for decades to come. In its recent World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency said it expects global oil consumption to peak no sooner than 2040, leaving long-term forecasts for supply and demand unchanged despite the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change entering into force. And, 2040 is just when oil peaks — it will be many decades thereafter before it falls off to any appreciable extent. Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said, “There is no path to prosperity in Canada that does not include a thriving, vibrant energy sector, both traditional and renewable.” I agree.

If you think that Canada should do more to reduce carbon emissions in the global atmosphere, you should support pipelines — both oil and gas, that help replace oil from nations with no concern for the environment, and natural gas to replace wood and coal in China and India with gas-fired electricity.

Other countries with oil and natural gas resources remain committed to expanding production, most notably the U.S., even during the Obama administration, because they create jobs. Good jobs. Policies in Canada should not transfer wealth creation and jobs in Canada to the United States. But they have. Capital investment in Canadian energy has plunged each year from about $80 billion in 2014 to $40 billion in 2018.

Direct and indirect jobs in the sector have dropped by roughly 350,000 over the same period of time.

The environmental case made against Canadian energy in the form of oil spills, gas leaks, carbon footprints, cleanup costs and tailings ponds needs to be confronted in an adult manner by recognition of the fact that the Canadian oil and gas industry has one of the most robust-regulatory regimes in the world, operates under strict environmental standards and is constantly monitored. There are jurisdictions with minimal or no standards which would be more than happy to step in to fill the supply gap Canada would leave behind by shutting down its industry. The best way to ensure that the long-term liabilities for which the industry is responsible are addressed is to do everything possible to promote its health, not choke it off by any means possible. A healthy industry also has revenue to continue to innovate and develop new technologies that continue to reduce our environmental footprint.

Canadian energy workers are a large part of the Canadian workforce with more than 530,000 workers across Canada alone, with three-quarters of these middle-class jobs providing oil and gas services and manufacturing.

Wherever you live in Canada, you use energy every day. Wherever you live, Canadian energy workers live there, too. Coast to coast to coast. The environment is just as important to them as it is to you.

The discount on Canadian energy results in a loss of $80 million every day and all the ancillary jobs for hard-working Canadians and revenues to support government programs like health, education and transfer payments. If you support these jobs and programs, you should support Canadian energy.

Canada needs more Canadian energy. More than ever, the world needs more Canadian energy.

Gary G. Mar, QC, is president and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.