Controlling our economic destiny
During t he boom, many Canadians headed to Alberta to make a living. For every Canadian who landed one of the once- plentiful, well- paying j obs in t he energy sector, many more benefited from the money they sent back to their fami l i es. And many of those families were in my home province of Nova Scotia.
They used that money to help pay their bills, includi ng t heir energy bills — energy that was generated using foreign oil and dirty coal.
You see, the money Atlantic Canadians were maki ng in the energy sector could easily be flown back home, but the energy they were producing could not. Canada, the biggest supplier of oil to the United States, could not, and cannot, supply its own oil to four of its own provinces. For the sake of energy security and economic prosperity, how can we let this continue?
The economic argument f or a national pipeline, juxtaposed with jurisdictional challenges raised by a collection of municipal leaders in Quebec, as well as environmental and indigenous concerns, has created a public discussion full of rhetoric and emotion.
Lost i n the rhetoric is a simple fact: without access to tidewater, Canada will forever be forced to sell Canadian oil and gas to a limited number of markets at discounted prices. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that he wants to be a “responsible referee.”
Referees must ultimately make a call. What they must not do, however, is unilaterally change the rules of the game, or run out the clock.
Such an approach has the potential to ignite regional firestorms similar to what the National Energy Program prompted in t he 1980s.
What is needed is an immediate and unreserved political commitment to build a trans- Canada pipeline to re- enforce the natural ties that bind our country. A transcontinental pipeline is the safest way to transport oil and a massive make- work project with exponential returns.
The pipeline will be financed by the private sector; financiers who are prepared to invest money now, but who cannot and will not do so in uncertain political climates.
In fact, many corporate executives are telling me that they fear the aspirational targets of the Paris Agreement have tied the hands of a major segment of our economy.
The fact that i ndustry proposals have been delayed for some time is now stifling Canada’s short- to-medium term economic growth and our long- term competitive advantage. More unwarranted delays will further exasperate frustrated industry leaders and job seekers, as well as environmentalists and indigenous people who want and deserve a more pronounced voice in Canada’s economic development.
It’s true that some are opposed to any fossil fuel development, despite analyses by the International Energy Agency that dem- onstrate unequivocally that the global demand for fossil fuels will increase significantly for the foreseeable future.
It’ s also true that the energy sector is changing, and must change, to judiciously balance economic growth and environmental objectives. But the key word is “balance.” Climate change can best be addressed by advances in technology, not by blinkered boycotts.
But the real issue is this: a political failure to act on this issue now is a tacit endorsement for other countries to fill Canada’s domestic energy needs. At its core, the choice is between Canada investing in our domestic energy resources, or relying on someone else’s energy.
The choice is equally between working with Canada’s environmental commitments and indigenous leaders in developing our natural resources, or hoping that other countries that export their resources to Canada will respect t heir commitments and include indigenous voices. The choice, then, is easy, if Canada is to control its economic destiny.
Pipelines are by far the safest means of transporting oil. Pipelines present a modern-day equivalent of the Canadian Pacific Railway — John A. Macdonald’s visionary project that led to job creation and a strengthened national economy, pride and connectivity. Our nation has too much to gain for our leaders to focus only on partisan and provincial posturing at the expense of securing our energy security and stimulating Canada’s economy.
At the same time, I encourage the National Energy Board to do its due diligence and our federal leaders to step up and move on this file.
We cannot afford to jeopardize our economic future or our hard- earned reputation as a country that can sensibly address the challenges of our geography. It is a time for nation- building leadership and political stewardship of our resource strengths. Our ability to harness the value of our energy resources in a responsible manner will anchor much of our future prosperity. That is what is at stake. We ignore it at our own peril.
CONQUEST IS NOTHING NEW AND NOT ESPECIALLY SCARY. — JOHN ROBSON A POLITICAL FAILURE TO APPROVE PIPELINES IS A TACIT ENDORSEMENT FOR OTHER COUNTRIES TO FILL CANADA’S DOMESTIC ENERGY NEEDS.