The
election campaign is in full swing now. I am sure that you are being
bombarded with the daily minutiae of the campaign. As I said earlier, in
this Newsletter, I will keep focused on important issues that are,
sadly, relegated to the background in the hubbub of the campaign.
With
that preface, let us take a look at the issue of energy today. Liberal
leader Mark Carney, having earlier made contradictory statements on the
topic of oil and gas pipelines, has now settled for using the expression
‘energy corridor’. He persists with this usage even when the reporter’s
question is squarely focused on the pipelines. This is, to use a
colloquial expression, ‘suspicious as hell’. We hope that our suspicions
will not turn out to be true. In the meantime, here are some recent
stories on energy that deserve our full attention:
1. Under-investment in the oil & gas sector: We
are all familiar with the sad state of affairs in Canada in this regard
over the past decade, viz., since Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister.
His cabinet and inner circle were filled with enviro-zealots who viewed
the sector as an unmitigable evil. Our mainstream media being what it
is, the narrative created by this cabal was not resisted with enough
force, so a large section (in fact, a critical mass) of Canadian society
embraces this narrative unquestioningly.
Dissenting voices are left in
isolated corners where they essentially preach to the converted. Still,
it was gratifying to see an article in The Logic recapping the entire situation in one place. To wit: “Investors
are fleeing the country’s oil and gas industry, chased off by onerous
regulations and layers of environmental restrictions… As a result,
Canadian firms are shovelling ever more capital into dividend payments
and share buybacks to appease those investors who remain—a destructive
cycle that has eroded investment in more productive pursuits that would
increase these companies’ output.”
The neglect of this vital sector is put in perspective when we see (as mentioned in the article) that it was “expected to contribute a whopping $176 billion to Canadian GDP in 2025” (before the US tariff threat). The sooner we rectify our folly of the past 10 years, the better it will be for our future.
2. Regulatory hurdles:
Speaking of regulatory hurdles, these seem not to be limited to the oil
& gas sector. Even if one buys Mr. Carney’s term ‘energy corridor’,
as John Ivison pointed out in his article in the National Post, “Carney’s rosy energy promises meet the Liberals’ dismal record”. What is this record?
To give you just one example, according to energy reporter Heather Exner-Pirot, “Rook I uranium mine. Prov approval, Indigenous consent, financing, energy security, shovel ready: 6 years into federal process they’re scheduling hearings for Feb 2026”.
As we all know (but what the crazed crusaders for green energy ignore
studiously), nuclear energy is free of CO2 emissions.
It should be a
no-brainer to fast-track any project connected with nuclear energy. But
in the (perhaps intentionally) sclerotic world of an ideologically
driven government, even the hearing for an approved (at multiple levels)
projects take 7 years just to start. This does not augur well for meeting ANY targets – whether relating to CO2 emissions, the ‘energy corridor’, or anything else.
3. The opportunity cost of ideology: In an announcement in the BOE Report, TC Energy Corporation said that it would be holding an event titled ‘Canada’s Will to Win – Seizing a Generational Opportunity” at the Canadian Club Toronto. These words jumped out at me from the announcement: “The
country has an opportunity right now to become a liquefied natural gas
(LNG) superpower with a focus on Asian markets, if ambitions are bold
instead of middling.”
I believe this statement put the finger on
what ails CANADA AS A WHOLE: lack of ambition, in preference to
‘middling’ goals. This switch is, I believe, birthed by ideological
obsession: while we know that helping Asian countries (and others) to
switch from coal to natural gas as fuel would cut their CO2 emissions
from power generation BY HALF, the problem in Canada is that natural
gas, being a fossil fuel, is viewed as an ‘unmitigable evil’, and one
does not associate with evil – at least, not willingly.
In a classic
case of ‘missing the trees for the forest’, the dominant belief in
Canada – including in the corridors of power – is that use of natural
gas is to be shunned regardless of circumstances. So, we miss out
on the potential to cut global emissions (not to mention the economic
boost to Canada). The continuing emissions from coal-based power plants
worldwide AND Canada’s economic loss are, then, the opportunity cost of
Canada sticking to ideology instead of taking a pragmatic approach.
***
Independent voices are more important than ever in today’s Canada. I am happy to add my voice to the public discussions on current issues & policy, and grateful for all the encouraging response from my listeners & readers. I do not believe in a Paywall model, so will not make access to my content subject to a payment.
To help me bring more content to you, please consider donating a small amount via this PayPal link on my website: https://darshanmaharaja.ca/
Comments
Post a Comment