Joe Oliver: Canada’s foolish pipeline flubs

Sammy Davis Jr. sang “What type of fool shall we be held?” as a man who had missed in life by never falling for each other. Refer to it as a stretch, but those lyrics somehow began swimming through my head a few days ago after i heard that the oil tanker in the U.S. had found its way to Europe. It had been a historic thing because, last December, President Obama lifted a 40-year ban around the export of domestic oil.

At time, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, energy panel chairman, welcomed the choice, stating that “With crude exports comes job creation, economic growth, new revenues, prosperity, that has been enhanced energy security for our allies and ourselves.” Too true – and it is things i happen to be saying for a long time about the importance for Canada of finding new markets for the oil.

Yet we risk looking foolish ourselves by failing to take advantage of our own export potential while our competitors in the Middle East, North Africa and Venezuela – and today the U.S. – capture the foreign markets we need for our own economic growth and prosperity.

Washington’s decision to finally permit oil exports stems from a massive rise in its shale gas and oil production that has made America less dependent on foreign imports. America, in fact, has transformed the worldwide energy market by producing more oil than any other country on the planet.

You would think that, because of the have to promote our very own oil exports, all this might motivate our political leaders to take action to safeguard Canadian interests. Surely they must get the point. We urgently need to build pipelines to maneuver our oil to tidewater as well as on to foreign markets that want to get new sources of supply.

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Instead, what we should are getting from the federal government is far from encouraging. At Davos, Pm Trudeau’s comments gave the resource sector short shrift. Apparently the government is considering including climate impact within the scope of National Energy Board regulatory hearings of person projects. That will render a hard process extremely difficult. Also, immediately after the election, the prime minister called for a moratorium on oil tanker traffic around the north coast of British Columbia, leaving the Northern Gateway project dead in the water, until the moratorium is lifted. Remember that the work, which would transport bitumen from northern Alberta to Kitimat B.C., received approval following a lengthy and comprehensive independent scientific review.

Trudeau’s mandate letter towards the natural resources minister reads as an Ecojustice manifesto

So much for evidence-based making decisions. The broader implications are scary. Does which means that the government promises to prohibit indefinitely the export in our oil to Asia? Frankly, that prospect could be so economically disastrous I cannot bring myself to think it. Then again, an immediate move to a significantly touted zero-carbon economy would make frozen assets look like a walk around the block.



Meanwhile, Trudeau’s mandate letter to the minister of natural resources reads just like a manifesto from Ecojustice. After i held that portfolio, I informed Canadians over and over our government would not proceed with resource projects unless they were safe for Canadians and safe for that environment. Within that constraint, my mandate ended up being to promote our immense resources for the benefit of Canadians, including our aboriginal peoples. That meant being an advocate for any sector of the economy that produces jobs, growth, wealth and revenues to the federal and provincial governments to finance healthcare, social programs, infrastructure, the military and anything else we depend on governments to complete. I continue to believe that it is possible to grow the economy while protecting environmental surroundings.

Then you will find the actions of provincial governments. Hydraulic fracturing has been happening for over 40 years in Western Canada, with about 250,000 oil and gas wells fractured and never just one instance of drinkable water contamination. Yet a moratorium has been put on fracking in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Quebec, provinces that could dearly make use of the extra revenue.

As well, the power East Pipeline is encountering resistance, regardless of its strong economic case and prior to the completion of a regulatory review. A week ago, Denis Coderre, Montreal’s mayor, declared the state opposition of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. That project would convert a pipeline from natural gas to grease feedstock for transport from Western Canada to refineries in Montreal, Quebec City and St. John and would replace foreign oil, including oil carried by tanker across the St. Lawrence River.

Very few countries have vast natural resources like Canada, but if they are doing, they are actively developing them for that benefit of their people. If we do not take advantage of our fortune, our oil and gas is going to be stranded in the earth and our legacy will be lost. What type fools would we be? In my opinion Canadians are far too smart to let that happen.

Joe Oliver is former Minister of Finance and Minister of Natural Resources.