By Marc Chayer
Hi, Folks!
I recently took a little break from writing this column due to some other commitments I have in life, but, with the current political climate being what it is, well, I just can’t help myself!
In coming back, I wanted to kick off the series with a look at our new national leader completing his first 100 days. I thought it might be worth a look at how he is doing. Of course, we are talking about Justin Trudeau.
His focus so far seems to be to say that his is not like Stephen Harper. He has not failed to point this out overseas, here at home, and just about everywhere else he can say it. The failing in that statement is that for us in the West, not being Stephen Harper has become obviously painful.
On an election platform that included no less than 50 promises, he has basically taken upon himself to change policy and worry about the consequences later in an effort to show substance. The best example of this is the pipeline debate.
Before even getting into the chair, he banned any hope of oil tankers loading on the BC coast citing environmental issues. This announcement effectively killed the Northern Gateway Pipeline and access for Alberta oil producers despite the approval that was in place with over 200 conditions that had to be met by Enbridge. This was a project with direct benefits to our little piece of the country here in Whitecourt.
Then, to exasperate the issue, Montreal area mayors got together to announce they would not be in support of the Energy East Pipeline saying that the risks outweighed the benefits. What is missed by most people are a couple of key points;
The pipeline, in fact, already runs through the area. It currently carries natural gas. The extension of the pipeline would be built to reach refineries on the east coast in New Brunswick.
The mayors had been lobbied hard by the Sierra Club to come out against the line which was not generally reported. Quebec, for all the “holier than thou” routine, has refineries that receive oil from the US via… you guessed it, pipelines! This is in spite of the fact that the US president killed the Keystone Pipeline project from Alberta going through and to the US.
Apparently Canadian Oil has issues where US oil does not.
Meanwhile in New Brunswick, oil imports continue to flow in via tanker, (because the east coast has no risk of a spill?) from such notable countries as Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Angola, and Nigeria. All these nations are known for their environmentally friendly laws and practices, and stellar human rights record. Just wondering if the Sierra Club is reading this part?
In the case of Saudi Arabia, it gets special attention. The imports we receive from there are the equivalent of what Penn West produces here in Canada annually. You may want to note that last week Penn West laid off workers here In Alberta including Whitecourt. These are friends we know and families who live here.
The Saudis are also the same people responsible for flooding the market with oil driving the price down impacting our industry here.
So, with this in mind, our prime minister has sat on the fence and done what you ask? Well, he increased the amount of conditions that the National Energy Board has to take into consideration before approving anything related to a pipeline and, in fact, has stated that the cabinet would reserve the right to not necessarily accept the recommendations in any event unless they had social buy-in from “special interest” groups such as the environmental lobby, First Nations, etc. All the while Alberta attempts to stem the flood of bad news.
Yes, the price of oil is down; we understand this, but what we can’t understand is leadership that seems far more interested in the optics of looking like a good guy and not being Stephen Harper than actually working to ensure Canadians have access to Canadian oil. (Selfies don’t pay off deficits or employ people.)
Playing politics may be fun for the part-time drama teacher in Ottawa but here in the West, we are running out of time, patience, and tolerance for Trudeau and the fact that while oil tankers and pipelines are allowed in the east, the west gets to jump through hoops while we layoff an ever-increasing number of workers and families.
Hey, Justin, you might want to remember what your father learned: Albertans don’t forget!
It is what it is…
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