Canada has 170 billion proven barrels of oil. Its marketable natural gas reserves are over 71 trillion cubic feet. The future value of the half of our resources that Carney wants left in the ground would be in the trillions of dollars. It would be unforgivable to current and future Canadian generations to abandon such immense wealth and energy security for no global environmental benefit. Other countries rush their fossil fuels to market, notwithstanding stirring rhetoric about a climate emergency. Due in large part to its offshore resources, Norway has the world’s third highest per capita GDP (US$72,100 in 2017), 75 per cent more than ours (US$48,400), even as it weans its citizens off fossil fuels. Norwegians don’t seem too concerned about the blatant contradiction.
Canada needs a rational approach to climate change and energy policy based on science, economics and political reality. All Canadians should support Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s request for a fair deal and access to overseas markets for Canadian oil and gas. Otherwise, more Albertans will seriously consider the unthinkable.
