Well, the loud hullabaloo between federal NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and the three westernmost premiers that had all the makings of a shootout at the OK Corral seems to have become a bit of a whisper.
In a three-week span we saw the premiers hitting the national airwaves, a western leaders conference and Mulcair making his way to Fort McMurray to take at look at the oilsands and meet with Alberta’s deputy premier. There is no question Premier Brad Wall and British Columbia’s Christie Clark tried to raise the political temperature on this one.
Clark’s attack on Mulcair was predictable, as she seems to have no hope of re-election for herself and her Liberal party. And Wall’s response seemed to ratchet up as each day wore on. As for Mulcair, he seems to have realized that one needs to choose one’s words carefully when trying to frame a national debate.
One fact seems lost in all the commotion: Western Canadians in the 1970s, led by two of the best premiers in Canadian history, Saskatchewan’s Allan Blakeney and Alberta’s Peter Lougheed, ensured that provincial governments control their own natural resources. And just to make sure, when the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was being drafted, included in the Constitution was an article re-establishing that provinces control their own natural resources through taxation and regulation.
Natural resources belong to the citizens of each province. However, this fact does not preclude the necessity of having a national discussion regarding the oilsands and the environmental and economic implications for our country.
Even Alberta Premier Alison Redford understands that continued development of the oilsands requires thoughtful consideration. She has received an undertaking from the western premiers to develop a Canadian energy strategy that will be “a forward-looking plan for sustainable energy management and development.”
Redford seems to have aspirations of improving Alberta’s environmental performance and therefore its image, not only in Canada but also on the international stage. And contrary to Wall’s thinking, this strategy must be more than a communications plan that ensures “Canadians have a better understanding of the interests of the energy and resources sector.”
An energy strategy that includes all provinces and territories is an imperative for Redford. Her province has gone from relying on natural gas development as a significant source of provincial revenue to the development of the oilsands as replacement revenue. If Redford is to balance Alberta’s budget and provide services for her citizens, she needs money. And that money currently is dependent increasingly on the oilsands.
She cannot afford to get into a tug-a-war over the consequences of a high Canadian dollar with her counterparts elsewhere in Canada, who’ve seen hundreds of thousands of jobs lost as companies pull up stakes and repatriate employment to the United States or ship manufacturing jobs overseas.
There is no question that oilsands production and exports are reshaping the country’s economy. As Canadians we need to understand the longer-term economic and environmental implications. A Canadian energy strategy that’s real could promote a healthy conversation about Canada’s energy future.
Source Article from http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Redford+walks+tightrope+over+energy/6736487/story.html
