By Joe Johnson (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: January 25, 2012
What an ugly and muddled situation this whole pipeline ordeal has become. It seems that we’ve reached the inevitable increase in oil exports coming from the oil sands in Northern Alberta, or more specifically, the condensed bitumen form of it. Projects are now being fast-tracked and this raises quite a few concerns. Everything from the environment, economy, and national sovereignty is at stake here.
At first, the project was the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, and was to carry the bitumen to destinations in the US. When the Americans couldn’t come to an approval because of environmental concerns, the $5.5 billion Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline became the next evolution, and, instead of going to the USA, would be a supply line to China. In a report by David Hughes, a Canadian energy analyst, according to the Northern Gateway plan,the output of the oil sands would be three times that of 2010 levels. The environmental problem with the Northern Gateway project for BC is then, of course, that it would pass through our province and reach our coast where massive oil tankers would carry it away.
I’m personally opposed to both proposed pipelines. From an environmental point of view I’m more concerned with the Northern Gateway project, which would go through our backyard and cut through a great number of waterways. It would also mean opening up our shores for the first time to oil tankers, and in an area notoriously dangerous for ships to maneuver through.
However, putting the environmental aspect aside momentarily, what is actually even going on with the oil sands? What is happening on the ground level, why are we exporting, and what do we get in return?
The hearings in the approval process are already underway, and there has already been plenty of criticism. The Harper Conservatives would have you believe that those who speak out against the pipeline are really there to serve other interests. In reality, many aboriginal groups, environmentalists, and every day citizens are speaking out in opposition. These people are not eco-terrorists. They do not have an agenda. So what is Harper getting at?
In reality, much of our resources are owned by those with other national interests at heart. Much of this ownership is Chinese, and with their push to modernize they’re purchasing controlling shares from around the world. They want to get the oil going as quickly as possible.
And our Conservative government is uniquely positioned to support the pipeline for two reasons: firstly, they believe in very little government regulation, and secondly, the pipeline will benefit by bringing in tax revenue from greater oil exports. That revenue stream is good for our economy, but in context, not so great for Canada. Because of their regulatory stance, they see that revenue purely as a benefit. So in order to help facilitate the pipeline moving forward, they are intentionally muddying the waters of the hearings and trying to undermine the opposition to the pipeline. Therefore, in an attempt to hurt the credibility of the environmentalists who form the opposition, our government is trying to have us believe that the opposition is secretly made up of different foreign interests groups.
Is it impossible to believe that this could be happening? Unfortunately, it’s entirely within the realm of what is possible in the world of oil. With so much foreign ownership of Canadian oil production, the jiggery and backroom politicking can be disheartening to say the least.
But what’s really at stake is sovereignty: losing control of our resources means that we may never get it back.
As China increases ownership of our production capabilities, they will become more entrenched in our economy, and since we are so resource-dependent, China’s power over Canada will also increase. This is perhaps the most critical issue of all: by allowing foreign ownership of our resources, we give up our national sovereignty.
But whatever the case may be in terms of where the oil goes, be it the Keystone XL to the US or the Northern Gateway to China, somebody is going to be after our resources. As dirty as the oil sands may be, they offer the power that large and expanding nations need. As wars have been fought in the name of securing oil, I hate to see what’s in store for Canada. Not to infer that conflict is in the future, but as we are so rich in natural resources and as years go by, tension is going to increase. This is only the beginning of political maneuvering and strong-arming.
