Our Speaker,
Senator Doug Black Paul Gagnon
Thanks Our Speaker | | Club member and retired Senator Dan Hayes introduced this week's speaker, Doug Black. Our speaker was appointed to the Senate of Canada by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2013, having been one of three nominees to the Senate of Canada elected in the 2012 Alberta Senate nominee election. Among his many accomplishments, Senator Black served as the founding President of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the development of a Canadian energy policy framework. Through this forum and subsequent to his term with the institute, Senator Black has been a proponent for responsible energy development, and for diversifying Canadian energy markets. Senator Black opened his remarks by noting that Alberta is now at a critical inflection point where we will either take a stance that puts Alberta's energy industry on a competitive footing, or we will see Canadian prosperity diminish. He reminded us that foreign non-governmental organizations have captured the Canadian energy policy discussion, and that the voices of Albertans and the energy industry have been lost. This has been an unfortunate development, which could have been avoided if the recommendations of the Energy Policy Institute of Canada had been implemented. He stated we are no longer competitive relative to the United States, and have also lost the support of the United States in defending our interests. Our industries also face increased regulatory uncertainty. |
Taken in combination with the absence of interprovincial free trade, Canadian industries are finding it very difficult to attract necessary capital to fund continued development. Senator Black noted that the current federal government is not listening to the concerns of the western provinces, that it does not have any appreciable understanding of the needs of business, and that the provinces are not getting along. In particular, Alberta has been the subject of attacks from the premiers of British Columbia and Quebec. The Senate of Canada is currently reviewing two pieces of legislation that have the potential to irreparably harm Canada's ability to execute resource projects. Bill C-48, the tanker ban of British Columbia's north coast seems to be the result of the government's attempt to satisfy a campaign promise made in Vancouver in advance of the last federal election. This bill was passed by the House of Commons without any environmental review, and a bare minimum of consultation. Bill C-69, which will overhaul the process for approving major resource projects, places the key decision making authority in the hands of the Minister of Climate Change and Environment. Senator Black feels that B-69 should not be passed without major amendments, while Bill C-48 should be scrapped outright. Senator Black indicated that nowhere else in the world are there any tanker bans in place, nor are any being considered. Despite this, there are certainly positive developments to note. Firstly, Senator Black participated in a think-tank that led to the publication of Alberta 2.0 - First Steps to a New Alberta, which outlines a vision for a diversified Alberta economy. Secondly, he noted that a recent Angus Reid poll shows that six in ten Canadians now believe the lack of pipeline access to new markets constitutes a real crisis. Returning to Senator Black's opening comment that Alberta is now at an inflection point, he offered his vision of the ideal outcome of our current crisis. He indicated that it is important to affirm that our natural resources sector matters, and that it will continue to be the engine that drives Canadian prosperity for the foreseeable future. He also stated that it is important for Canada to rebuild its competitive position in the world, and it is encouraging to see that Canada is taking steps in this direction. Finally, Albertans require a redesigned and stabilized energy industry. He encouraged all of us to follow the activities of the Senate Energy Committee. He encouraged us to reach out to Alberta's senators, in particular our two new senators Patti LaBoucane-Benson and Paula Simons, to share our views on the importance of energy policy to our province and country. At the close of his remarks and answers to questions from the floor, Paul Gagnon thanked our speaker. |
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