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June 2, 2008 In his Globe and Mail column today, Lawrence Martin asks how much sense it makes that “energy-abundant” Canada imports 40 per cent of its oil from foreign markets. He also reports that Liberal Michael Ignatieff is wondering the same thing. “How much sense does it make that several pipelines are being built north-south to supply the American market while none are being built west-east to supply the eastern half of the nation?” asks Martin in his column, “Ignatieff has a vision: a trans-Canada energy highway.” The Liberal deputy leader said recently that, "A west-east pipeline is feasible,” adding that it’s “weird” for Canada to be importing so much of its energy. According to Martin: “He says it's weird, too, that with foreign supply channels so potentially unstable, there is no talk in Ottawa of creating a national petroleum reserve. He has questions as well about the NAFTA lock-in clause that guarantees levels of U.S. supply from Canada.” Igantieff is quoted as saying: “I look at the east-west linkages that tie our country together and I do wonder whether they are strong enough to offset the north-south flows that dominate our economy. The oil, the natural gas, the hydro – it all flows south. Where is the national grid to share our power, the east-west pipeline to share our oil and to guarantee our energy security as a nation?... An east-west continental railway was recurrently feared to be economically non-viable. But without it we wouldn't have a country." Omar Alghabra, the Liberal energy critic, says, "We have to reduce barriers that prevent Canadian oil from being used by Canadians. We need a national energy strategy."
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