The Council replies: Letters to the editor
Alberta's 'Mordor' no engine

By Andrea Harden
The Toronto Star
November 27, 2008

Premier Ed Stelmach needs to check his facts. He argues that economic growth depends on accessible, reliable energy. The premier would have us believe the tar sands provide this for Canada. The truth is Quebec and Atlantic Canada import 90 per cent of their oil. Currently two-thirds of oil produced in our country is exported to the U.S. NAFTA helps to ensure that energy resources keep flowing out of the country, going so far as to prevent cutting back on the proportion of energy exported to the U.S. – even if it is done to meet Canadian needs or Kyoto commitments.

Making matters worse, Canada does not have a strategic petroleum reserve or a west-to-east energy sharing strategy. Perhaps the premier's choice of using North America rather than Canada in making this argument was meant to sweep this reality under the theoretical rug.

This is not to suggest that the tar sands hold Canada's solution for meeting energy needs or economic woes. The premier also overlooks how the tar sands helped to drive up the value of the dollar with severe consequences for the manufacturing sector.

There is a reason why Maude Barlow used "Mordor" to describe the tar sands. Vast tracks of boreal forests are ripped up, large amounts of water are used and contaminated, people downstream are getting sick and tar sands production produces three times more greenhouse gases than conventional oil.

What we need is a plan that outlines how to conserve conventional energy, improve energy efficiency and transition to renewable energy production.

Andrea Harden-Donahue, Council of Canadians, Ottawa