Why the Energy Gold
Rush Won’t Pan Out
Canadians need a sustainable energy future
You can’t read a newspaper
or watch the six o’clock
news without hearing
about soaring energy
costs, the push to tap into
more remote oil resources
and the need to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
While focus remains on
the challenges of finite supplies and climate
change, there is also a growing call
to secure dependable and accessible
energy resources.
The Council of Canadians is working
with partners and allies to help shape
an energy future that benefits us all
by lobbying governments to demand
a Canadian Energy Strategy that promotes
security of the environment, and
of supply and production.
In public hands
More public control and influence
over how our energy resources are
used must be part of Canada’s energy
future. As energy expert Michael Klare
has pointed out, many major energyproducing
and consuming nations
have come to the conclusion recently
that market forces alone cannot satisfy
essential national energy requirements.
In Canada, however, the federal government’s
commitment to free trade agreements
and free market rules erodes our
country’s capacity to meet Canadians’
basic energy needs and move to a more
sustainable energy future.
The Security and Prosperity Partnership
of North America (SPP) builds on
the history and policies of the North
American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) in expanding energy integration
with the United States.
Energy integration has led to giving
priority to U.S. energy needs over
Canadian energy needs. Our country
exports 70 per cent of oil produced
yearly to the U.S while importing 49
per cent of the oil our country needs.
NAFTA prevents Canada from intervening
in energy trade issues, even if
it’s done to meet Canadians’ energy
needs, or as part of a plan to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions. This means
we are experiencing an energy gold rush
– particularly in the Alberta-based tar
sands, where the SPP’s North American
Energy Working Group is calling for a
five-fold increase in bitumen production.
This energy gold rush has serious
environmental and social consequences,
but still our government refuses to slow
down the pace.
At the same time, diminishing oil and
natural gas reserves and the push to
further deregulate and privatize electricity
sectors are paving the way for higher
home heating and electricity costs.
Canada’s cold climate presents a very
serious dilemma. Stories about families
struggling to pay rising costs to heat
and light their homes are already emerging
in the news. Shockingly, Canada
does not have multi-year energy reserves
or the cross-country pipelines necessary
to transport oil and gas in the event of
an energy crisis. Instead, we have export
commitments and multi-billion-dollar
pipeline projects sending energy resources
to the U.S. Market-driven energy
integration with the U.S. underscores
why there must be greater public control
and influence in the public interest
over energy resources.
Canada’s future: Renewable energy
If we were to suggest a different energy
future, what would it look like?
Harnessing energy from renewable
resources is a must for a sustainable
energy future. It is much less carbonintensive
than our current reliance
on finite fossil fuel resources such as
coal, oil and natural gas, and has a
greater capacity to sustain long-term
use. Renewable resource technology
such as solar panels, wind turbines and
geo-thermal heating (generating energy
from the heat below the earth’s surface)
are possibilities for a more sustainable
energy future.
The switch to renewable energy will
not come overnight, but our government
could be taking action now to
start this process. For example, current
subsidies and low taxation for the oil
and gas industry can be redirected into
investment in research, development
and infrastructure for renewable energy.
Measures and policies reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and transitioning to
smaller-scale, publicly controlled renewable
energy systems must also be equitable
and not disproportionately burden
workers or low-income Canadians. We
need strong policies that ensure that
Canadians’ energy needs are met and
that we will have stable, secure access to
energy resources when we need them.
Individually, more conservation (or less
consumption) and energy efficiency are
also important to achieving a brighter
energy future. Lifestyle changes such as
turning off unused lights, unplugging
appliances, using clotheslines, eating
local foods (the global food industry is
a major contributor to climate change),
and using mass transit will all make
a difference.
We need a Canadian Energy Strategy
that provides security of energy supplies,
guaranteed access to energy reserves in
times of need, and strong policies that
protect our environment and focus on
finding alternative, less harmful energy
solutions. Only then will we achieve
a better, more secure and sustainable
energy future.
Andrea Harden-Donahue is the Energy
Campaigner for the Council of Canadians.
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