The NDP are certainly not showing any modesty or restraint in explaining to everyone and anyone who will listen how well they’ve done by lobbying the Prime Minister to approve the Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipeline projects. Right now, from where I’m sitting, I can see MLA Cam Westhead and the Premier running around the end zone, spiking the ball into the turf and giving fist pumps and high-fives … if they don’t wear themselves out too much they’ll probably soon be taking a victory lap around the stadium. They’re like the rookie receiver who scored his first touchdown and is embarrassing himself with clumsy antics in celebration of the event. Let them have their moment of glory, however difficult it is to watch. Nonetheless, it certainly is good news that these two projects have been approved. Should the pipelines ever be built they will obviously help Alberta producers get closer to receiving full value for their resources.
A more sombre take-away from this story, however, is that the onerous regulations that the NDP have imposed on our energy industry, to supposedly gain the “social licence” to build pipelines, have come at a very high cost. According to the Fraser Institute, which prepares the Annual Global Petroleum Survey, Alberta’s competitiveness as an energy-producing jurisdiction has substantially declined since the NDP came to power.
“In 2014, Alberta ranked as the 14th most attractive jurisdiction in the world for oil and gas development. By 2015, Alberta dropped to 25th, and this year it ranks a lowly 43rd, putting the province behind B.C. for the first time.” Additionally, “while Alberta becomes less attractive to investment, Saskatchewan continues to shine, rising in the rankings to 4th.”
The Fraser Report goes on to explain that “Alberta’s decline in the eyes of investors shouldn’t be surprising because in the past year and a half the Alberta government has increased both corporate and personal income taxes, introduced a carbon tax and will implement a cap on emissions from oil sands production which has the potential to result in lost production totalling more than $100 billion.”
The implications of this report, which should be obvious to anyone with business sense, is that it will be increasingly difficult to attract new investment dollars into our province for energy development. In spite of our enviable resources, we now face stiff competition from both B.C. and Saskatchewan as well as states such as Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota and Montana. This does not bode well for the prospects of new jobs in the energy industry anytime soon.
My last main point is that while the NDP have a fancy new “bauble” to show off we should not become distracted by it and forget its other failed policies and the hardships these are causing across the province. Unemployment is around nine per cent and is rising every month (with youth being the hardest hit). The resources of food banks are being stretched to the limits as people run out of unemployment insurance and severance packages. Small businesses are closing every day because they are unable to cope with mandated increases to minimum wages. Government spending remains out of control: the deficit in the current fiscal year will exceed $10 billion and by the end of 2019 the provincial debt will be in excess of $50 billion (the highest on a per capita basis in Canada).
Another huge concern is that the electricity market is in shambles: there is no viable plan to efficiently replace the electricity that will be lost when the coal-fired generators are retired; hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent to subsidize unprofitable renewable energy contracts; electricity producers will be paid billions as compensation for the expropriation of their assets; electricity rates for ordinary consumers will be spiraling upwards. While I could go on, I’m sure you get the idea.
In summary, people across the province are genuinely anxious about their futures. In my demographic moms and dads are worried about their children and whether or not they will be able to find a job or be able to keep their job if they already have one. There are already many anecdotal stories where both young people and skilled professionals are leaving the province to find opportunities elsewhere. The only solace the NDP provides is the esoteric argument that they are working hard to save Mother Earth … “that their climate change policy is good for Alberta”. This is cold comfort, however, to the majority of Albertans who try to earn a living in the real world.
Owen Neal, Alberta Can’t Wait Banff-Cochrane Chapter
