The weekend brought no conclusion to the United States financial markets or regulations aimed at preventing a melt-down. The weekend did bring further clarity to the Canadian position on shutting down the oil sands mines. And long rides in beautiful sunny weather left me wondering if Sarah Palin could bolster her foreign policy experience by a quick side-trip to Canada to get the politicians here to face the fact that stopping the export of oil-sands-derived products to the US could be as disastrous as failure to clean up the Washington financial mess. Let me explain.
A long article on MineWeb tells more about threats by current Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his threat to refuse to export oil-sands derived bitumen to dirty countries. I quote (but urge you to read the full article, slow as it is to download.)
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has put the pressure on Canadian oil sands producers with a warning that, if re-elected, the Conservative Government will prohibit the exportation of raw bitumen to countries outside of Canada that do not have equivalent emission targets.
Alberta produces 1.3 billion barrels of bitumen daily with about 62% remaining in Alberta, and 500,000 barrels being exported and upgraded outside of Canada. About 30% of that is exported to the United States to be upgraded and refined. That figure is expected to triple over the next decade.
In a statement, Harper said, “While Canada encourages the export of our energy resources, we cannot allow companies to increase exports of raw bitumen simply in order to avoid Canadian emissions standards as they are strengthened over the next few years. Nor can we afford to export the jobs and spin-off industrial opportunities created by the upgrading of bitumen.”
“A re-elected Harper Government will prohibit the exportation of bitumen outside of Canada for upgrading in order to take advantage of lower pollution or greenhouse gas emissions standards elsewhere,” he added.
You might expect, the independent spirit of Alberta resists federal efforts to use the oil sands for political gain. From the MineWeb article:
Alberta Deputy Premier and Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, Ron Stevens, told the news media the province was given no warning of Harper’s intentions. Stevens also claimed that no one from the Conservatives have offered to answer any of the Alberta Government’s question or asked for any input.
He insisted the “oil sands are the property of Alberta. We’ll be keen to ensure that Alberta‘s interests are protected.” However, Premier Ed Stelmach said he would curb the shipment of Alberta‘s bitumen and jobs down the pipeline to Texas and Illinois.
In detail, this is all smoke and mirrors. Even the NDP, usually far off base in logic and reason, notes:
New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, who wants a moratorium on oil sands expansion, called it “absurd” for Harper to complain about emission rules in other countries. “He doesn’t have limits on carbon emissions in Canada,” Layton told reporters in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The interesting part of all this is just how intertwined Canadian politics is with US politics. Conversely we see no discussion about the role that Canadian oil sands could and will have to play in the so-called US energy independence march. That is if you discount Obama’s threat to renegotiate NAFTA.
From my sunny bench here safe in Vancouver, it seems to me that we deserve a more rational analysis and discussion from our politicians on both sides of the long border. Seems to me that there is no way the US is going to achieve anything like substantial energy independence without significant reliance on Canadian oil sands. Maybe Palin can demonstrate her international experience and ability by coming to Canada to broker a deal with the Canadian politicians over oil sands and their contribution to John McCain’s promise of energy independence. Maybe she could come up along with the Califonia governor who up here is held out as a fine example of somebody leading his state to a rational carbon reduction future.
Afterall if Palin can justify becoming president on the fact that Russia is next to Alaska, how much more convincing is the fact that Canada actually shares a large land border with Alaska. Canada is hardly about to launch missiles on Alaska much less supply it with oil. But the rest of the US could well be negatively impacted if Harper, the NDP, and all those screaming liberal politicians cut off oil-sands-derived products to the US. Now is the time for Palin to make a foreign visit to a foreign country to negotiate about something she knows well: oil, energy, and the cold far-north. Why she could even take time off here for a bit of hunting from a helicopter.
My succient take on the matter. At a time when North America could descend into a new depression, it is depressing to see politicians on both sides of the border posturing and pontificating. There are real things we can do to move ahead and recapture momentum. Shutting down mines is not one of them. Cutting off energy supplies is not one of them. Telling lies to get re-elected is certainly not one of them. Now is the time for leaders to step forward and tell the truth, to lead us to the new future that we instinctively feel will be very different from the past. Now of all times we need leaders of courage and clarity. When I see them, I will vote for them. My fear is that they will not emerge in time for the elections that both countries face so soon.
