Here are the top news stories covering Canada’s energy landscape:
Poll: Quebecers Support Domestic Energy Production
When it comes to developing national resources for energy consumption, Quebecers are all-in. According to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), Quebecers overwhelmingly prefer to import Western Canadian oil as opposed to foreign countries. Furthermore, of those surveyed, half of Quebecers stated they support the province developing its own oil resources.
Germain Belzile, a Senior Associate Researcher with the MEI stated support for domestic production continues to grow with time:
“Western oil and developing their own resources are both more popular this year among Quebecers. But while Quebecers are frankly very open to the development of their oil resources, the province’s political parties don’t feel the same enthusiasm. There’s a disconnect.”
In a Financial Post editorial discussing the poll’s results, Belzile urged the provincial government to reconsider regulations that make it economically infeasible for energy infrastructure:
“Quebec has a significant petrochemical industry, and, when they’re asked, the province’s consumers say they prefer Western Canadian oil to any other. And why not? Oil transported by pipeline is the safest form of oil. It is simply pathetic that Canadian companies have to send Western oil to New Brunswick via the Panama Canal. What would we say in Quebec if another province decided to block our exports in this way?”
Detailed results of the MEI’s commissioned poll are available on its website. The poll received responses from 1,150 Canadians and was carried out between August 20-23, 2020. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Natural Resources Minister: Want to Reverse Climate Change Now? Invest In LNG
A senior member of parliament is telling investors looking for the best sustainable energy investments to start with Canadian liquified natural gas, or LNG. During his opening speech for the Gastech Virtual Summit 2020, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan stated the Canadian future relies heavily on developing what Canada already has, an abundance of natural gas:
“We’ll get to where we need to be tomorrow by using what we have at our fingertips today.”
O’Regan also spoke on how he envisions natural gas to become an essential component of Canada’s progress towards reducing emissions. According to The Canadian Press, O’Regan hopes to leverage natural gas to prop-up the Canadian economy by producing natural gas to be sold and exported to other countries, primarily in Asia. Part of his plan moving forward, O’Regan hopes to enact more policies which make natural gas more sustainable, such as better carbon-capture and storage technologies, as well as investing in research and commercialization.
Member of Cowessess First Nation: I Can Speak For Myself [On Working in Oilsands]
Many perspectives and voices exist within and throughout the world of oil sands, specifically Alberta’s oil sands industry. With that said, it’s important to amplify those communities and individuals whose livelihood and quality of life depend on it, many of which are Indigenous.
In an editorial to The Globe and Mail, Cowessess First Nation Member Estella Petersen, who currently resides and works in Fort McMurray, shares her perspective on how politicians and activists speaking on oil sands are ignoring indigenous voices who support the industry.
Petersen, who has worked in the oil sands industry for almost a decade, says that industry has made progress in speaking out against racism and how more often, women and Indigenous people are working in the industry:
“It should be said, however, that the oil sands have evolved since I came here almost nine years ago. People seem more professional, and I’ve seen far less tolerance for racism. There are more women and non-Indigenous people of colour working on site. People who don’t understand the oil sands may hold perceptions that resource-industry workers are crude, uneducated and dirty people who don’t care about the environment, but from what I’ve seen, none of that is true.”
Closing out her editorial, Petersen states that her dream is to mentor and train Indigenous people to work in the oil sands:
“My dream is to ultimately recruit, mentor and supervise Indigenous people to work in the oil sands with heavy equipment. I’d like to see more Indigenous women work in oil and gas, so we are not deprived of these opportunities to earn a good livelihood and support our families because other people are making decisions for us.”
For more Canadian energy news and setting the record straight on the day’s top stories about the oil and natural gas industry, visit Canadian Energy Network.
This post appeared first on Energy In Depth.