OTTAWA – Canada has little hope of reaping any kind of energy or resource windfall because of the crisis in Ukraine.
That message was delivered to a House of Commons committee on Parliament Hill today, which heard from energy experts from Alberta, Europe, and Ukraine.
The Commons natural resources committee was told that Canada is the better part of a decade away from having the pipelines and other infrastructure necessary to be any kind of meaningful energy supplier to Europe.
The parliamentary committee is hearing evidence on whether there are opportunities for Canada to export its oil and gas to Europe, and help wean Ukraine off its dependence on Russian energy.
Russia supplies all of Ukraine’s natural gas, giving it a major economic lever over the Ukrainian military — one it is currently exercising.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula last month while pro-Russian gunmen are taking over cities in the country’s eastern region.