At this point, it has been made perfectly clear that the federal government of Canada, led by Prime Minister Trudeau and his puppetmaster, Gerald Butts, are determined to grind western Canada’s oil and gas industry to a halt. The list of liberal-strikes on this industry is extensive, and the reality is clear: they have turned away investment, and hundreds of thousands of people are unemployed at their hands.
Yesterday, one of the few good Senators in Ottawa, Doug Black from Alberta, offered an ominous warning about potential regulatory changes. He said parts of the government are hoping to kill the oilsands with the introduction of Bill C-69 and a National Energy Board (NEB) overhaul.
The proposed dismantling of the NEB and replacement of a Canadian Energy Regulator is just another sinister move by the federal government. Akin to killing Northern Gateway and Energy East, halting the Trans Mountain expansion, banning tanker traffic on the B.C. coast, the other elements of Bill C-69 and throwing countless review orders in front of critical projects.
Can we get a break? Of course not. Because Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Environment Minister Katherine McKenna, and Gerald Butts only sleep well when Western Canada’s oil industry suffers.
The creation of a Canadian Energy Regulator, coupled with the retirement of the NEB means, at best, a significant holdup in all national approvals due to name changes, new legal languages, and all the other horrible logistics that come with setting up a new government watchdog. At worst, it could mean a permanent barrier to new resource expansion and projects.
What was the issue with the NEB? A reasonable person would cite the organization became too bloated, too bureaucratic, thus stymieing critical projects for our country. However, the “leaders” of this country see replacing it as a “modernization approach”. In fact, the new Canadian Energy Regulator page is covered with meaningless platitudes. Have a look for yourself (warning: reading it is enough to make you sick.)
From their website: “A modern regulator is also critical to ensuring Canadians continue to have access to a safe, affordable and reliable supply of energy.”
Spare us!
We’ve heard this crap for over 10 years. We already have the safest, most reliable sources of energy on the planet.
No sane person would ever think creating a new regulator with far greater powers, would be remotely more efficient than fixing the existing one. We all know why they are doing this. It’s just another attack on the hard working men and women of this great industry.
