CALGARY, AB (March 20, 2019) – The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) today expressed its profound disappointment with the federal budget announced yesterday with no measures to address Canada’s competitiveness issues to encourage private capital investment and stimulate job creation.
Gary Mar, President and CEO of PSAC says “For a government that says it wants to help middle-class Canadians, one measure put forward by PSAC that would have led to $700 million in private capital investment to decommission wells, creating over 6,000 jobs and generating positive environmental results was nowhere to be found.”
The oil and gas industry is the largest contributor of private capital investment in Canada investing a record $81 billion in 2014, accounting for over 600,000 jobs across the country, and generating a trade surplus for Canada of $70 billion, far more than any other export industry in Canada. Low commodity prices exacerbated by lack of access to markets beyond the US, competitiveness issues and layers of federal government policies have caused that investment to plummet a whopping 51 per cent to $41 billion in 2018 resulting in over 100,000 jobs lost, mostly middle-class. “We could recover this tremendous advantage again but this Budget does nothing to address the critical issues holding back this vital industry” continued Mar.
Duncan Au, Chair of PSAC and President and CEO of CWC Energy Services Corp. agreed, saying “While we recognize investment in skills training as important for a changing economy, frustration in our sector mounts and patience wears thin for real action to address issues for our industry including market access, Bill C-69 and competitiveness, as job losses continue. We were really hoping that our ‘Resource Environmental Tax Credit’ proposal would have been included in the Budget to demonstrate a concern for and willingness to recognize that this industry matters and benefits all Canadians.”
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) is the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry. PSAC is Working Energy and as the voice of this sector, advocates for its members to enable the continued innovation, technological advancement and in-the-field experience they supply to energy explorers and producers in Canada and internationally, helping to increase efficiency, ensure safety and protect the environment.