Link Softwood To Energy-Thinking Outside Of The Box

Thanks to Whelan for pointing to something good that the Libs have done. Hope to see more 50/50 coverage. Chapeau to Emerson that has often been depicted as evil. Perhaps he can rattle a few bureaucrats too and become their evil.

We really really need to get a grip on the energy sector. I saw a report on the news last night detailing what I already knew about Alberta's energy sector.<p> Canada was ranked #22 in oil reserves last year. This year, they included Oilsands reserves for which there is technology to extract, and we jumped to #2, behing Saudi Arabia. Some oilsand is very deep, and cannot be extracted through current means, but if they included those reserves, Canada would be #1.<p> The part that makes me nervous is that the US is starting to take notice. I don't think that they would have any trouble whatsoever sinking trillions of dollars in development and building costs to get more Alberta oil, and rely less on Middle east oil.<p> The economic growth would be huge for my province, and the revenues generated would bolster the Canadian economy as well, but at what cost? That's what has me worried.<p><p>---<br>"If you must kill a man, it costs you nothing to be polite about it." Winston Churchill <br />

Gaulois I am all for balanced media, whenever someone is on track it should be commended, regardless of party standing. The entire concept of our democracy is that once elected the member must represent all people to the best of their ability.

I too am concerned Dr. Caleb about what the future holds for us in Alberta. When the gold mines were so plenty in Northern Ontario, the companies came in and took, when they left the people got the 'shaft' literally to remember them by as well as 'slimes' a byproduct of mining. I am afraid we will be left with the 'pipe', miles an miles of pipe underground, which will do nothing to heat our homes! I think the word, non-renewable ought to be a warning!

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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?

I say turn off the taps to the oil and natural gas going to the states! Then scrap NAFTA!!! Then recreate the NEP, and return to the path of running our own show! The liberals don`t go far enough here. The same industry minister implied today in the Toronto Star that people like Carolyn Parrish should refrain from insulting the US if we want to keep our jobs! What a grovelling loser! In the old days, Canadian governments told foreign corporations 'if you want to sell it here, build it here.' What ever happened to that, among other things?

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Dave Ruston

You're right but your comment is missing some important facts. To extract the oil from the stuff mined out of the ground requires massive amounts of energy. Right now this energy is generated from natural gas. One of the reasons the cost of heating our homes has increased astronomically is that shortages of gas are being created partly because so much is being diverted for this purpose, and this will only be exacerbated as more of these projects come on line. As well, the stuff they are mining now requires much less energy than the stuff deeper down as for that they have to inject steam to get it to the surface. Also, the oil they get out of the oilsands requires much more processing than Saudi oil. Another point is that Alberta's natural gas reserves are on the decline.

Recently, the oil companies involved in the oilsands have proposed that the Alberta government spend $2 billion to build wires to connect to the grid to the south (the oilsands are located in the far north of Alberta) so that they can build power plants and sell off the extra energy generated to pay for this. Albertans should not be surprised when these companies start asking for billions to be spent on nuclear power plants when natural gas becomes prohibitively expensive through either a gas shortage or oil price collapse.

In short, people, including Albertans, are not getting what they think they are getting out of these oilsands as once again most of the benefit goes to mostly american owned oil companies and we wind up paying for it through higher gas prices to heat our homes.

You got that right Hoopoe! Not to mention that the Liberals main complaint is that the multinational corp.s that own most of the of our logging and sawmill industry are forced to pay a tariff to the US gov't. Whether we would see any economic benefit from increased tax revenue is debatable when you consider that the Prime Minister had his own company incorporated outside of Canada to avoid having to pay taxes.

I agree with you on those points. Over the years Canada has grown to enjoy the American dollar but at what cost? The Canadian consumer dosen't seem to benefit when the Canadian company is obsorbed by American self interest. Americans are powerful because they know how to take what they want from the weak. Canada has to stop being weak.

It's all talk, but the only action will be consistent with both the Liberal's and Conservative's plans for continued "harmonization" with the US. And if you may be wondering why our leadership would pursue such policies, all you have to do is examine who DOES benefit from continuing US takeovers.

It's like the farce of the federal Liberal cabinet meeting in Kelowna, because they want to show their concern for western Canada. All sizzle -- but no steak.

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RickW