'Super' Status Eludes Canada

Cast in the global context, the notion of superpower suggests a number of qualities that are decidedly un-Canadian. We are not inclined to 'punch above our weight,' nor are we in a position to use our resource wealth for influence in the world order by moving to control access. Unlike other countries, such as Russia, which don't think twice about cutting off natural gas supplies in order to make a point, Canada would never contemplate turning off the taps to any of its customers for similar purposes. Nor are we price makers; Canada may have the world's second largest oil reserves thanks to the oilsands, but it will never result in production levels capable of influencing world prices. The picture is even more depressing when it comes to natural gas; on the world scale, our reserves rank 19th and are a fraction of what Russia has lying below the surface. Being an energy player with influence goes beyond the measurement of oil and natural gas reserves and production. We have the second-largest uranium reserves in the world and are No. 1 in production; most of the uranium France needs to fuel its nuclear facilities comes from Canada. Our coal reserves are rich beyond measure yet we have not moved ahead -- indeed committed the necessary billions of dollars toward research and development to make coal a clean fuel. There are the interprovincial trade barriers to consider, which prevent the establishment of a national electricity infrastructure. That infrastructure would facilitate the transmission of power from places that can cheaply generate surplus power and sell it to other parts of the country where capacity is constrained. Heck, we can't even get our act together to build the MacKenzie Valley Pipeline. Also lacking is a coherent environmental policy and this week there was yet another illustration of this. .... While Lunn's remarks were encouraging to those looking for leadership on the issue of economic development and environmental sustainability, his remarks would have packed more punch had he acknowledged the need for a comprehensive energy framework that would allow Canada to define its role as an energy superpower on the world stage, in its own, Canadian way. http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/calgarybusiness/story.html?id=0200d068-98e0-4934-b8d6-febda51fb56e&k=60976 [Proofreader’s note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on November 1, 2007]

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