By Trevor McLeod
In the National Post
Sept. 25, 2015
Good, functioning democratic societies need all kinds of people, including staunch environmental activists. Parliamentary democracies work best, however, if governments have the guts to govern.
In the case of long-delayed pipelines, that means taking the advice of regulators and then acting in the national interest.
In recent years, environmental groups have forced a renegotiation of our energy systems by shining a bright light where the energy industry is most vulnerable. And, while the last few years have been a nightmare for the energy sector, environmental groups should be thanked for shining that light.
Many of those environmental groups, however, have also pursued an off-oil agenda, waging a public relations war against perceived government and industry inaction on climate change, notably, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Along the way, they leveraged long-standing and unaddressed equity issues in an attempt to gain political support for their cause. They expertly brought lingering First Nations issues and perennial wealth distribution issues to the fore.
It would have been hard for them to imagine how ill-prepared government and industry would be to respond to the challenge.
In the early days, industry and government were laser-focused on improving communication, thinking if only they told their story better, people would support them. There was a deep belief in both government and industry that the facts would set them free.
The facts of choice focused on economic benefits – first national, then local. While some still believe that improved communication is the silver bullet to public support, it is now pretty clear that the problem goes beyond advocacy.
Government and industry need to do more to convince reasonable people that they deserve their trust.
A poll commissioned in 2014 by the Canada West Foundation revealed that more than one-quarter of western Canadians distrust the energy industry. Of those people, 48 per cent said their distrust stems from a belief that industry is motivated solely by financial gain. So, when governments and project proponents talk about economic benefits, they are actually reinforcing this negative perception of energy companies.
If governments and industry are going to win the battle for hearts and minds, then they need to be seen to be doing something to fix the problem. Our federal government has done its able best to suppress forums to address environmental and aboriginal concerns. This is not helpful – it has pushed environmental and aboriginal matters into regulatory processes that are not designed to address such questions.
The National Energy Board – an institution designed primarily to adjudicate local concerns and to provide a buffer to governments and politicians – is now in the centre of the controversy. It has been flooded with requests to participate in the process and applicants are flooded with information requests. TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline hearing, for example, had more than 1,800 requests to participate and Kinder Morgan suffered the wrath of the mayor of Burnaby for not giving adequate answers to 60 per cent of Burnaby’s 1,700 questions.
It is tempting to dismiss this opposition as politically motivated. That is a mistake. The bright light provides industry and government with the opportunity to improve their practices and to convince Canadians that they deserve their trust.
Provincial governments have made a good start with the Canadian Energy Strategy. The Government of Alberta has another opportunity to deliver the message that it is trustworthy when it reimagines its climate strategy. These are important, incremental steps that should build faith in both government and, by extension, industry.
However, if genuine attempts to address environmental, aboriginal and wealth allocation issues do not break the impasse on pipelines then Alberta and Saskatchewan should be willing to demand that the federal government (whichever party ends up forming government) exercises its jurisdiction to build pipelines.
Canada’s inability to get pipelines built contributes to the economic pain from our current recession. West Texas Intermediate oil closed Thursday at US$44.79, yet our Western Canadian Select was US$30.69. The 31 per cent gap in price reflects our delivery challenges.
Debate is healthy. Endless debate is paralyzing. Governments need to have the guts to govern. We are getting very close to the time for the federal government to make a decision to protect the national interest.
Trevor McLeod is the Director of the Centre for Natural Resources Policy at the Canada West Foundation in Calgary, Alberta. www.cwf.ca