Outside of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the political will to grow our energy industry, domestically and internationally, has been missing. The 'will' also includes providing the necessary infrastructure ... pipelines. All I know is that when the Liberal government came into power in 2015, there were four major pipeline projects in various stages of limbo after many years of planning and regulatory hurdles.
1. Northern Gateway - received regulatory approval & PC gov't approval - since cancelled by the Liberal gov't
2. Keystone XL - not approved by Obama gov't, then approved by Trump gov't - now tied up in U.S courts.
No fault of the Liberal gov't but I have not heard of any efforts being made by this gov't, to try and overcome this hurdle. Was there even a serious reaction from them?
3. Energy East - cancelled by TransCanada Pipelines because the political will to support it was absent both federally & provincially (Ontario & Quebec)
4. TMX Expansion - approved by the Liberal gov't - almost cancelled by Kinder Morgan because of the long delays caused by the B.C. gov't - purchased by the Liberal gov't - construction halted by the Supreme Court awaiting further consultation with indigenous groups and I guess .... some whales!
Here we sit, heading into 2019 and we have no additional pipeline capacity from any of these major projects. What other country in the world would allow this to happen to an industry that is so vital to its' economy?
I know ... a country that lacks a vision that all governments, federally and provincially, share in and agree upon. However, that would take leadership to accomplish. Sadly, that is what is missing from government today.
That will end my diatribe on this subject .... I feel better now!
