Greg Tobin is the Digital Strategy Director for the Canada Strong & Proud Network.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wonders if there’s a “business case” to justify helping Europeans not freeze to death this winter.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in a bid to help his people keep warm this winter, came to Canada to ask us to send more of our natural gas to Germany. Scholz is the latest in a line of other European leaders asking the same thing.
But after he got through all the hugs and kisses once landing on Canadian soil, during a press conference Prime Minister Trudeau told Scholz that he questioned the business case for helping him. Trudeau also went on to blame oil and gas companies for not having the infrastructure needed to transport energy across the country – the same companies he’s been hampering for the last eight years.
Okay, Ebeneezer Scrooge. Business case? Good grief. Is helping our allies who desperately need energy not a sound business case?
Putin is bankrolling his invasion of Ukraine with the billions he makes from selling his oil to Europe. How about the business case to stop that?
Canada has a golden opportunity to help our friends, and make billions doing it. Putin weaponized his energy. Trudeau has the power to de-weaponize it, and discourage other dictators from trying something similar in the future. But he’s choosing not to. And instead trying to weasel out of it to save face to his eco-radical base.
Goodness, if being Justin Trudeau’s friend involves him questioning the business case of trading with you, I wonder what he does to his enemies?
Well, I suppose we have an idea what Trudeau might do to his enemies – return their broken pipeline part. Despite sanctions from his own government, the Prime Minister opted to send back turbines to help fix Putin’s Nordstream pipeline. Now the chancellor is here asking us for our gas instead, but the Prime Minister seems uninterested in helping.
Now, let’s be clear, it was Germany’s hurry to transition itself off oil and gas that has led to this problem in the first place. They shut down their coal and nuclear power plants, and prepared to say goodbye to fossil fuels forever.
Then the chickens came home to roost. Or rather, the chickens got chopped up by wind turbines on their way home to roost.
Germany’s energy supply became unreliable and intermittent. Costs skyrocketed and they’re still going up – hitting a record just this week of over €700/per megawatt hour for energy. By comparison Canadians pay about $179 per mWh, and that’s considered expensive by our standards.
Germany was forced to turn coal plants back on, but it still wasn’t enough. They’re now having to turn to Russia for they’re energy needs, but unsurprisingly, Putin is getting back at Germany for supporting Ukraine, and turning the taps off.
German Google searches for firewood are at record highs. Winter is coming, as they say. And Germany finds itself wondering how it’s going to keep its people warm.
But Trudeau is still clinging to last century’s energy fantasies – that unreliable windmills and solar panels can power the world. Or that nobody will use gas after 2030. He’s promising Germany so-called renewable energy, and green hydrogen, even though we’re further away from delivering that than we are natural gas.
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine made the world realize that oil and gas are essential and will not be replaced in the foreseeable future.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said earlier this month that it is “a political responsibility for us as a country to support our allies with energy security.” We agree wholeheartedly. And the government has made some moves in that direction.
They approved the Bay Du Nord energy project, and agreed to increase production of our Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) (albeit by only 5%). And we’re still waiting on several energy projects to finish.
Now frankly, It’s too little. But it’s not too late.
The 21st century could be Canada’s, seeing ourselves become a senior partner on the world stage. We have the best LNG product in the world. And we have people who want to buy it.
The Prime Minister was criticized recently for spending more time in the air than he did on the ground in July, and in August for flying down to Costa Rica. His behaviour seems to suggest he understands and appreciates the value that oil and gas play in our lives.
But his attachment to the outdated ideology of “keep it in the ground” keeps him, and by extension Canadians, from unleashing our resource sector and making the true north strong and free the international hub of ethical resources.
Think of the wealth we generate if we did. Think of the global emissions we could reduce if we got China and India using our gas instead of coal and wood. Think of the things we could build, the doctors and nurses we could hire by growing our GDP. Think of the lives we could make better, or save.
There’s an untapped Canadian dream waiting to be made reality.
Canadians deserve better. Our European allies deserve better. Let’s hope they get it sooner than later.
