A Canadian indigenous businessman said the West and energy sector were undervalued by a Liberal government that was “anti-oil and gas.”Blaine Favel made his comments in a one-hour YouTube video discussion entitled “The West in Confederation: What is Behind Western Restlessness?” It was hosted by MacDonald Laurier Institute distinguished fellow Ken Coates, who is also a public policy professor at the University of Saskatchewan.Coates called Favel “one of the most important and creative business people in Western Canada.” Favel, president of the Indigenous Energy Accelerator, and a former chief of Poundmaker Cree Nation said the West has been disrespected despite its disproportionate contribution to federal coffers.“They contribute billions and billions to the national economy and transfer payments to this [Canada] pension [plan]… that the West is overpaid. And so, you can look at us as a hinterland. But to a large extent, the West has been subsidizing Canada,” Favel said.“People are unhappy with the direction the country is going. I think that's fair to say, particularly when it comes to economic issues. In the West, there's a huge amount of disappointment, betrayal, confusion, I think, shock.”The oil and gas sector has been undervalued, Favel said.“One time I spoke to a group of indigenous people, young people, about the need for the oil and gas industry, and they gave me the finger until I explained to them that their telephones, their clothes and that airplane ticket that they flew in and 40% of the food they eat comes from energy,” he said.“There's got to be a big education piece of how important this part of the economy is to the country and to our daily life.”Favel, who also helped set up the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and the First Nations Bank, believes the federal government has deceived the public regarding the current ability of renewable or hydrogen power to replace oil and gas.“A lot of the stuff that Canadians think about energy, what the government's telling them, electrification, I don't want to call our federal ministers liars, but it's just not true, right? This stuff is not there,” he said.“It’s a good aspiration to have but there’s no such thing as hydrogen production for commercial use.”Favel, a board member of the International Institute for Sustainable development said the first prototypes of hydrogen-fueled power won’t be ready until 2028. He said the cost of national electrification will hit a trillion dollars before it even gets started and Ottawa was less than forthright about the cost.“They're not telling mom and pop that their lives are gonna become potentially unsustainable from the cost of power because power is in everything, right? Energy is in everything,” he said.“Even if it's bad news, tell the truth. Don't tell people we're gonna move in this green direction and it's all gonna be peaches and roses. And oh, yeah, by the way, your power bills are gonna go up four times.”Favel said it was “sad” how Ottawa had turned “its back on the west” and the energy sector.“Thirty percent of our gross domestic product as a country comes from this industry, from basically two and a half provinces; Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan,” Favel said.“People east of the Manitoba border, even east of the Saskatchewan border, they don't get it.”The turn from fossil fuels to electric power is “really problematic” and “not happening,” Favel said, as the grid and power production would have to double by 2040. Besides that, a survey of national utilities found Quebec was increasing its hydro by 12% and New Brunswick by a single-digit percentage, not nearly enough to meet the needs.“Saskatchewan and Alberta actually have to decarbonize under this plan. So we actually take megawatts off the table,” Favel said with profanity before excusing himself.“These commercials about the lights going out, they’re true! The capacity isn’t there to get us where we need to go. I hate to be the purveyor of doom, but I'm actually trying to make a living building these power plants and they're not easy to do.”Favel said the “moral superiority of the east” with its “virtue signalling” was “just silliness” and “really disappointing” and the rest of the world was not “turning off of carbon.”“I got caught up in the Kelowna wildfires this summer. And I was stranded there for two days. I'm thinking like, how come we don't have water bombers? Like when the water bomber showed up, the fire went out. And so there's things that they're not being real about and I'm it's super disappointing,” he said.“I'm used to politicians lying to Indians, because they do that all the time. But, man, they're just lying to all Canadians.”
A Canadian indigenous businessman said the West and energy sector were undervalued by a Liberal government that was “anti-oil and gas.”Blaine Favel made his comments in a one-hour YouTube video discussion entitled “The West in Confederation: What is Behind Western Restlessness?” It was hosted by MacDonald Laurier Institute distinguished fellow Ken Coates, who is also a public policy professor at the University of Saskatchewan.Coates called Favel “one of the most important and creative business people in Western Canada.” Favel, president of the Indigenous Energy Accelerator, and a former chief of Poundmaker Cree Nation said the West has been disrespected despite its disproportionate contribution to federal coffers.“They contribute billions and billions to the national economy and transfer payments to this [Canada] pension [plan]… that the West is overpaid. And so, you can look at us as a hinterland. But to a large extent, the West has been subsidizing Canada,” Favel said.“People are unhappy with the direction the country is going. I think that's fair to say, particularly when it comes to economic issues. In the West, there's a huge amount of disappointment, betrayal, confusion, I think, shock.”The oil and gas sector has been undervalued, Favel said.“One time I spoke to a group of indigenous people, young people, about the need for the oil and gas industry, and they gave me the finger until I explained to them that their telephones, their clothes and that airplane ticket that they flew in and 40% of the food they eat comes from energy,” he said.“There's got to be a big education piece of how important this part of the economy is to the country and to our daily life.”Favel, who also helped set up the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and the First Nations Bank, believes the federal government has deceived the public regarding the current ability of renewable or hydrogen power to replace oil and gas.“A lot of the stuff that Canadians think about energy, what the government's telling them, electrification, I don't want to call our federal ministers liars, but it's just not true, right? This stuff is not there,” he said.“It’s a good aspiration to have but there’s no such thing as hydrogen production for commercial use.”Favel, a board member of the International Institute for Sustainable development said the first prototypes of hydrogen-fueled power won’t be ready until 2028. He said the cost of national electrification will hit a trillion dollars before it even gets started and Ottawa was less than forthright about the cost.“They're not telling mom and pop that their lives are gonna become potentially unsustainable from the cost of power because power is in everything, right? Energy is in everything,” he said.“Even if it's bad news, tell the truth. Don't tell people we're gonna move in this green direction and it's all gonna be peaches and roses. And oh, yeah, by the way, your power bills are gonna go up four times.”Favel said it was “sad” how Ottawa had turned “its back on the west” and the energy sector.“Thirty percent of our gross domestic product as a country comes from this industry, from basically two and a half provinces; Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan,” Favel said.“People east of the Manitoba border, even east of the Saskatchewan border, they don't get it.”The turn from fossil fuels to electric power is “really problematic” and “not happening,” Favel said, as the grid and power production would have to double by 2040. Besides that, a survey of national utilities found Quebec was increasing its hydro by 12% and New Brunswick by a single-digit percentage, not nearly enough to meet the needs.“Saskatchewan and Alberta actually have to decarbonize under this plan. So we actually take megawatts off the table,” Favel said with profanity before excusing himself.“These commercials about the lights going out, they’re true! The capacity isn’t there to get us where we need to go. I hate to be the purveyor of doom, but I'm actually trying to make a living building these power plants and they're not easy to do.”Favel said the “moral superiority of the east” with its “virtue signalling” was “just silliness” and “really disappointing” and the rest of the world was not “turning off of carbon.”“I got caught up in the Kelowna wildfires this summer. And I was stranded there for two days. I'm thinking like, how come we don't have water bombers? Like when the water bomber showed up, the fire went out. And so there's things that they're not being real about and I'm it's super disappointing,” he said.“I'm used to politicians lying to Indians, because they do that all the time. But, man, they're just lying to all Canadians.”
