Jack Mintz is a Canadian treasure, teaching and writing across a range of important Canadian issues. He is a studied and deep-thinking intellectual with the additional ability to lead and manage organizations. In non-academic parlance, “he gets things done.”I had the pleasure of working with Jack as a director of the CD Howe Institute, where he was the President. Then again, as a founding director when he established the School of Public Policy, with Tim Hearn as the Chair.Still very active in Alberta and the School, but living back in Toronto, Jack's current focus is the competitiveness of our world-leading energy sector (fourth in oil production and fifth in natural gas), especially the risk of overplaying the carbon issue. His most recent paper, for the Fraser Institute, highlights the need for improved Canadian competitiveness.Mintz often warns Canadians about this important issue — the OECD forecasts us at or near the bottom of 38 member countries, in 10- and 40-year periods. Part of the problem, but also the remedy, resides in our energy sector, still out of favour in Ottawa; ergo, the relevance of his paper.This gets us to the federal government.An impressive biography notwithstanding, some of the key policies of our new Prime Minister express the same disdain for Alberta and the West as Trudeau. Carney’s decades of global “climate crisis” leadership demonstrate his Trudeau-like anti-fossil fuel animus. .Carney’s clever and orchestrated path to power was a masterstroke, likely planned years ago when he became the Chair of Brookfield Assets and Bloomberg.Carney believes he can further finesse Canadians, notwithstanding his long-standing climate leadership, by imposing a “decarbonized oil” condition for a federal permit to build the proposed pipeline to the Pacific. This requires an unproven technical process to extract CO2, construct a pipeline to Cold Lake, and re-inject the carbon into the ground. This presents unnecessary and open-ended costs and the risk of large volumes of CO2 that can result in asphyxiation, and makes our products less competitive, the theme of the recent Mintz paper.The Prime Minister has maintained most of Trudeau’s punitive legislation while adding the decarbonization risk, aboriginal consent (versus consultation), and approval by British Columbia as conditions for the construction of the pipeline in question. With Bill C-5, why?Make your own conclusions while considering the following questions:How does the removal of CO2, an odourless and colourless gas, suddenly make oil clean?How does a scarce gas (only 1 of 2,500 parts), essential to plant, animal, and human life, damage the environment? .How did the planet survive 500 million years ago when CO2 levels were 30 times higher? Why are we fed impending doom with the current very low levels of 430 ppm? With Canada’s 1.5% of global emissions, replaced in only a few months by India’s and China’s emissions (exempted by the Paris Accord), why the need for Canada’s global leadership? Why should Albertans and other oil-producing regions agree to a global policy with irrelevant global impact? Why penalize Canadian producers in the West while Ontario, Quebec, and other provinces accept foreign “dirty oil?” Better to consider the wisdom of Jack Mintz with reference to the Fraser study. He points out the impact of carbon taxes in Alberta on the marginal cost of production, uncompetitive compared to Texas and New Mexico. Oil, gas, and power industries suffer “a tax disadvantage for the province — and therefore the country.” .Jack further advises that “the biggest impact will be on the electric power industry" as the carbon tax will noticeably increase power prices in Alberta “impacting the competitiveness of many industries” — more than just the energy sector!So, from those of us in the West who generate oil, natural gas, liquids, electricity, etc., a further simple question — why is Western output made less competitive than oil produced offshore Newfoundland and the same for electricity generated elsewhere in the country?Why is only production targeted, as it emits only 10% of total emissions along the chain, versus the large consuming provinces of Ontario and Quebec? Consumption of the same oil emits 80% of the molecules, yet suffers no similar punitive economic penalties from the federal government.Why again, and again, and again?We in the West know why — we have no meaningful say in the governance of our country. These and many other irrational and unfair policies fuel the frustration spread more widely than just in Alberta.Most Canadians are fair-minded regardless of where they live. It is the power-hungry and obstinate politicians in Ottawa, led by Trudeau and now Carney, who cause fair-minded Albertans to consider independence.The final question is for those in Alberta and beyond who eschew the independence option — what is your solution? Acceptance of the status quo? Forever?
