Backlash against budget bills has roots in industry wish list
Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes
An access to information request filed by Greenpeace turned up a letter sent by the oil and gas industry to the Ministers of the Environment and Natural Resources in December of 2011 that helps explain much of the contentious content in the budget bills C-38, and C-45. The letter laid out specific legislation that industry wanted amended to smooth the way for the development and export of bitumen from the oil sands. In terms of success, we should all be so lucky in having our every wish granted by the government.
The letter originated from a group called the Energy Framework Initiative, which is made up of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute (which has become the Canadian Fuels Association) and the Canadian Gas Association. These are the same players that have received the most face-time in the Prime Minister’s Office as lobbyists and while it is shocking that one group can so thoroughly drive the government’s agenda, it is not terribly surprising.
The letter asks for changes to specific legislation: the National Energy Board Act; Canadian Environmental Assessment Act; Fisheries Act; Navigable Waters Protection Act; Species at Risk Act; and, the Migratory Birds Convention Act.
For those of you keeping score at home, they got pretty much everything they wanted in the last two budget implementation acts, all within a year of the letter hitting the Ministers’ desks. What is discouraging is the way this group characterized the laws they wanted changed. Acts designed to protect the public interest are seen as standing in the way of “responsible outcomes”. The industry wants what they call “collaborative conservation to achieve agreed common goals.”
The letter also calls for ‘progress’ on the government’s responsibility to consult with First Nations when it comes to development of resource projects in Canada. When considering specific budget items being prescribed (without appropriate consultation) for First Nations coupled with a number of significant pieces of legislation before the House of Commons and Senate that affect those communities, we can get some insight into the issues that are seizing the country this winter.
Shockingly, we can see that the oil and gas industry got their wishes and got them fast. The items that have set our First Nations population on edge should also be considered with an eye to the well-documented issues that have plagued too many of those communities generation after generation. Letters on those issues could amount to a forest of paper, but have not shared the same success as the single note from big oil and gas.
It is clear the government is in lock-step with one industry predominantly. The economic value of the bitumen being removed from the oil sands is not even being maximized since most is earmarked for export in its raw form. With that in mind it is fair to say much of the economic benefit from our weakened environmental regulatory process will be enjoyed outside the country. As usual, most of the freight will be paid by Canadians. The Conservatives have set the country on edge intentionally early in their term with the fervent hope that the electorate will have time to forget it all before going to the polls in 2015.
