PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday December 1, 2005

CANADIANS WILL BE THE ONES TO FREEZE IN THE DARK
New Paper Highlights Urgency of an Energy Security Strategy for Canada

EDMONTON – A paper released today by the Parkland Institute calls on Canada’s political leaders to prioritize the development and implementation of a Canadian energy security strategy.

Spikes in oil prices following Hurricane Katrina, dwindling natural gas supplies, and the fact that Canada already imports almost half of the oil it consumes all point to the need to ensure that Canada’s future energy supply is secure.

“Both our NAFTA partners, Mexico and the US, currently have energy security policies in place,” says Parkland’s director Dr. Gordon Laxer. “These are policies that enable them to prioritize the needs of their own citizens in the face of global energy shortages. All Canada has is a clause in NAFTA which says we cannot prioritize the energy needs of Canadians over those of the United States.”

NAFTA’s proportional sharing rules must be dealt with before we can even begin to address energy security for Canada states the paper, and none of the federal parties in this election have put forth any concrete proposals for dealing with the agreement. “We can implement all the sustainability and conservation initiatives we like,” says Dr. Laxer, “but unless we deal with NAFTA, these policies will not help Canadians one bit.”

The Parkland Institute insists that a comprehensive Canadian energy strategy cannot work if it is imposed unilaterally by Ottawa – it must be a federal-provincial partnership, or it will meet the same fate as the NEP of the ‘80s. Parkland Institute is developing a strategy which includes the following key principles:
- the Dinning principle, which would establish 30 years of proven supply natural gas and oil before exporting to the rest of Canada;
- that energy exports occur only if there is sufficient proven supply to meet Canadians’ energy needs;
- slow the pace of oil-sands development both for environmental sustainability, and to maximize the value of the oil;
- that provinces raise royalty rates to a point where they truly reflect the value of both the resource and the environment to Albertans and Canadians;
- that western oil be used to supply for Quebec and Atlantic Canada’s needs rather than importing from abroad;
- that any policy include just transition programs for workers who lose their jobs as a result of conservation and sustainability initiatives; and
- that a Canadian energy strategy include provisions for Canadian ownership and crown corporations.

Dr. Laxer emphasizes that the first step is for this to become an election issue. “There is no better time than an election for the parties to debate how they plan to protect Canada’s energy future.”

The Parkland Institute, based at the University of Alberta, is an Alberta-wide research network that examines public policy issues. Copies of the report are available on the web at www.ualberta.ca/parkland or can be requested by phone at (780) 492-8558.

Media Contact:
Ricardo Acuña (780) 492-0417

This report is available direct from the Parkland Institute (780-492-8558)