Alberta oil travels 12,000 km, through the Panama Canal, to get to Atlantic Canada
Crazy, right? Apparently not. This is 2020. This is Justin Trudeau's Canada.
This oil could have travelled directly from Alberta to Atlantic Canada by way of the Energy East pipeline, but that pipeline was killed three years ago.
Thanks entirely to the hostile, unpredictable, and over-regulatory environment created by the Trudeau government, Irving Oil now finds it easier and more economical to sail Alberta oil through the Panama Canal rather than enduring the regulatory nightmare of getting provincial approval to move oil through Canada.
The Energy East pipeline would have run from Alberta right across to Atlantic Canada.
It would have created thousands of jobs in Quebec and New Brunswick, where Irving Oil was going to build a $300-million terminal to accept shipments.
It would have provided a huge economic lift for Canada and ended Eastern Canada's dependence for oil from countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
But it can't. Because they killed it.
Oil prices have collapsed and the economy has ground to a halt thanks to COVID-19. The oil and gas industry, which buoyed Canada's economy during the last big recession, isn't going to be getting much help from the Trudeau Liberals.
The Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility (LEEFF) program demands that companies provide proof of their commitment to "green" initiatives to be eligible.
Once again, Justin Trudeau snubs his nose at the West and proves he's not a Prime Minister for all Canadians, but only for those who agree with his prosperity-killing approach to energy development.
The fact that Canadian resources have to travel over two separate oceans to get from Alberta to Canada's east coast is an embarrassing indictment of Team Trudeau's failed policies.
If we are going to come out of the economic mess we are just entering, oil and gas must play a large part in this.
We're going to need sane and pragmatic energy policies that bring jobs, prosperity, and affordable energy to all Canadians.
If I become Prime Minister, I will support our energy industry and send a strong message that private investment is once again welcome.
I will repeal C-69, the "no pipelines" bill, as well as C-48, the 2019 tanker ban that removes pipeline options. So will candidates Peter MacKay, Erin O'Toole, and Leslyn Lewis.
But that is not enough. We need to change the mentality in this country, a mentality that exists in the media and in the halls of power, that "oil is bad" or even "oil is dead".
No more Paris Agreement.
No more carbon pricing.
No more green energy subsidies.
What other CPC leadership candidate is committed to this course of action? Sad to say, I stand alone on this program to promote Canada's oil industry.
I'll make sure that, when oil is travelling from Alberta to New Brunswick, the Panama Canal is no longer on the itinerary.
Sincerely,