British Columbia’s challenge to Bill 12 highlights the complexities behind the environmental issues within Canada. We are dependent upon oil, like it or not, for too many of its by-products, and it is an integral part of our economies. This is why B.C. has challenged this retaliatory piece of legislation by Alberta: it still needs Alberta’s oil, at least for the time being, as they are just as addicted to this natural resource.
This is not to say that we, as a country, are not going to move toward viable sources of green energy in the future, but there are many hurdles in our way. Alberta has shown itself to be quite progressive in its initiatives to develop green energy. It can create a strong economic climate, but Alberta still needs investors to build those projects, not unlike the initiatives undertaken by Klein in the 1990s. But we cannot truly export green energy, unlike oil, as the options are limited, so who is likely to invest in this economy whose market is small?
We could look at the development of climate specific technology, but again, its market potential is quite limited. Even if this is the route we choose, who will invest in this project? We have seen the drastic consequences when Ontario invested in solar technology, so few would have the stomach for our government to invest in such limited industries.
We have also seen the environmental damage caused through the building of hydroelectric projects in B.C. (Site C Dam), so such projects do bear their own environmental costs. That said, Alberta could import electricity to meet its immediate needs, but, as our population grows, so too would our demand for electricity, and we would need to find new sources to meet this growing demand. If we cannot do this within Alberta, then we would need to import this, and that has its own costs associated with it.
The purpose here is not to lambaste green initiatives or to remain entrenched within a petroleum-centric model. Instead, it is to acknowledge that change will come, but we are only at our initial stages of this venture.
Though Vancouver, among other cities portray themselves as environmental stewards, in truth, their economies are just as environmentally exploitative: they are just one or two stages removed from it, that is all. This is what the challenge to Bill 12 is saying: Canada needs Alberta’s oil, but we want to benefit from it too. Because of all the rhetoric that has surrounded pipelines such as Energy East and the Trans Mountain pipelines, the underlying economic interests have always been there. Green energy offers a positive and hopeful future, but let us not be green or naïve to the fact that social concerns are being subjected to an economic reality.
John Kennair is an international consultant and doctor of laws who lives in St. Albert.
