“Of pain you could wish for only one thing: that it should stop … In the face of pain there are no heroes.” – George Orwell, 1984.
It’s almost as if Orwell owned a time machine and travelled around these parts in current day, then penned his famous novel, 1984. The quote is both timely and timeless, for today’s could-be heroes are a laughingstock – if only we could laugh at the anguishing economic pain we are forced to endure.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sashayed into Calgary Thursday on the heels of his government’s economic update. He was greeted by some 2,000 protesters who waved placards that read “Build the pipeline” and “Kill Bill C-69.”
Our could-be hero’s reply? “I want you to know that I feel that frustration. And I understand that anxiety. The status quo cannot continue.” His plan? In typical Trudeau fashion, he excelled on evasiveness and stopped short of saying anything meaningful.
“It’s like you think there’s a super simple easy answer. There’s not,” Trudeau said. “This is a multi-faceted, complex problem.” The problem is obviously beyond his abilities. His government’s fiscal update was a chance to announce true economic reform to compete with the deregulated and low-tax economy of the United States. Instead, the federal government ignored Canada’s serious competitiveness problem and tinkered with depreciation schedules.
As Canadians, we should be ashamed. We should demand more. Our nation is blessed with riches, but it is crippled by mealy-mouthed politicians who are experts at catering to special interest groups but woefully inept at leadership. Wednesday’s fiscal update all but ignored the serious competitiveness, innovation and productivity issues facing this country. Our inability to get our oil to tidewater, oppressive regulations, new taxes masquerading as carbon levies, and high taxation are chasing business, investment and skilled labour out of Canada.
It’s almost as if the Trudeau Liberals are trying to kill the oil industry. After all, it was he who said in January 2017: “We can’t shut down the oilsands tomorrow. We need to phase them out. We need to manage the transition off of our dependence on fossil fuels.” And with that, we’ve seen the Trudeau government put forth anti-energy legislation. Bill C-48 includes a moratorium on most large oil tankers loading or unloading on Canada’s West Coast and Bill C-69 places “new environmental assessment measures” on Canada’s resource sector. The bill comes complete with new reams of red tape, higher costs and longer delays to further discourage investment in Canadian pipelines. Mission accomplished.
Executives in the energy industry were quick to point out that changing the depreciation rules for industry is meaningless as long as the Western Canadian Select oil differential remains some 70 per cent below the West Texas Intermediate price. The price, along with heavy regulation and high taxes, means no one is going to invest in the oilsands. There will be nothing to depreciate.
As this self-inflicted national embarrassment continues, Trudeau won’t even commit to investing in more rail cars to increase oil-by-rail capacity. It’s worth noting there are 18 Liberal MPs in B.C. and only three in Alberta. With an election around the corner, it’s clear where Trudeau’s interests lie.
