Right in the centre - Energy, vision and leadership
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- Published on Thursday, September 1, 2016
By Ken Waddell
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Most everybody wants economic development. Most everyone wants it to happen in a sustainable fashion. I say most everyone as there is a growing number of people who don’t want any progress or sustainable development at all. They fight every step toward a progressing economy. Our society is increasingly hampered by a parade of chronic complainers and protesters.
In Montreal recently, the National Energy Board hearings were disrupted by protesters and are at risk of being called off entirely. The mayor of Montreal seems to sympathize with the protesters as he’s upset about a couple of members of the NEB.
On the surface, the mayor is afraid of oil pipelines and possible oil spills. Fair enough. But the possibility of an oil spill is quite remote, actually. Much more remote than the possibility that eastern Canada will freeze in the dark some day because they run out of affordable energy. The mayor of Montreal is aligned with about 80 eastern mayors who are opposed to pipelines. My wife’s family farm had three pipelines go through the front yard and while they were annoying while under construction, they have proven pretty harmless. Yes, there are problems with building and maintaining pipelines, but in an economy that needs oil, the alternative is sending it in oil tankers, either on wheels or ships, I think I would take my chances with a pipeline.
Every energy source has its downside. Heating with wood, while romantically linked to our past and present, has its downsides. It isn’t cheap when you figure in all the costs. Improperly ventilated, it isn’t all that healthy either. It is renewable and can be harvested and used with basic skills and equipment. It’s the oldest energy source known to man aside from the sun.
The good old sun! In some climates, that’s all you need to stay warm, but in Montreal, you need more than sunshine if you are going to survive the winter, let alone drive your car. Solar energy, in most situations, is an expensive farce. Without the government subsidies and mandated usage, it is simply not feasible yet. It may never be feasible.
Wind energy, once the perceived saviour for the world, has now been exposed. It too has an ugly side or sides. The death of birds and bats is an inconvenient part of the wind turbine reality. The noise is another factor and they are kind of annoying and ugly. However, the biggest problem is their life span. About the time they begin to get some cost recovery, the stupid things lose a prop blade or fall over. They have a very short lifespan.
If the Quebec mayors don’t want a pipeline, then they obviously don’t want Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba oil. Fair enough. Then they shouldn’t expect any equalization payments from Alberta either.
The sad but inconvenient truth about Quebec is that it is a financial sinkhole. The birth place of Canada, the arts and fashion capital of the country, the most charming of all places in Canada to live and to visit, but it is a financial disaster. Without government subsidies to Bombardier and other companies, without government mandated location of industries, such as the aerospace industries, without Alberta sent subsidies now for decades, Quebec would be a third world country.
Third world status is what the protesters want, it seems. Back to the land, no industry, no modern conveniences. Oh yeah, right, they flew to Montreal on a plane to protest, all the while planning their next protest stop in an endless, continent-wide harassment of democracy and progress.
Protesters and politicians can’t have it both ways. There are risks and there are resources that have to be managed to allow our economy and our society to exist and yes, to grow. You can’t have management or growth by constantly disrupting meetings. Existence and growth is dependent on vision and leadership and I don’t know of a time in our country when both have been so lacking.
