COLD LAKE – The City of Cold Lake is voicing concerns over the United State’s executive decision to halt the Keystone XL Pipeline.
“Across Canada, families rightly expect their neighbours, communities, and leaders to stand up for the jobs and industries they rely on to make a living,” Mayor Craig Copeland said recently. “At various times the auto industry, lumber industry, tourism, and agricultural industries have all heard the full chorus of Canadian leadership voice their support. But, when it comes to Alberta’s oil industry and the thousands of jobs it creates, we hear little more than a whimper on the national stage.”
Council agreed during its Jan. 26 meeting that President Joe Biden’s decision to reverse the approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline was met with a lacklustre response from Canadian leadership and media outside of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The motion passed also sought letters to be sent in support to U.S. politicians who support legislation to reverse the course of President Biden’s unilateral Keystone XL decision; to TC Energy supporting to keep the pipeline constructed so far so that the infrastructure can be kept in place until its needs become evident to the United States as Canada’s oil supply is continuously being replaced by supply from other countries; a recommendation to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and premiers from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to move forward on a pipeline that connects with the Canadian leg of Keystone and to carry forward with an Ontario east pipeline that travels exclusively in Canada and transports oil to key refineries in southern Ontario; and to Trudeau and the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan to support in principle and financially the Eagle Spirit Pipeline, and to also seek a modification of the tanker ban in support of this pipeline.
The motion passed voices the city’s support for Keystone XL on both sides of the border, build support for TC Energy and its infrastructure Investment, and call for movement on Canadian pipelines that will support existing domestic refineries in Ontario and Quebec, as well as increase access to Asian markets via Canada’s west coast.
Copeland noted that a growing movement to block Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline in Michigan is largely ignored, despite the dire economic consequences the move would have, especially for southern Ontario’s refining industry.
“It seems that the self-imposed carbon tax has bought us only higher energy prices and inflation – any notion that the carbon tax has purchased a ‘social license’ can no longer be taken seriously,” Copeland said. “Canada’s oil industry has consistently proven itself to be the most innovative in the world. It has invested in and developed technology to meet ever-increasing environmental standards, all while delivering a product required for economic growth.”
City council believes Alberta’s resources are increasingly being isolated, not only internationally, but within the Canadian federation.
“A country’s energy use and its economy are linked and we are threatening our future by standing by idly as one of our greatest industries suffers wave after wave of attacks. Our oil industry should be a source of national pride, a pathway to economic recovery, and a means of funding the diversification of our energy industry. Instead, the hardships our industry is facing are being ignored, the opportunities it offers us are being squandered, and the families who depend on this industry are being left behind.”
Copeland added, “We know that the Governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan are doing what they can to support the industry, but the global nature of this issue requires a united, national response."
“Cold Lake may not have a loud voice on this stage, but we have an obligation to use our voice to defend Canadian jobs, and Canada’s oil industry. Canadians should pay heed to what is in fact happening around them. This industry has brought prosperity to Canadian workers from coast to coast, and revenue to governments at all levels for too long to be ignored - especially now, when it needs our help the most. Our fear is that those standing up for our industry will not be heard until the impact of these decisions start to cost jobs in Ontario and Quebec. By then it will be too late.”
