Have some critics unfairly targeted the oilsands? They may have, but that doesn’t mean it’s right to demonize them.
As Corey Battershill, a Calgary realtor who runs
canadaaction.ca, a web site dedicated to a “more informed conversation about resource development,” told the Canadian Bar Association’s legal conference last week, Canada’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is quite small on an absolute basis and the oilsands are responsible for a fairly small part as well. Speaking at a breakfast at the conference sponsored by the In Situ Oil Sands Alliance, he presented lots of information about jobs created by the energy industry and noted Canada’s high rankings in international surveys.
But while Battershill’s points were fair, they were also a case of selective reasoning. Yes, the oilsands aren’t responsible for a large proportion of global greenhouse gas emissions but they’re rising at a time when the threats posed by climate change mean Canada needs to be cutting them. And while the federal government has talked about significant cuts to emissions over time, it has repeatedly missed its targets and failed to come up with a real plan to meet its continually revised goals. If Canada is to have any chance of making a positive contribution to the fight against global warming, the oilsands need to be a part of the efforts.
For his part, Battershill doesn’t deny the threat posed by climate change. And, like some in the oil industry, he makes the valid point that addressing the issue will require regulations in a variety of sectors, including the end users who consume oil and gas by driving their cars and heating their homes. In that sense, they’re right that the oilsands have been a scapegoat.
What’s unfortunate is that people like Battershill persist in demonizing environmental groups that raise concerns about the oilsands. In his case, Battershill referred to the organizations behind the Tar Sand Campaign as a well-funded group that’s raking in lots of money through their efforts against the oilsands. That may be true, but their concerns are legitimate and there’s no doubt the energy industry is earning plenty of profits through natural resource extraction. Everyone has an interest here.
Besides the more informed debate Battershill wants to see, Canada needs a more respectful one, particularly during the election campaign.
The issue has been too divisive on both sides for too long, and if proponents of oilsands development are as serious about addressing climate change as they say they are, they’d be better to raise concrete proposals that offer the prospect of results soon rather than vilifying the environmental movement.
