Are the times of bad ecological conscience over in Canada? Listening to the discourse of the leaders of the parties who present themselves in the federal elections to govern the country, yes.
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
Éric Pineault Professor in Sociology and the Institute of Environmental Sciences of UQAM
François the Italian Deputy director of the Research Institute in Contemporary Economy (IREC)
Flagship measurement of federal liberals, the carbon tax was amputated by Mark Carney immediately arrived in post. The fact that he wanted to cut the grass under the foot of the conservative chief, Pierre Hairy, shows that a new regressive consensus is at work among our political elites concerning the extraction of fossil fuels. Initiatives for decarbonation are swept away from the back of the hand in the name of energy security and the “Trump” pricing threat.
We are promised energy corridors, from one sea to another, from east to west, from north to south. The conservatives have at least the honesty to specify that these corridors will be pipelines and will lead to hydrocarbon export infrastructures such as liquefied natural gas factories.
The liberals are more evasive, speaking of corridors which promote the circulation of renewable and traditional energies, read fossils. Despite all the differences with the one who governs south, our elite shares a common passion for fossil fuels. For Trump it is ” drill baby drill ». Hairyvre and Carney rather chant together “flows, baby runs”!
An uninhibited oil state?
Several months before the triggering of the federal electoral campaign, Pierre Hairy already chanted on all the stands that the elections were going to carry on the carbon tax. Despite its very limited action, this tax sent the signal of a CAP change start in Canada. Reporting the Quebec initiative, this tax measure was a very modest gesture encouraging to operate out of fossil fuels. For Western Canada and other provinces, this signal has not passed. For Bay Street, widely involved in the fossil fuel complex, it didn’t work either. Pierre Hairyvre channeled the opposition of the first, Mark Carney that of the latter. The arrival of Donald Trump only rushed the rest of things.
Faced with this, one might think that it is a return to square one for Canada. The reality is more overwhelming: we have regressed.
Presented in a sort of “green social contract”, the carbon tax ensured the counterpart of public investments in fossil fossil fossil infrastructures. However, this consideration has disappeared, the infrastructure has remained and GHG emissions will continue to increase. Result of the races: Canada no longer speaks at all the language of Kyoto, where it was still “to ensure a viable future for future generations”. Canada is Today an uninhibited oil state. Moreover, at the debate of the chiefs of April 16, Carney and Hairy agreed that the extraction of Canadian oil must grow.
Publicly finance a fossil trajectory?
Recall that Trans Mountain was first the private project of an American multinational. At the time of its acquisition by the federal government, its completion was evaluated at 10 billion. Today, we see that it has cost us collectively more than 30 billion. Do not ourselves ourselves, the future major projects of infrastructure of transport, transformation and export of hydrocarbons on which Carney and Hairy are held to depend on pharaonic public investments.
Ottawa and the provinces have always grown heavily the extraction of fossil fuels. Without these public funding, the industry would be much less profitable. But Trans Mountain inaugurates a new investment and property model for fossil assets. The future energy corridors of each other may be promoted, funded, built and exploited by the State.
Refuse to move backwards
Like the United States with the arrival of Donald Trump, Canada put aside the few initiatives, however very modest, which aimed to gradually get out of fossil fuels. The leaders of the two federal parties are, to variable degrees, in accordance on the issue. In this great acceleration, only Quebec and a few American states, such as California, continue to play a discordant note. History will judge Canada. We are responsible for resisting great acceleration and getting out of fossil fuels without delay.What do you think? Take part in the dialogue
