Libs Need Clearer Energy Security Plan, Says ‘After the Sands’ Author
Increased oil patch ownership can help Canada meet emissions goals, says Gordon Laxer.
Gordon Laxer says Canada is highly vulnerable to another oil crisis. Pipeline photo via Shutterstock.
[Editor’s note: Join Dr. Gordon Laxer, political economist and co-founder of the Parkland Institute, for a free talk about ‘After the Sands,’ a new book for anyone concerned about rising sea levels, pipeline and tanker spills, climate change chaos and Canada’s future in a carbon restricted world. Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m., The Hive, 128 W. Hastings St., Vancouver.]
Justin Trudeau has to move beyond his murky energy policy and set out clear plans to reduce carbon emissions and improve oil security, says political economist Gordon Laxer.
And the new Liberal government should take steps to increase Canadian ownership in the energy sector if it wants to achieve those goals, said Laxer, whose latest book, After the Sands, argues that Canada must improve its energy security and become a low-carbon society.
Laxer said Canada is highly vulnerable to another oil crisis, which he expects in the next couple of years. The United States is working to lower oil imports and has created strategic oil reserves, Laxer said. Other countries have also focused on energy security.
“We import 40 per cent of our oil, and we have no program,” he said. “We belong to the International Energy Agency. There are 28 countries; 26 of them have strategic petroleum reserves. Canada and Australia do not.”
Improving energy security will also play a big part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reshaping the economy, said Laxer, former head of the Parkland Institute at the University of Alberta.
The Canadian government has focused on increasing energy exports, and the country now exports about four times as much oil as it imports.
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