As Saskatchewan residents head into the yuletide homestretch, it is only fitting that we extend to all our readers our heartfelt greetings and a Christmas card of thanks for your continued support.
The last two years have seen trying times for this province on the economic front, and thus, by default, some serious concerns on the social front, which always seems to come in concert with the economic challenges.
Have we turned the corner?
Oil prices have rebounded slightly and recently issued news releases indicate there is a rebuilding of economic strength in southeast Saskatchewan.
In fact, Premier Brad Wall took a courageous stand on the carbon capture and sequestration front on behalf of provincial residents when he railed against the supposed upcoming federal edict that insists all provinces will have a carbon price or cap and trade program in place by 2018.
Some critics suggested Wall was being petulant and out of touch with realities when in fact, the premier was simply being pragmatic and very realistic, while reminding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his A-team the resource sectors still belong to the provinces and Saskatchewan was not going to be wrestled into another ill-advised and poorly planned faux pas on the energy front like what happened when Justin’s father was at the controls, imposing the ill-fitting national energy program.
Four provinces, representing the majority of the country’s population have a carbon pricing or cap and trade program in place, or are getting there. The problem, that none of them seem to want to discuss in detail though, is the fact none of them are working that smoothly. Despite the claim that the carbon price (tax) will be revenue neutral, we all note that is not the case, and what is transpiring in British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta prove that point, whether it be imposition of a carbon pricing system or a cap and trade regime. Managing and administering these programs costs money and creates another layer of governmental interventions which our premier and a few others see as being unnecessary.
To its credit, the federal government finally admitted that there is an equivalency situation in Saskatchewan and although the carbon capture program in this province doesn’t tuck in neatly with their Ottawa-tailored plan, they at least acknowledge its existence and the fact that it is working. As to how our Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon capture program will be credited and accounted for at the federal level, remains to be seen.
Of course we could be a little facetious here and state that it really doesn’t matter what the federal government thinks about BD3, as long as the rest of Canada and those around the world who are embracing its technology, understand its importance and place in the greenhouse gas (GHG) removal process.
As noted in a recent letter to the editor and from other corners, Saskatchewan is probably already doing more on the GHG emission reduction scale than any other province, and not getting credit for it. If our agricultural sink factors, carbon capture and current industry responses are taken into consideration, Saskatchewan is well ahead of the curve, not behind. However, the feds seem to favour their own scorekeeping system.
So we can see why our premier is doing a bit of hollering. That must be done if you are the voice in the wilderness with a positive message to deliver, and those who need to hear the messages are covering the ears and eyes to the realities in this province.
So, at the Yule break, we encourage Premier Brad Wall to keep on hollering, eventually someone who knows something about the carbon capture files, will pay some serious attention beyond an equivalency memorandum.
