Either Canadians or foreign countries will profit from oil—who do you pick?

One of the most disgraceful things about the struggles facing Canada’s energy sector is how our country is being played like a fiddle by foreign interests.

Money from foreign countries—particularly the U.S.—is pouring into Canada, and being used to generate opposition to Canadian pipelines and Canadian energy.

Some within our country have—in part because of the influence of that foreign money—been convinced that by fighting against Canadians in the energy sector, they are somehow saving the planet.

Of course, that’s not the case.

In fact, the real, practical outcome of their efforts is simply to divert money away from Canadians and send it to foreign countries instead.

For example, the move by Encana to change their name, leave Canada, and become a U.S. company will have absolutely zero impact on emissions or oil usage. All it will do is divert investment away from Canada into the United States.

So, Canada becomes poorer over time, while the US gets richer.

It’s the same for every announcement of a company leaving our country to seek better prospects in the energy industries of foreign nations: Zero impact on emissions, no benefit to the environment, and a diversion of money, jobs, and opportunity away from Canada and towards foreign countries.

Either Canadians will get rich off oil, or foreign countries will.

In fact, when I say there’s no impact on the environment, I’m actually being overly generous.

The reality is that by diverting production away from Canada—where our energy sector has some of the most stringent and closely adhered-to environment protection programs—the net impact on the environment is quite terrible because production goes to countries that don’t care about the environment the same way Canada does.

So, the sum total of the efforts of those who fight against Canada’s energy industry is to take livelihoods away from Canadians, push investment out of our country, deprive the entire nation of financial resources that go towards social programs, make the environment worse, and divide our nation, putting it at risk of breaking up.

Now, doesn’t that sound like a foreign-funded effort to weaken, impoverish, and destabilize our country?

Why should Canada put up with it?

Why should Albertans—who are being asked to keep on giving billions every year through equalization while having their energy industry stomped out by the federal government—put up with it?

How can we call ourselves a serious country when we are not only refusing to stop foreign interests from screwing us over but—through the actions of the federal Liberals and some provincial political parties—actively colluding with those interests in the weakening and destabilization of our own country.

The reality we face is that things that can’t continue don’t continue. And unless Canada quickly figures out that we must stop allowing foreign interests to turn us against our own energy sector, this country is in serious, perhaps existential trouble.