Thread by @CanadiaCast

A small, vocal group of Albertans is trying to blame troubles in the oil sands on a lack of gov't support... but I'm just not buying it. There's been billions in subsidies and tax breaks to oil companies that are reporting massive profits. See the string below. #abpoli #cdnpoli

First let's start with Alberta oil company profits. Here's the top players in the oil sands and I am going to put up their profits for the last year and you tell me if they are suffering as some might have us think: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_…

In the 3rd quarter of 2018 along, Suncor reported “Strong operational performance was foundational to our success in the third quarter, resulting in over $3 billion in funds from operations...” suncor.com/newsroom/news-…

Canadian Natural Resources in the 3rd quarter of 2018 reported $1.8B Q3 profit, up from $684M a year ago: mymcmurray.com/2018/11/01/can…

Imperial Oil returned $600 million to shareholders through dividends and share purchases in the 3rd quarter of 2018: news.imperialoil.ca/press-release/…

Enbridge's "adjusted earnings in the third quarter of 2018 increased by $301 million or $0.16 per share compared to the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily driven by strong operating results from all of the Company's business units..." enbridge.com/media-center/n…

TransCanada reported in November that, "... net income attributable to common shares for third quarter 2018 of $928 million or $1.02 per share compared to net income of $612 million or $0.70 per share for the same period in 2017." transcanada.com/globalassets/p…

Husky Energy's 2018 third quarter report saw the company, "... generated funds from operations of $1.3 billion in the third quarter, up 48 percent from $891 million in the same period last year." That is an insane increase! boereport.com/2018/10/25/hus…

Cenovus Energy "generated more than $700 million of free funds flow and nearly $1 billion in adjusted funds flow in the third quarter, driven by exceptional operating performance in its oil sands and refining and marketing
businesses." cenovus.com/news/news-rele…

Encana reported in their 3rd quarter of 2018: net earnings of $39 million
and cash from operating activities of $885 million, up 148 percent year-over-year. encana.com/pdf/investors/…

Talisman Energy Inc., Calgary, reported a 282% increase in third quarter [2018] earnings over the same period last year to $212.2 million." ogj.com/articles/print…

And to round out the top 10, "Crescent Point Energy Corp. posted a profit of $30.5-million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $270.6-million a year ago." theglobeandmail.com/business/artic…

So please don't tell me the oil and gas industry is suffering in Alberta, they are all making hundreds-of-millions of dollars. Now let's look at government support of an industry that is reaping windfall profits.

Here's a great report by the IISD finding that the oil and gas sector (that, remember is making a TON of money) in Canada receives $3.3 billion in subsidies from the federal and provincial governments: iisd.org/faq/unpacking-…

In fact, Canada hands out more in subsidies and tax breaks to oil and gas companies than any other G7 country (that includes the United States): thenarwhal.ca/canada-leads-g…

Then there is a massive pay out to oil companies, with the @JustinTrudeau government buying the TransMountain pipeline for $4.5 billion in taxpayers money: theglobeandmail.com/politics/artic…

And the @RachelNotley Alberta government announcing another $3.7 billion for the oil industry to send oil by train to the Gulf Coast where it can be refined: business.financialpost.com/commodities/al…

And then there is the carbon tax that Kenney, Scheer and Ford would have you think is going to just kill the Canadian economy. Welp, British Columbia has had a carbon tax for 10 years and just became the hottest economy in the entire country: theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…

I honestly feel bad for oil patch workers in Alberta who are struggling, I have friends and family who have been impacted by the downturn. But how many more billions are Canadian taxpayers willing to fork out to oil companies who are making billions?

I will leave you with this... it is what is to blame and there is very little we can do about it. This is the cost-per-barrel of oil year-over-year for the past ten years.