Thread by @RickAnderson

My usually-accurate friend @VassyKapelos mentioned today, in the course of a thoughtful @PnPCBC interview with Ontario Minister @GregRickford regarding Bill C-69 that “it’s not like pipelines were getting built, nor were they under the last government...”
#cdnpol 1/x

The statement was promptly corrected by both Minister and host, narrowing the reference to pipelines “to tidewater”. But as this comment is often heard (and a pet peeve for those of us who work on such projects), perhaps some data would be appreciated all round.
#cdnpoli 2/x

In 2005, just before PM @StephenHarper took office, Canadian oil exports to USA averaged 1.6 million barrels a day.
In 2015, his last year in office, 🇨🇦 oil exports to 🇺🇸 averaged 3.2 million barrels a day.
In other words, they DOUBLED during his tenure.
eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/…

Moreover, in @JustinTrudeau’s three years as PM, that growth trend has continued.
In 2015 🇨🇦 oil exports to 🇺🇸 averaged 3.2 million barrels/day.
In 2018 the average was about 3.8 million barrels/day.
In November they hit 4.2 million barrels/day, for first time ever.
#cdnpoli 4/x

The qualifier “to tidewater” makes “nothing is getting built” a bit more true - if we overlook the fact that the ever-expanding north-south pipeline network does actually reach tidewater at the US Gulf Coast. No doubt some gets exported from there, but not by Canada.
#cdnpoli 5/x

What isn’t getting built - and this not just a shame, but a problem we must all care about - are oil pipelines to Canada’s own coasts.
Instead we ship across our country by rail, at higher cost in both dollars and emissions.
Or we just ship south, at lower prices.
#cdnpoli 6/x

Conservatives say this is a Liberal problem, and Liberals say it is a Conservative problem.
But it is a 🇨🇦 problem.
It is the same sort of NIMBYism and provincialism that has us getting in each other’s way on beer, wine, hydro, trades, professional certification...
#cdnpoli 7/x

It’s worse with oil pipelines because in addition to Canada’s overlapping jurisdictions and chronic intergovernmental disputes, pipelines also have the overlay of intense environmental and Indigenous politics. And endless avenues of appeal.
#cdnpoli 8/x

According to Premier @RachelNotley the TM expansion project had won 17 straight legal challenges before losing one. We turned economic development into a game of snakes and ladders. That’s why C-69’s added complexity is the wrong approach.
#cdnpoli 9/9
business.financialpost.com/commodities/en…