Framing the future of a national energy export strategy

Corporate oilbidness sponsorship of next week's annual conference of federal and provincial energy ministers caused a few ripples in our  national  media yesterday.

The Government of Alberta Natural Resources webpage lists $180,000 in corporate sponsorship fees for the
"Framing the Future of Energy and Mines"
Energy and Mines Ministers' Conference,
July 16 - 19, 2011

Gold Sponsorship - $30,000
Silver Sponsorship - $20,000
Bronze Sponsorship - $10,000
Just like the Olympics!

Particular mention was made of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers' $30,000 gold sponsorship fee to a government conference where a national energy strategy will be discussed.

Yo, media guys! You know what would have been more useful? Coverage of CAPP's sponsorship of a federal cabinet ministers' meeting in Alberta last week to promote the tarsands.

Last week CAPP hosted Environment Minister Peter Kent, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, Minister of Public Works Rona Ambrose, and Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy in a roundtable discussion following tours of Syncrude and Suncor.

Kenney said the tour enabled them to "go back to parliament and around the world, and defend Canada's oilsands as an environmentally responsible production of energy".
He said the tarsands "constitute the future engine of the Canadian economy" :

"We're talking in 25 years about over $2 trillion in economic growth estimated to be some $700 billion in federal and provincial government revenues. ... There was a lot of bad mouthing about this industry and our government has consistently stood up in defence of the Alberta oilsands ... we will stand up for this incredible growth of our prosperity."

Kenney also pledged his ministry's continued intention to "fine tune its immigration program" to deliver the skillsets the tarsands requires.

Fun fact : There are more than 20 Alberta MPs in the federal caucus.
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Syncrude ducks

According to CBC, the tarsands company Syncrude has pleaded not guilty to two charges laid in the deaths of what was originally reported as 500 ducks but later turned out to be over 1,600 ducks in their northern Alberta tailings pond in April 2008.

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According to Syncrude's lawyer Robert White, the company is pleading not guilty because it has improved duck deterrence measures used at the site :

"The law has recognized for a long time that when people do their best to avoid something, then that isn't a matter for charges. That's a matter for fix-up."

Ah. So according to Syncrude's "fix-ups" logic if you should fail to avoid blowing someone's head off with a shotgun, then it isn't a matter for charges - it's a matter for taking a firearms class afterwards.

Good to know.

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Back in June Syncrude, the world's largest producer of synthetic crude from the tarsands, was threatening to challenge the federal government’s constitutional right to charge the company at all. Whether today's 'not guilty' plea is the first step in this constitutional challenge I do not know.

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"Fix-ups". For those times when you're just too big busy to pay a possible maximum fine per charge of $500,000.

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Just another business expense

Nearly ten months after 500 migrating ducks died in the toxic waste of a Syncrude tailings pond in the tar sands, the governments of Canada and Alberta have charged the company with breaking two environmental laws. Their sudden interest was apparently prompted by a private lawsuit launched last month.

The maximum combined penalty that can be levied against Syncrude under those laws is $800,000.

The G&M reports that this amount "represents less than one hour of production revenue from the mine".

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