Sean

Comme député de l’Alberta, vous devriez probablement savoir que le Canada est le seul pays du G7 sans réserve stratégique de pétrole, parce qu’il est le seul à être un exportateur net de pétrole brut. Les réserves stratégiques nationales servent à respecter l’obligation envers l’Agence internationale de l’énergie de conserver l’équivalent de 90 jours d’importations nettes. Pour le Canada, cette obligation est de zéro baril. La capacité de stockage privée au Canada est d’environ 95 millions de barils. Les réserves stratégiques protègent les pays importateurs contre les ruptures d’approvisionnement, pas contre les prix élevés. Le pétrole provenant de ces réserves est généralement vendu au prix du marché mondial. Pour vraiment faire baisser les prix, il faut régler les problèmes mondiaux d’approvisionnement et de capacité de raffinage. Nous limitons la hausse des prix au Canada en suspendant la taxe d’accise sur l’essence, en versant une prestation pour l’épicerie et les produits essentiels aux personnes qui en ont le plus besoin, et en travaillant avec les provinces et les entreprises pour accroître l’offre mondiale et atténuer la pression à la hausse sur les prix.

Today the Globe and Mail reports about American political operatives involving themselves in Alberta's referendum. This is, of course, wholly inappropriate. I want to provide some context to any American who sees an "opportunity": - This support level is not much changed over the last 40 years. - Polling shows American states with similar levels of stated separatist support. Now, do I believe California is about to separate? Of course not. What I believe is support for separatism is often a proxy for debates within a country. There are true separatists of course - in Alberta AND California - but mostly, it is how people choose to express their frustration with a country. But within a country is the key words. Americans should not engage themselves in the Alberta referendum. It would be no more appropriate than - I am sure you would agree - Canadians lending support to California secessionists. Canada and the United States have been great allies and close friends and I do not want to brush all Americans - or even all Americans in the U.S. administration - with the same brush. Political operatives routinely work on and consult with elections on both sides of the border. But this is existential, this is about something core, and this is our discussion - not one that should involve anyone from the United States.

Despite Conservative claims, there are not 500 projects “waiting for permits”.  We're building more, we're building faster, and we're doing that while maintaining high environmental and social standards. Making things up is not how you hold government to account.

TMX is wildly profitable. Tolls are only part of the full story. TMX generates over $1.7B per year for Canada through our ownership position. It also results in an additional $46.7B in royalties and taxes over the first 20 years of operations, and there are substantial benefit agreements in place with First Nations. An excellent return on $34B. But because the commercial tolls only tell part of the story of return TMX is also an excellent illustration of why infrastructure that provides broader public and economic return is often backstopped by or involves government involvement (see: roads, rail, etc)

We are diversifying trade. A world where almost everything went south is not one to which we can go back. But we are interested in going forward. This week, at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum in D.C., I discussed how Canada and the United States can increase energy trade to serve both our nations, strengthen security, and create prosperity on both sides of the border. I also emphasized that broader free trade - and our current free trade agreement - underpins energy trade. The free movement of the steel that makes up our pipelines, the aluminum in our wind and solar infrastructure, the vehicles that service our rigs, and the lumber used to construct our facilities keeps energy prices down and makes us all richer.

Seems only fair, I was in Battle River-Crowfoot yesterday! PS - they say they haven’t seen you in a while.