00:05:13.720And they reduced their emissions in the United States, for instance, the largest emissions reductions they've had are from switching from coal to natural gas.
00:05:21.340Now, as they're still going through that 2030 coal phase out, the government's moved the goalposts on these provinces again,
00:05:26.580saying that you can't have any new natural gas commissioned after 2025 unless it has carbon capture and storage.
00:05:32.040But they've even admitted that that technology isn't available yet.
00:05:35.220So we're really playing like a hope and wait game that could have serious impacts on Canadians.
00:05:39.640You know, I think one of the most telling examples of this problem was Germany coming hat in hand, basically saying we need natural gas.
00:05:51.420And Canada looking and saying, all right, well, we've now been already so far behind.
00:05:55.900We couldn't just flip a switch and meet that demand.
00:05:58.640And the problem that I have with this debate and this discussion is that oftentimes it's years too late when we realize that we've missed an opportunity,
00:06:08.040that we failed by not investing in the infrastructure ahead of time.
00:06:12.220And I guess the question I would ask is, is it too late?
00:06:18.280And I don't think that ship has sailed.
00:06:19.500I have a similar frustration with you when they say, you know, we're years too late.
00:06:24.220And then you see critics of our ability to export our products or critics of the industry say, you know, it doesn't make sense economically.
00:06:30.980But when they're talking about the economics of the project, they never talk about the regulatory burden that is increasing costs far beyond what they should be in this country relative to other jurisdictions like the United States.
00:06:41.400Like the United States can build an LNG train facility in way less time than we can in Canada.
00:06:46.860Our first one was announced right around the same time that the United States started building LNG facilities, LNG Canada and Kitimat.
00:06:56.740And now the United States is the largest exporter in the world of LNG.
00:07:00.180And you see other countries signing long-term agreements well past 2050 to maintain natural gas supplies,
00:07:06.300where in Canada we have a very singular focused approach on just renewables or nothing.
00:07:12.040And it's really more than all of the above situation that we need with the growing demand for energy.
00:07:16.860Yeah, and just on that demand, I mean, you know, the one thing that a lot of the activists and the governments that seem to be beholden to activists missed is that you don't stop demand by restricting supply.
00:07:28.720And so basically it means the question is who's going to fill that void and who's going to supply that demand.
00:07:33.340And as your organization has pointed out, it's, you know, almost always these dictatorial regimes that aren't as beholden to these environmental pet causes.
00:07:41.900Saudi Arabia, China, you know, Iran to some parts of the world and Russia.
00:07:50.140Qatar, Qatar is like one of the biggest producers of LNG of the top 10 oil producers in the world, like the United States, Canada.
00:07:57.520I mean, Norway are up there is like democratic and free countries.
00:08:00.680Who do you want to trust to actually move forward to create a more sustainable product that we actually essentially need?
00:08:06.400I mean, you know, we can't just say that no oil and gas is good because we're going to need that product.
00:08:12.800And if we import it, who do you trust to actually make sure that that's going to be doing environmental sustainability?
00:08:17.940If you look at someone like Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco couldn't even be listed on the New York Stock Exchange because they wouldn't provide the transparency necessary to earn that listing.
00:08:30.260So what is it that you would like to see from, I mean, let's start with the federal government and then we can talk about provinces.
00:08:38.380But from the federal government, what would be your top priorities for them on this?
00:08:42.380I think it's, you know, they're just moving too far, too fast on too many things.
00:08:46.700I know there's been a lot of talk lately about the carbon tax and the impacts of Canadians on that.
00:08:51.200But if you really look at everything that they've done with respect, there's the carbon tax, there's a clean fuel regulation, there's methane reduction targets, there's the emissions cap, there's a sustainable jobs act, there's C-69, the impact assessment act, there's the C-48, no more tankers.
00:09:06.020There's also just this kind of lukewarm support for the industry, which turns away investors and people that want to make long term capital commitments.
00:09:14.660So really, it's one of those things where it's like, you know, you got to wait and let these policies kind of see and how they're working before you add additional layers of regulation that are just going to hurt investment and competitiveness and drive it elsewhere.
00:09:25.480And it's just going to end up hurting Canada in the long run.
00:09:27.760So I think it's kind of just a slow down, let these policies take effect and let companies catch up and show, I would say, progress in what they're doing before you hit them with another policy, especially the stick policies that Canada has been using relative to the incentive based policies, the carrots in the United States.
00:09:46.620To look at the provincial level, one of the problems we have just as a matter of geography is that it's the coastal provinces that have been often the most resistant to the oil and gas sector, BC on the west and Quebec on the east.
00:09:59.680So what is it you'd need to see from the provincial landscape to fix this or at least work towards a better model?
00:10:07.100I mean, if you ever look at it, that's like a really good question.
00:10:09.680I think you see the premiers getting on side a lot more with certain interprovincial trade issues.
00:10:15.860I know energy has just become more of a it's almost like a religious sort of thing now where it's just it's a very moral argument and less of an economic argument.
00:10:25.300So I think just kind of understanding those rational and fact based arguments, understanding that, you know, there are going to be impacts on affordability.
00:10:32.920I mean, a lot of what I see today is people talking about the 20 to 25 years in the future and not focusing on the issues today and what we can do to manage those issues today.
00:10:42.180So even focusing on more so in the present and how we can work on those policies to work on affordability today and less on like we're going to be doing this by 2050.
00:10:51.280When who knows what's going to be happening within the next five to 10 years?
00:10:53.960I mean, the last five years shows that we live in a pretty volatile time.
00:10:57.140So I think it's just kind of that slowdown, the cooperation.
00:11:00.240You know, it's one of those situations with energy where, you know, good politics often collides with good policy.
00:11:08.720So I think it's just that leadership where we have to put forward that good policy, even if it's not great politics.