Government Makes Canadian Oil More Expensive

November 18, 2024

In November at the Natural Resources Committee, I questioned the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Yves Giroux, about government decisions that make it more expensive to ship Canadian oil, when responsibly produced Canadian oil would be a benefit to the world as it displaces oil from countries with worse environmental, labour and governance practices (e.g. Russia, Algeria, Nigeria, Venezuela, Angola, Iraq and so on).

In particular, the cost of the TMX pipeline exploded upward after the government took over its construction, resulting in it now costing shippers $1 more to go from BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan to the West Ridge terminal in Burnaby, than it does to go to the Gulf Coast refineries – much further away.

Remember that the private sector was planning to build TMX, and take the risk, until the government constructed ever-changing hoops and roadblocks that frustrated that project (and every other pipeline and infrastructure project on the drawing board).

The world needs more Canadian oil, not more oil from Russia and Iraq and elsewhere. It is our own government that thinks the world will somehow benefit if Canadian oil is constrained and expensive.

For Further Information

Follow the Natural Resource Committee‘s work and see video of their meetings

See the records of their meetings concerning the TransMountain Pipeline (TMX)