Bambi will start with Ms. Catherine McKenna who describes herself on her Twitter account as: “Mom. Swimmer. Climate advocate. Ottawa Centre MP/Députée. Minister of Infrastructure and Communities/Ministre de l’Infrastructure et des Collectivités”.
It seems that she is organizing online courses to kids called “Climate Change 101”. We can see her in short videos even (April 1, 2020) and read: “Get ready for round 2 of homeschooling with a Climate 101 class tomorrow on Facebook Live at 1 PM. Come along and LEARN on this fantastic voyage. Get your questions ready! / Préparez vos questions!”.
Why doesn’t she use her time like her peers (e.g., Mr. François-Phillipe Champagne who seems to have worked tirelessly to bring stranded Canadians back home; or her peer from the Green party, Ms. Elizabeth May, who also seems to have pushed on this file, at least as per her Twitter account, along with her party-related ideas and this is expected. Thank you both)?
Perhaps climate change is really the new religion of our current times? And Ms. McKenna is a true believer? At least, we can give her a credit for her “authenticity”. One can wonder though the following: Why is she doing so to our kids with our own tax money? Plus, is she working as seriously on her governmental files?
This being said, below is a translation of Mr. Dumont’s article. A topic that Ms. McKenna should have been expert in, given her role of former Minister of Environment (oups sorry of “Minister of Environment and Climate Change”, with the name change).
“The barrel at the bottom of the barrel [le baril au fond du baril], published in the Journal de Montréal on April 3, 2020.
https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/04/03/le-baril-au-fond-du-baril
“You saw the price of oil go down at the pump. It is tempting for the consumer to applaud this respite. Some would even say that this is a consolation in this coronavirus crisis. In fact, behind the pump, an economic catastrophe for Canada is looming.
Please understand one thing: a lot of what you spend on a litre of gas is made up of taxes, including fixed taxes. For the price at the pump to drop below 80 cents, the barrel really has to be cheap.
And that’s the case. Western Canadian Select, Western Canadian oil closed last week at $ 7.20. This is an 80% drop since mid-February, when it was selling for around $ 38. This week, he temporarily received $ 5!
Before the crisis
Do I have to remind you that in recent years, when Canadian oil was trading between $ 40 and $ 50 a barrel, people in Western Canada were crying for help? Because Canadian oil was landlocked, its price remained around twenty dollars below the main comparable on the world market.
The Alberta government complained of considerable losses, estimated at $ 20 billion annually. Losses to the economy in general, but also a shortfall for governments that derive significant oil revenues. Can you imagine the losses with a barrel under $ 10?
Collective unrealism
Because oil has a bad reputation, we quickly forget its importance in the Canadian economy. What does such a ridiculously low-price mean? Falling revenues for the federal government, sharply declining revenues in three provinces that contribute to equalization, a fall in the Canadian dollar and a collapse of private investment in the country.
This is in addition to the other woes that plague the Canadian economy. As elsewhere in the world, sectors such as tourism and air transport have stalled. Containment measures also bring about a paralysis of the economy, the costs of which are barely measurable.
The economic crisis and the health crisis will be followed by an unimaginable public finance crisis. Those who were worried about the Trudeau government’s $ 30 billion annual deficit are better off clinging to their seats. The Parliamentary Budget Officer announced last week a probable deficit of 113 billion. And the government has announced tens of billions of additional measures since then.
Everything indicates that the travel industry is not about to recover, and general economic activity is likely to slow down for some time. So, the price of oil will stay low and the consequences for our economy will continue.
I can already hear the easy answer: Canada must get out of its dependence on oil. In the land of unicorns, it is done overnight. In reality, it takes years. For now, the crisis is a painful reminder of the importance of oil in our real economy”.
