Why won’t Canadians stick up for each other?

When I grew up, I played a lot of team sports from hockey, baseball to rugby. I’m a big believer in team sport because when you are on a team, one does not see race, gender, religion or sexual preference. We are one; we win as a team, we lose as a team and you know that when it comes to competing against your opponent, “I got your back”.

What has happen to us as Canadians? We are so political correct to apologize for any possible slight to anyone but the only thing we won’t apologize for is not watching out for our fellow Canadians. Perhaps it’s too nationalistic, too masculine, too passé for this new Canada but the easiest way to beat your competition is sit back and watch them destroy themselves. And believe me, our adversaries are having fun watching us implode.

I was recently at the Fall 2018 Private Capital Markets Association (PCMA) Conference held in Calgary on November 22nd. PCMA is a national organization to support the flow of private and alternative capital to the Canadian equities market. It was the same day that PM Trudeau showed up to Calgary to tell the Calgary Chamber of Commerce that he feels our pain; after all, he bought a $4 billion (valued at $500 million) pipeline to help get oil to tidewater. His audience was not impressed nor were the protestors that showed up to give him the traditional Calgary “ya-boo” that we like to afford all prime ministers named Trudeau.

Mean while at our conference, Jason Kenney, official opposition leader of Alberta made a passionate speech about the need to work together. Punishing your “teammate” in a federation will eventually lead to defeat for the entire Team Canada. Our economy and standard of living are at risk and the majority of Canadians don’t get it or worse, don’t care. The joy of decimating Canada’s largest economic sector, oil and gas, is completely insane. It would be like scoring in your own net and not understanding what the consequences are.

Here are the consequences of intentionally killing Canada’s economic future, $80 million dollars a day and billions lost that can’t be reinvested in healthcare, transportation and God forbid, a tax break. The liberal media and the do-gooders say we are doing this to protect the environment. Congratulations to Premier Notley of Alberta for shutting down 5 coal generating power plants. It sounds impressive until you find out that there are 1,600 coal power plants being built around the world as we speak. Talk about a tree-hugger missing the forest through the trees. As far as Trudeau, did he purchase the pipeline to build it or ensure no one else could? Maybe he could “tweet out” some money for the 100,000 Albertans out of work. According to the Bank of Canada, the combination of both their carbon tax policies have reduced the energy sector from 6% to 3.5% of Canada’s economy since both have been elected to office. And yet after this, both “green” activists are willing to transport oil by the scariest means, by rail (doesn’t anyone remember Lac Megantic?).

Lastly, in support of our fellow Canadians in Ontario losing their jobs in Oshawa as GM decides to pull out and the potential political threat of jobs being lost in London at General Dynamics (they build the armoured vehicles) to prove a point to Saudi Arabia’s regime. Albertans don’t relish the thought of other Canadians losing their livelihood. To Trudeau and all his supporters, I will offer you a tip that will help Team Canada turn its fortunes around. Build a pipeline: west, east, north and south. Get the 175 billion barrels of oil out of the ground so that money can be shared with all Canadians (we all drink from the same Cup). Drive our economy with Western oil and gas through pipelines that are built by Ontario steel flowing to refineries in the Maritimes!

Oh yeah… before I forget, stop buying Saudi oil!

Craig S Burrows, ICD.D
President & CEO, TriView Capital Ltd.