Saturday, May 27, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Commentary: Resource development need not harm environment

May 15, 2012
in Commentary, Domestic Policy Program, Energy, Latest News, Releases
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

Natural Resources minister makes the case for a balanced approach that protects the environment and fuels growth

MEDIA RELEASE

OTTAWA, May 15, 2012 – Canada can achieve a regulatory system for resource development that protects Canadians and the environment and at the same time supports Canada’s competitive advantage, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver argued recently in a keynote speech to a Macdonald-Laurier Institute conference in Toronto.

MLI today is releasing a Commentary based on Minister Oliver’s March 26 speech to Moving Canada Ahead: Fuelling prosperity and sustainability in our transport system. In the Commentary, Oliver argues it is not a choice of either/or: In fact, necessary resource development can proceed while addressing key environmental concerns.

“We can provide reviews of major projects that are timely and more predictable. We can reduce regulatory duplication. And we can protect the environment and address the legitimate concerns of Canadians, including Aboriginal peoples,” Oliver writes in his commentary.

Oliver asks first if we are prepared to take full advantage of our immense resource endowment, including our oil sands, and adds that if the answer is yes, “Are we prepared to do what is needed to attract investments and build the infrastructure to move our resources from where they are, to where they are wanted?”

Oliver notes that some Canadians are ambivalent, skeptical or unalterably opposed. But he adds that, “Every now and then in our national life we come to a crossroads where we must make fundamental decisions about the direction our country should take.”

He draws comparisons between this fundamental decision and moments of truth in previous centuries: John A. Macdonald’s National Policy in the 19th century or the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in the 20th century. In a statement that echoes the arguments in MLI’s first book, The Canadian Century, Oliver says, “This century can truly be Canada’s if we have the vision, the will and the ability to grasp the extraordinary opportunity our natural resources offer.”

Natural resources have been the backbone of our economy and our standard of living from Canada’s earliest days, writes Oliver. Today, unconventional sources of energy are emerging, and “we are emerging as an energy superpower and mining giant offering prosperity and security for Canadians across the country for generations to come.”

These new sources will have geopolitical and economic implications, including reduced dependency on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), that will be positive for western countries. The enormous benefits accrue not just to Alberta but Ontario, as well.

Oliver writes the debate about responsible development of our natural resources is truly transformational: “It is, without exaggeration, about the future of Canada.”

Oliver writes that the Macdonald-Laurier Institute has become one of the premier forums for discussing key public policy issues in this country. “One reason is that Brian (Managing Director Brian Lee Crowley) and the Institute don’t pull any punches and never shy away from debate or controversy.”

Minister Oliver’s Commentary, Natural Resources: Powering Canada’s Economy, can be found on the Macdonald-Laurier Institute website.

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute is the only non-partisan, independent national public policy think tank in Ottawa focusing on the full range of issues that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. www.macdonaldlaurier.ca

Previous Post

MLI’s Brian Lee Crowley discusses climate policy in The Hill Times, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald & The Kingston Whig-Standard

Next Post

Update from our latest History Wars debate: Does power corrupt Canadian Prime Ministers?

Related Posts

Inquiry or not, foreign interference in Canada’s elections is part of a new Cold War that we cannot hide from: Brian Lee Crowley in the Globe and Mail
Columns

Inquiry or not, foreign interference in Canada’s elections is part of a new Cold War that we cannot hide from: Brian Lee Crowley in the Globe and Mail

May 27, 2023
Don’t blame Indigenous people for Calgary cancelling July 1st fireworks: Melissa Mbarki in the National Post
Columns

Don’t blame Indigenous people for Calgary cancelling July 1st fireworks: Melissa Mbarki in the National Post

May 25, 2023
Canada Must Recognize Iran’s Role in Gaza Terror: Tzvi Kahn for Inside Policy
Inside Policy

Canada Must Recognize Iran’s Role in Gaza Terror: Tzvi Kahn for Inside Policy

May 25, 2023
Next Post

Update from our latest History Wars debate: Does power corrupt Canadian Prime Ministers?

Newsletter Signup

Follow us on

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

  • Inside Policy Magazine
  • Annual Reports
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy Program
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Online
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
    • Podcasts

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.