A word from the north: Energy creation, consumption are necessities

Written By Todd Corrigall
Published

“We are quickly becoming Quebec deux. If we can’t contribute to the economy, we’ll only take from it.”

––Todd Corrigall


Shaking off the dust from British Columbia’s Indecision 2024, I stumbled across this rather traumatic OpEd published in The Tyee and felt compelled to expand the discussion with a view from the north.

It’s true that the energy industry faces significant struggles any time they want to pursue projects in jurisdictions like B.C.

Why, you may ask?

Because everything has been polarized. Both sides are guilty of using hyperbole and conjecture in their arguments, or think tanks bought and paid to deliver a report.

But, the simple reality is that energy creation and consumption are necessities in our lives.

Let’s take a look at the core points as laid out in the OpEd:

LNG is not cleaner than coal and will accelerate the climate crisis

A recent argument that has made its way into the daily ethos. Is energy poverty a better route for our society to take? Should we limit the ways in which people can heat, eat and live? Perhaps returning woodstoves to every home would be better? I think not.

    LNG will raise domestic energy prices for consumers

    If we only have access to one form of energy, of course prices on that single source will increase. Supply meets demand…voila! However, we should diversify our energy matrix and, in fact, it’s well within our reach in B.C.

      LNG Industrialization strains water supplies in Northern B.C.

      Remind me again about how our amazing monopoly on power generation in this province is going? When are Site D, E, F, G, H, I, and J coming online to meet the demands of those who stated electric vehicles, bikes and scooters were our pathway to cleaner lives? There are significant calls for hydro electricity in B.C., and no new dam projects on the horizon to get us there.

        Over promising outcomes

        Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Please see above.

          LNG imposes a public health risk

          You know what imposes a public health risk? A crippled healthcare system because we have no economy, no opportunity for future generations, and no First Nations leading the development of projects on THEIR traditional territories.

            LNG depends on government subsidies

            Anyone know of an electric vehicle battery plant in Ontario or an aerospace company in Quebec?  Government subsidies exist in most major industrial sectors. This is how job creators are attracted to a region. 

              LNG could imperil Canada’s energy security

              What? Just…what? Creating our own forms of energy, and diversifying the energy matrix only enhances our energy security. Have farming exports created food shortages?

                LNG is a tale diminishing energy returns

                If we can’t sustain an economy in perpetuity we shouldn’t pursue it? We have a responsibility as a society to seek new economic opportunities and diversify what and how we offer alternatives.

                  LNG could cannibalize the provinces energy supplies

                  I mean, I could point to the above, but in 2023, BC Hydro imported a record amount of electricity into the province. This number is only slated to increase. And, why? Because other sources were taken off the table, electric vehicles and heat pumps were plastered everywhere and consumption writ-large is on the rise.


                    We are incredibly fortunate to live in a beautiful part of the world. And I don’t want to take that for granted. However, we are quickly becoming Quebec deux. If we can’t contribute to the economy, we’ll only take from it, thereby becoming the richest welfare state. 

                    I, for one, am not keen to survive on the transfers from other provinces with less economic opportunity than us, and the potential goodwill of the Federal Government which hasn’t had an election decided by British Columbian voters since…?