Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/99312
E D I TOR'S C O MMENT S Ellsworth D ic kson Let's not self-destruct on the road to going green Do you know what it is like to be poor? I suppose the word "poor" is a relative term. Being poor in a first-world country like Canada, with its social safety net, is no doubt different than being poor in Bangladesh where you make $60 a month working in a textile factory making clothes for North Americans. Assuming you live in Canada, where we have a high standard of living, rule of law and huge quantities of tax dollars to fund infrastructure, hospitals, schools, roads, and many social services, what would happen if you lost your job and ran out of money? What if you maxed out your line of credit and your credit cards? It may be frightening for a family to run out of money, but fortunately, there are unemployment insurance, welfare and food banks to help out. But what if Canada or its provinces didn't have the dollars rolling in from the sale of its resources? Since Canada is not a major manufacturing country, funds from resources and related taxes play a crucial role in maintaining the country's high standard of living. All one has to do, to see what happens when a country runs out of money and borrowing power, is to look at the countries of southern Europe and the tragic consequences resulting from a collapsed economy. The situation is even worse in that the current economic crises in Spain, Italy and Greece are, in large part, due to tax evasion. Incredibly, Spain loses some $115 billion a year from tax evasion, the equivalent of its national debt, same thing in Italy and Greece. Riots have broken out in Greece as the country's economy falls apart and necessary austerity measures kick in. Here in Canada, in recent months, we have seen more and more mineral and oil projects becoming the subject of opposition and protest. Pipeline opponents say pipelines are too risky; yet every one of them fills his or her car with pipeline-derived gasoline. If too many oil & gas and mining projects get cancelled or stalled for years, the result will be the federal government being unable to fund its extensive liabilities and programs. According to a reliable source, a few months ago in Vancouver, we came within hours of having no gasoline deliveries to local service stations when the Cherry Point, Washington, oil refinery was tempo- rarily out of commission. I am not saying that every oil pipeline or mining project should be approved without regard to the environment. I am saying that if radical environmentalists and industrial opponents get their way, Canada will not be able to maintain its standard of living and the provincial and federal governments will be hard pressed to provide funds for hospitals, schools, infrastructure and pensions. Today, there are people that oppose oil exports to the United States, which represents $188 million per day to Canada. There are also people that oppose selling oil and coal to Asia. Well, if we don't, someone else will and we end up that much poorer. Today, BC's provincial debt is $51 billion. By the end of the 2012-13 budget year, it will reach $57.6 billion. And in 2015, it will increase to $66.4 billion. The bottom line is that if you are depending on that nice Canadian old-age pension when you are 65, there has to be lots of resourcederived money to fund it. That's just the way it is. In fact, everything material in our lives is derived from mineral extraction. It's time to get realistic about where our wealth comes from. n Ellsworth Dickson, Editor-in-Chief Email: editor@resourceworld.com T: 604 484 3800 | 1 877 484 3800 F: 604 685 3833 DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013 www.resourceworld.com 7