The politics of controversial proposed pipelines across North America have been commanding too much of our attention in recent years. They disguise what’s really at stake: The continued, long-term prosperity of Alberta, the country’s most affluent region. A perilous combination of factors is conspiring against Alberta continuing to reap royalties from its Athabasca tar sands, upon which the province’s finances are overly and dangerously reliant…
Quite simply, the day is coming when the world won’t need the bother of converting Athabasca’s gunk into oil. That’s an alarming prospect for our one “have” province that so far commands practically no constructive attention. As long-term economic management goes, that qualifies as reckless endangerment.
See also, ‘Judge grants injunction against Alberta labour law that imposes contracts’, by Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press, Feb. 15, 2014
