What Obama’s Return Means to B.C.
Thursday, November 8, 2012 @ 3:45 AM
by Bob Simpson
Now that the long-winded and obscenely expensive American presidential election is over there are three things to watch that will directly impact BC’s economy in the near term.
The first is how President Obama tackles the tricky issue of the Keystone XL pipeline. Recall he only tabled further debate on that pipeline until after this election. In his highly rhetorical victory speech last night the President indicated that freeing the United States from foreign oil would be one of his priorities, and Canadian-sourced oil is fundamental to America’s energy security. Expect the Keystone pipeline issue to be revisited very soon, which will have implications for both the proposed Enbridge and Kinder Morgan pipelines here.
Second is the Obama administration’s interest in natural gas exports, and Obama’s support for fracking. As Minister Bell states whenever he gets a chance, there is no second place in the race to get LNG to Asia. An accelerated U.S. natural gas push to Asia could easily push BC out of the running for “first place” in the global LNG race.
The third is how President Obama handles the gridlock in Washington and the “fiscal cliff” that’s coming as automatic tax and spending cuts kick in. The United States is a bankrupt and deeply divided nation, but there are signs it is pulling out of the depression it fell into after the 2008 crash. That’s been great news for our lumber sector and, if the positive trend continues, it may buy us some breathing room as it will allow more of our pine beetle killed forests to be economically logged, staving off potential mill closures in the near term.
If U.S. lumber prices do continue to firm up, then we must use the breathing room this will give us to develop a real transition strategy for our traditional forest sector and the communities and workers that depend on it. We desperately need a true vision and strategy that does not depend on a panicked opening of forest reserve areas to logging or a rapid and ill-thought out conversion of our public forests to quasi-private, area-based tenures.
-Bob Simpson
MLA, Cariboo North
Comments
If it means we don’t have to pay ‘world prices’ for our own natural gas use then I’m all for coming in second, fith, or even dead last when it comes down to shipping LNG to Asia….
I may be wrong here but isn’t canadian oil still foreign when you’re american?
Not when they already own it.
I think it is time we found a different name for those who live between Mexico and Canada. We are all Americans, whether we live in Argentina or Greenland, just a all those ho live in Europe are Europeans.
It is also called the United States of Mexico, not just Mexico.
Time to get a name change for the goode olde USA to something like the United States of Washington.
Then we could all call ourself Americans, or South Americans or North Americans, and then Wshingtonians and Mexicans and Canadians and Greenlanders, and Cubans, etc.
Sorry Bob, not a very good article. You can do better than that. The last part does not even have anything to do with Obama returning.
In fact, the Keystone likely has nothing to do with his returning either since both a Romney and an Obama presidency would end up with the Keystone going ahead for very much the same reasons.
I think the difference will be that there will now not be a lovefest between Harper and Romney as there was with the two Irish, Regan and Mulroney.
Oh,in case people doid not notice, the USA is planning on putting in a deep water port at Cherry Point in Washington to ship coal to the pacific rim and I suspect LNG as well. They have started hearings in the State.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/geographic/gatewaypacific
It’s called the Gateway project. Neat name, eh? It will be larger than the one at Robert’s Bank.
Hey Gus you didnt reponed to my post that the link you gave me on the Norwegian ecnomy was apiece of do-do. Your realy fast a giving links but you should read them beforeyou post them.
Bob Simpson is a very knowlegable guy when it comes to the forest industry and other things. The NDP lost a really good MLA when he checked out.
You give us a lot of posts but are they actually factual, or is your imagination working overtime, Gus. You took great pleasure in tellig us how wrong I was when it comes to the Norwegien economy and I will remeber to ignore your posts in the future
Cheers
Gus,
Note that the original name of Simpson’s musing was “Some Breathing Room?”. Opinion 250 seems to have created the “What Obama’s Return Means to B.C.” tile. While Joeschmoe’s comment makes sense, in the mind of the US Government, “domestic” energy supply includes Alberta, actually all of North America.
Cheers
“Hey Gus you didnt reponed to my post that the link you gave me on the Norwegian ecnomy was apiece of do-do.”
So if you feel that a link to a Government of Norway site is a bunch of do-do, and a link to some second rate blog is not, then I am sorry, I cannot help you.
I also included the US $ conversion to one of the Norwegion Krone debt figures. If that is not enough, then put “currency conversion” into a search engine and figure the rest out yourself.
I am sorry retired02, I have lost all respect I had for you some time ago. I think you’re are undergoing a personality change. I am sorry to see that happen to you. :-(
BTW, as far as Norwegion oil versus ALberta oil goes, we have to remember that while it is offshore oil, it is “conventional oil” which does need the costly extraction method and conversion method. Thus the royalty cannot possibly be as lucrative in Alberta as it is in Norway and other parts of the world which still have conventional oil sources.
And, of course, the major hurdle in Canada is that we do not believe in the primacy of the state.
Here it is the primacy of the corporation. Canadian resources are for sale at any stage. In Norway they are not.
That kind of ends that debate right there because it ain’t going to happen, especially not in Alberta. Trudeau tried it, he failed.
Nobody likes Turdeau. We could have had what Norway has. But we continue to pull the same crap off federally as we do municipally. So let us not cry over spilled milk which we, ourselves spilled.
I am very glad Obama got in. Now if they can work on doing something about election reform and learn from Canada how easy it is and how much money and time will be saved.
Not only time. I cannot see how anyone can do their works as a President, Senator, or Congressman when they are essentially campaigning for a year or more.
The “wait till the election is over” decision regarding the Keystone pipeline question is an excellent example of that. A project got held up becuase people who should have been making important decisions were not.
They did show up for the huriccane, however. Of course, it was also a great photo-op and Romney had a difficult time to get in on the act.
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