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Economy

Red tape and uncertainty hurting oil and gas investment in Canada

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5 minute read

From the Fraser Institute

By Julio Mejía and Elmira Aliakbari

Investment in the sector fell from $76 billion in 2014 to $35 billion in 2023

Global oil demand is set to reach record highs this year, with growth in natural gas demand on the horizon—and Canada’s oil and gas sector could be a major source of clean and reliable energy, if policymakers help make the country a more desirable place to invest.

While investment in Canada’s oil and gas industry has increased steadily since 2020, it remains far below record levels achieved in 2014. In fact, investment in the sector fell from $76 billion in 2014 to $35 billion in 2023. Less investment means less money to develop new energy projects, infrastructure and technologies, and consequently fewer jobs and less economic opportunity for Canadians. While many factors are at play, investors point to Canada’s policy barriers as major deterrents to investment.

According to a recent study published by the Fraser Institute, which surveys oil and gas investors on the investment attractiveness of 17 energy-producing jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, Wyoming remains the top jurisdiction in terms of investment attractiveness followed by North Dakota and Saskatchewan, the only Canadian jurisdiction ranking in the top five.

Alberta, Canada’s largest oil and natural gas producer, ranked 9th while Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia are among the least attractive jurisdictions, ranking 14th and 15th respectively. Put simply, with the exception of Saskatchewan, Canadian provinces are less attractive for oil and gas investment compared to U.S. states.

So, what policy factors hinder Canada’s oil and gas sector?

In short, uncertainty about environmental regulations, disputed land claims, regulatory duplication and inconsistencies, the cost of regulatory compliance and barriers to regulatory enforcement.

More specifically, according to the survey, 100 per cent of respondents for Newfoundland and Labrador, 93 per cent for British Columbia and 50 per cent for Alberta indicated that uncertainty concerning environmental regulations was a deterrent for investment compared to only 6 per cent for Oklahoma and 11 per cent for Texas. Overall, on average, 68 per cent of respondents were deterred by the uncertainty concerning environmental regulations in Canada compared to 41 per cent in the U.S.

This negative perception of Canada’s regulatory environment should come as no surprise. In 2019, the Trudeau government enacted Bill C-69, which introduced subjective criteria including the “social impact” of energy investment and its “gender implications,” into the evaluation process of major energy projects, causing massive uncertainty about the development of new infrastructure projects. While the Supreme Court declared this bill unconstitutional, the energy sector still grapples with uncertainty as it awaits new legislation.

Similarly, the Trudeau government passed Bill C-48, which bans large oil tankers carrying crude oil or persistent oils (including upgraded bitumen and fuel oils) off B.C.’s northern coast and limits access to Asian markets. The Trudeau government also created an arbitrary cap on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the oil and gas industry (while all other GHG emissions were exempt) and introduced new rules on methane emissions. Energy industry leaders have also expressed concern over Ottawa’s clean-fuel standards, which mandate that firms selling gas, liquid and solid fuels reduce the amount of GHG generated per unit of fuel they sell.

Clearly, Ottawa’s aggressive regulations are hurting Canada’s oil and gas industry. In light of the vital role the energy sector plays in the economy, including job creation and government revenues, the federal government should eliminate barriers and implement reform to enhance the sector’s appeal to investors. Otherwise, Canada will keep losing opportunities to the more attractive investment climate south of the border.

Business

Taxpayers criticize Trudeau and Ford for Honda deal

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Author: Jay Goldberg

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is criticizing the Trudeau and Ford governments to for giving $5 billion to the Honda Motor Company.

“The Trudeau and Ford governments are giving billions to yet another multinational corporation and leaving middle-class Canadians to pay for it,” said Jay Goldberg, CTF Ontario Director. “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is sending small businesses bigger a bill with his capital gains tax hike and now he’s handing out billions more in corporate welfare to a huge multinational.

“This announcement is fundamentally unfair to taxpayers.”

The Trudeau government is giving Honda $2.5 billion. The Ford government announced an additional $2.5 billion  subsidies for Honda.

The federal and provincial governments claim this new deal will create 1,000 new jobs, according to media reports. Even if that’s true, the handout will cost taxpayers $5 million per job. And according to Globe and Mail investigation, the government doesn’t even have a proper process in place to track whether promised jobs are actually created.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer has also called into question the government’s claims when it made similar multi-billion-dollar handouts to other multinational corporations.

“The break-even timeline for the $28.2 billion in production subsidies announced for Stellantis-LGES and Volkswagen is estimated to be 20 years, significantly longer than the government’s estimate of a payback within five years for Volkswagen,” wrote the Parliamentary Budget Officer said.

“If politicians want to grow the economy, they should cut taxes and red tape and cancel the corporate welfare,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Just days ago, Trudeau said he wants the rich to pay more, so he should make rich multinational corporations pay for their own factories.”

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Business

Maxime Bernier warns Canadians of Trudeau’s plan to implement WEF global tax regime

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

If ‘the idea of a global corporate tax becomes normalized, we may eventually see other agreements to impose other taxes, on carbon, airfare, or who knows what.’

People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier has warned that the Liberal government’s push for World Economic Forum (WEF) “Global Tax” scheme should concern Canadians. 

According to Canada’s 2024 Budget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is working to pass the WEF’s Global Minimum Tax Act which will mandate that multinational companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15 percent.

“Canadians should be very concerned, for several reasons,” People’s Party leader Maxime Bernier told LifeSiteNews, in response to the proposal.

“First, the WEF is a globalist institution that actively campaigns for the establishment of a world government and for the adoption of socialist, authoritarian, and reactionary anti-growth policies across the world,” he explained. “Any proposal they make is very likely not in the interest of Canadians.” 

“Second, this minimum tax on multinationals is a way to insidiously build support for a global harmonized tax regime that will lower tax competition between countries, and therefore ensure that taxes can stay higher everywhere,” he continued.  

“Canada reaffirms its commitment to Pillar One and will continue to work diligently to finalize a multilateral treaty and bring the new system into effect as soon as a critical mass of countries is willing,” the budget stated.  

“However, in view of consecutive delays internationally in implementing the multilateral treaty, Canada cannot continue to wait before taking action,” it continued.   

The Trudeau government also announced it would be implementing “Pillar Two,” which aims to establish a global minimum corporate tax rate. 

“Pillar Two of the plan is a global minimum tax regime to ensure that large multinational corporations are subject to a minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent on their profits wherever they do business,” the Liberals explained.  

According to the budget, Trudeau promised to introduce the new legislation in Parliament soon.  

The global tax was first proposed by Secretary-General of Amnesty International at the WEF meeting in Davos this January.  

“Let’s start taxing carbon…[but] not just carbon tax,” the head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, said during a panel discussion.  

According to the WEF, the tax, proposed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), “imposes a minimum effective rate of 15% on corporate profits.”  

Following the meeting, 140 countries, including Canada, pledged to impose the tax.  

While a tax on large corporations does not necessarily sound unethical, implementing a global tax appears to be just the first step in the WEF’s globalization plan by undermining the sovereignty of nations.  

While Bernier explained that multinationals should pay taxes, he argued it is the role of each country to determine what those taxes are.   

“The logic of pressuring countries with low taxes to raise them is that it lessens fiscal competition and makes it then less costly and easier for countries with higher taxes to keep them high,” he said.  

Bernier pointed out that competition is good since it “forces everyone to get better and more efficient.” 

“In the end, we all end up paying for taxes, even those paid by multinationals, as it causes them to raise prices and transfer the cost of taxes to consumers,” he warned.  

Bernier further explained that the new tax could be a first step “toward the implementation of global taxes by the United Nations or some of its agencies, with the cooperation of globalist governments like Trudeau’s willing to cede our sovereignty to these international organizations.”   

“Just like ‘temporary taxes’ (like the income tax adopted during WWI) tend to become permanent, ‘minimum taxes’ tend to be raised,” he warned. “And if the idea of a global corporate tax becomes normalized, we may eventually see other agreements to impose other taxes, on carbon, airfare, or who knows what.”   

Trudeau’s involvement in the WEF’s plan should not be surprising considering his current environmental goals – which are in lockstep with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – which include the phasing out coal-fired power plants, reducing fertilizer usage, and curbing natural gas use over the coming decades.    

The reduction and eventual elimination of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum – the aforementioned group famous for its socialist “Great Reset” agenda – in which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.     

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