FSJ uniquely positioned to continue developing industry despite caps
Fort St. John and District Chamber of Commerce CEO Kathleen Connolly thinks that Fort St. John and northeastern BC are uniquely positioned to withstand the cut in production that is likely to follow on the heels of the Federal government’s emissions cap – 75 percent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 – which was announced last month at COP 28.
“We have a lot of assets and a lot of development here that most industry would be committed to maintaining and continuing,” Connolly said. “They’ve got customers that have orders that they have to fulfill, we’ve got LNG Canada coming online, and we’ve got other opportunities that are coming.”
From the Alliance Pipeline to the Nova Gas Transmission System to North River Midstream to Coastal GasLink, northeastern BC is riddled with pipelines delivering gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin to markets throughout North America and beyond.
“The infrastructure that we have, I feel pretty confident that will continue to be maintained and generate revenue.”
The problem is the lack of forward-looking investment, and whether British Columbia has a business-friendly environment for industry. The Federal government has said this is a cap on emissions, not production, but Connolly says neither the Federal nor Provincial governments have business plans outlining how these reductions can be achieved.
It feels like a disorganized attack on industry, Connolly said. The policies and announcements from both levels of government are not necessarily aligned, and industry is left scrambling to make it make sense.
“Potentially, there’s unintended consequences around investments from industry in the Province of BC. There’s concerns about are there other jurisdictions that have a better business model and are more viable for new infrastructure, new drilling programs etc.,” she said. “And I think part of it is irresponsible on government’s part, in that the targets and timelines aren’t realistic for energy to be able to pivot that quickly.”
“Is this social policy or is this good economic policy? I think that’s where a lot of concern lies. Does this make sense and is it achievable by industry to hit those targets, in those timeframes?”
Historically, the petroleum industry in BC has been forced to be progressive and environmentally conscious for a long time. For example, industry moved away from open pit flaring many years ago, and produced water is now recycled and used for fracking rather than using a fresh water source.
Industry has been trying to prove that they’re leaders in protecting the environment. Although more can always be done, Connolly says industry has shown that they’re committed to protecting the environment.
“This just feels like a constant penalizing of industry, even though they’re trying to adapt and lead this conversion to cleaner processes,” she said. “I think it is frustrating to all of us, to see short-sighted policies being adopted by government.”
The British Columbia government has made it clear that they’re not backing down on their Clean Energy policy. In fact, the provincial government embraced Minister Stephen Guilbeault’s announcement.
“We are pleased to see this announcement from the federal government. It is an important step for combatting the global climate crisis,” the statement from George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, and Josie Osborne, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation read.
“The oil and gas industry is currently responsible for around 50 percent of industrial emissions and 20 percent of BC’s total emissions.”
“As part of BC’s New Energy Action Framework, we are committed to putting in place a regulatory emissions cap for the oil-and-gas sector to ensure industry becomes more sustainable and efficient, and to tackle climate pollution to meet our 2030 emissions-reduction target for the sector.”
Connolly fears the average citizen doesn’t realize what the consequences of these policies will be on the economic health of British Columbia. Costs of heating, fuel and even the much-lauded clean energy – electricity – are increasing.
“I’m hearing that there’s Hydro bills for heating right now that can be $700 a month. We still need other options for reliable and affordable energy, and natural gas is that,” Connolly said.
Respecting the environment is not a bad thing. Nobody wants to live in smog or damage Mother Earth in a significant way, but “we still need to create an affordable lifestyle for the average British Columbian. I don’t know that a lot of us are feeling that this is an affordable energy policy.”
The province’s own economic modelling shows that the so-called clean energy policies will have a detrimental effect on the economy, to the tune of a $28 billion loss in GDP by 2030 and set wages back a decade.
“For me and the Chamber, we’re constantly looking at are we a competitive jurisdiction, based on what other jurisdictions are. I feel like industry across the board is really feeling that pinch from government. It worries us, those that rely on resource development to pay our bills and support our businesses,” said Connolly.
There’s a message in the fact that business associations who work independently are bringing forward the same concerns. It’s not just a rogue industry association making waves, business associations across the country are expressing their concerns, Connolly noted.
“I still believe in the voice of the people – we’re going into two election cycles, this is time for people to start paying attention to who they’re voting to lead us, and whether those party values align with ours. I think this is a time for people to do gut checks about who they’re voting for and why.”