Canada will be reliant on oil and gas for “years to come”, according to the Department of Employment.
A report published by Blacklock’s Reporter says the oil industry remains “fundamental” even as cabinet subsidizes electric cars and taxes carbon.
“The world will continue to rely on oil and natural gas for years to come, even as we reduce our reliance on them and increasingly adopt lower and zero-emitting energy sources,” the department reported to the Senate National Finance Committee.
“The Government of Canada is committed to maintaining a resilient and competitive oil and gas sector and to helping workers and employers experiencing hardship. The petroleum sector is a fundamental underpinning of the Canadian labour market and is critical to restarting and rebuilding our economy.“
The submission followed a May 12 hearing in which Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais questioned the department on its outlook for oil and gas.
“Although oil is criticized by environmentalists, it remains a leading industry especially when we understand that it is not just used to run cars and trucks,” he said.
“Does Canadian oil still have a future. We will certainly provide a written response to that question,” replied Elisha Ram, associate assistant deputy minister of employment.“
Cabinet to date has earmarked $300-million in rebate programs to subsidize the purchase of new and used electric cars, and plans to review the current 12-cent per litre gasoline carbon tax by next year.
The Senate Energy Committee, in a 2017 report, doubted the idea the country could electrify all road transportation.
“One must imagine a society essentially transformed,” said the report Decarbonizing Transportation in Canada.
“To put it in context, if all the cars, trucks, planes, trains, and ships were to disappear from Canada by 2030, we would still fall far short of meeting our national greenhouse gas reduction commitments.”
The research said of the 24 million road vehicles nationwide, 53% burn gasoline and 32% run on diesel.
