Rex Murphy Blows It in the National Post

Rex Murphy - Newfoundland and Labrador's Mano'Words stings critics of the Oil Sands while ignoring the elephant in the room. From there - Rex proceeds to demonstrate why he needs to come home more often and talk to the impacted people, their families, and their communities.

Below is an excerpt from Rex's Column in the National Post. Oil sands are a triumph for the human 'environment'.

In my view, this is the first and deepest justification for Fort Mac and the oil industry. Jobs are essential for the human environment — for a woman’s or a man’s sense of self-reliance and independence. By this, I mean the right to be able to obtain what you need for yourself and your family from what you have honestly earned. Being able, because you are employed, to stay off welfare, to turn aside from handouts — this is good for the environment of human dignity.

It mightn’t have the smug appeal of a panda face, and you will not see it on the vivid posters of the Sierra Club or Greenpeace, but having a job and earning a living is a great thing. Those who have been out of work know what a cruel “environment” that is — an emotional and psychological assault of frightful power. So we should celebrate some of the contributions that the oil sands have already made to the fundamental human environments of so many Canadians.

I have thought, and thought again, of my own province of Newfoundland, caught in the great calamity of the fisheries’ close-down in the 1990s, and how providential it was that “out West,” an oil economy was booming at the same time. Many Newfoundlanders (and Maritimers) migrated there in a time of real need.

Great social misery was averted because of the oil boom and Newfoundland’s related offshore developments: Thousands of divorces never happened, thousands of families didn’t break up, thousands of men and women didn’t fall into the trap of depression and worse, which so often attends long-term unemployment — because there was a great oil industry that allowed them the wherewithal to feed their families. It is a great story of modern Confederation: How Alberta, in particular, modified and mitigated the misery of Newfoundland — and other places.
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Let's start this way Rex - jobs at all costs is one of the main reasons your homeland has suffered. It is the reason we delivered raw resources to other provinces in Canada - while no secondary processing occurred.

Next Rex - your idea that human 'environment' consists primarily of the ability to get a job - be self-reliant - and stay off welfare is ignorance at its finest. Bring on the asbestos right Rex? There are concerns of the human 'environment' - Rex - that include our children's right to clean water, air, and a safe food supply. When our parents are gluttonous of resources regardless of how they are extracted, developed, or utilized so we as the children can guarantee that our family has income - does come at a price. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who were 'employed' during the development of the Upper Churchill were happily employed, self-reliant and off welfare - yet left 100 years of misery in its wake. If developed, utilized, and contracted properly - your homies would be enjoying an additional $Billion a year - but hey it was great that we employed a few while it was being built.

Finally Rex - the fisheries example you use on our collective back - is the one that takes your entire argument and destroys it. You say the Oil Sands have been a savior to Newfoundland and Labrador after the shut-down of the fisheries in the 1990's. You use the worst man-made environmental disaster on our planet (the loss of the ground stocks) to show how great it is that we have yet another environment to potentially destroy. Perfect Rex - that is very sound judgement.

On this issue of the Oil Sands preventing thousands of divorces, thousands of family break-ups, thousands of people suffering from depression, and worse outcomes - here you are most ignorant.

There have been too many divorces - thousands of family break-ups, significant cases of depression and worse because they had to move away from Newfoundland and Labrador. Rex - people had to leave their homes - now worthless - as the community essentially died - people left their aging parents to the life of a private or public care home as they were not here to care for them (as is the rural way), children had one parent as many could not afford to move the family, and yes oh yes there was and is depression abound. That's not to mention how many of our people have lost their young lives tragically either on the job or on the great Canadian highway on their way to the job. These children who have left with their parents are lost to us as is their employable futures and the tax base.

As we enter into an aging demographic and retiring Newfoundlanders and Labradorians migrate home to live out their lives - they leave all their productive tax in Alberta.

Maybe it's time to move home Rex - get assimilated - and then rewrite this column.

Now that you have found the oil sands - keep looking to find the tar sands.

Danny to save Canada....

...because Ontario and Alberta are looking after themselves.


While our Premier (Joe Generous) is finding ways to save Canada from its energy woes - his idol - Alberta - is not so infatuated with security of supply.

While attending the Premiers meet - greet - and heat - Danny Williams was very magnanimous with our potential power from the Lower Churchill. He was gushing over Newfoundland and Labrador's ability to supply superior energy to "Canada".

A Montreal Gazette story on Saturday was commenting on the Security and Prosperity conference being held in Quebec between Canada - United States - and Mexico. The piece points out that while Harper says Canada is an energy superpower - Gordon Laxer, director of the Parkland Institute, a research network at the University of Alberta says "It's an energy satellite."

While Danny worries about Alberta's economy taking a hit with proposed emission targets - Alberta cares little about Newfoundland and Labrador.

Consider this:

We import close to one million barrels of oil a day to supply 90 per cent of market demand in Quebec and Atlantic Canada and about 35 per cent in Ontario.

Canada exports more than 1.6 million barrels of oil a day to the United States, close to two-thirds of our production. Guess where most of that comes from.

The story goes on to say:

When it comes to natural gas, Canada meets domestic needs with minimal - though growing - recourse to imports. But we continue to sell more natural gas to the United States than we consume ourselves, even though Canada has less than nine years of proven reserves at current levels of production.

Laxer continues:

Canada's current approach puts our long-term energy security at risk, Laxer said. "If Canadian governments don't look after Canadians, then who will? You can be sure the Americans are going to look after themselves."

Alberta is not likely to slow down its extreme production levels despite what that may mean for Canada in the short-term (environmental treaties) or the long-term (security of supply). Despite this obvious self-serving policy in Alberta - our Premier is going to be a gentleman - save Canada (Ontario Nova Scotia New Brunswick and Alberta) from itself.

Williams is determined to fuel the economy of Ontario by exporting our superior energy from the Lower Churchill. As Ontario's Minister of Energy - Dwight Duncan said earlier this year:

"...the planned Lower Churchill project fits perfectly with Ontario's future energy demands."This is clean, green, renewable power that we'd like to get into the southern Ontario market..." "We have an air quality problem. We have a need for new power.

If Ontario has an air quality problem and shortage of supply - our policy should be to remove some of the industry from them - not to give them more power to crush our own economic potential and the subsequent loss of our people.

All the Premiers except one would go along with reduction in tail-pipe emissions - Ontario of course - because they will protect their 325 thousand jobs in the auto-sector. What a joke Danny - what a joke.