a Canada West Foundation Publication DialoguesFall 2006 Power Energy Resources in Western Canada Canada West Foundation Board of Directors Chair James K. Gray Jock A. Finlayson Calgary, AB Vancouver BC Vice-Chair Jim Hume N. Murray Edwards Calgary, AB Calgary, AB Our Vision J.W. (George) Ivany Vice-Chair Kelowna, BC A dynamic and prosperous West in a strong Canada. Brian Felesky Calgary, AB A.R. (Bob) Linner Regina, SK Doug Allen Victoria, BC Ronald P. Mathison Calgary, AB Carl G. Amrhein Edmonton, AB Ray McKay Lac La Ronge, SK Our Mission David T. Barnard Regina, SK J. Peter Meekison A leading source of strategic insight, conducting and Victoria, BC communicating non-partisan economic and public policy Jim Carr Winnipeg, MB H. Sanford (Sandy) Riley research of importance to the four western provinces, the Winnipeg, MB Jim Dinning territories, and all Canadians. Calgary, AB Tony Stewart Kelowna, BC Brenda Eaton Victoria, BC Gail Surkan Red Deer, AB Canada West Foundation is a registered Canadian charitable organization Jim Eldridge Winnipeg, MB Susan A. Thompson incorporated under federal charter (#11882 8698 RR 0001). Winnipeg, MB David Farlinger Winnipeg, MB Robert Westbury Edmonton AB Gary Filmon In 1970, the One Prairie Province? A Question for Canada Winnipeg, MB Dick Wilson Conference was held in Lethbridge, Alberta. Sponsored by the Calgary, AB University of Lethbridge and the Lethbridge Herald, the conference received considerable attention from concerned citizens and community leaders. The consensus at the time was that research on the West (including British Columbia and the Canadian North) should be expanded by a new organization. Directors Emeritus William Deyell, Nanoose Bay, BC To fill this need, the Canada West Foundation was established under David K. Elton, Calgary, AB letters patent on December 31, 1970. The first Canada West Council Robert Pierce, Calgary, AB was elected in June 1973. Rt. Hon. Edward Schreyer, Winnipeg, MB Since that time, the Canada West Foundation has established itself as one of Canada’s premier research institutes. Non-partisan, accessible Founders research and active citizen engagement are hallmarks of the Canada West Foundation’s past, present, and future endeavours. These efforts G. Maxwell Bell are rooted in the belief that a strong West makes for a strong Canada. Arthur J.E. Child Frederick C. Mannix Hon. James Richardson www.cwf.ca a Canada West Foundation Publication a Canada West Foundation Publication Dialogues DialoguesFall 2006 2 Power Power by Robert Roach Energy Resources in Western Canada 4 A Bright Future Ahead for Hydro Resources by Glenn Schneider 7 Energy in the West: Where Do We Go From Here? an Interview With Garry Hastings 10 Treaty 8 British Columbia and Resource Development by Chief Liz Logan 12 Uranium: the Other Energy Boom by Alice Wong 14 Paving the Path to a Global Goal: the Federal Role in the West’s VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 Energy Future © 2006 Canada West Foundation by Roger Gibbins Permission is hereby granted to use or reproduce this 15 Unlikely Celebrity: Co2 Ehr in the Spotlight by Sarah-Jane Downing publication for personal or classroom use without fee or formal request. Copies may not be made or distributed 17 BC’s Untapped Offshore Potential for profit or commercial advantage. by Richard Neufeld 19 Energy and Sustainable Natural Capital: Can Alberta Have it Both Address correspondence to: Ways? Robert Roach, Editor by Elizabeth Wilman Dialogues Magazine Canada West Foundation 21 Finding The Petroleum Needle in the Haystack: Innovative Ideas in the Oil and Gas Sector 900, 1202 Centre Street SE by Greg Stringham Calgary, AB T2G 5A5 Tel: 403.264.9535 23 From the Margin to the Mainstream: [email protected] Western Canada’s Wind Energy Opportunity by Robert Hornung Publisher: Canada West Foundation 25 Full “Steam” Ahead in Saskatchewan’s Oilpatch Editor: Robert Roach by Brenda Tacik Special Editor: Todd Hirsch 28 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Powering Canadian Leadership and Assistant Editor: Loleen Berdahl Innovation Layout + Design: Jason Azmier by John Tak Advertising Enquiries: 30 Coal Bed Methane: a Landowner’s Perspective by Norma LaFonte 403.264.9535 [email protected] 31 Market Forces Bring Sanity to Oilsands by Todd Hirsch The opinions expressed in this document do not 32 Emotional Energy: necessarily reflect those of the Canada West Foundation’s Understanding Western Canada’s Energy Future Board of Directors, advisors, or funders. by Roger Gibbins ISSN 1712-8986 (Print) ISSN 1712-8994 (Online) www.cwf.ca DIALOGUES • Fall 2006 1 A Note from the Editor Robert Roach, Director of Research Canada West Foundation Power In so many ways, power defines life in Canada. And In terms of exporting our energy resources, the West is at the I don’t mean political power or military power or the power mercy of global forces and markets beyond its control. Recent a parent wields over a child. I mean the stuff that keeps our history shows that a barrel of oil can rise to $70, but you don’t fridges cold, water hot, streets lit, cars moving, furnaces burning, have to go back even 10 years and it was under $15. air conditioners humming, computers running, mobile phones ringing and factories producing. Even if I take the stairs at work Another longstanding issue, and one that looms larger and instead of the elevator, I need to swipe a card reader that uses larger, is the tricky question of balancing the development of power. A colleague of mine who lives outside the city can’t flush western Canada’s bounty of power sources with maintaining the toilet if the power goes out because her home uses a septic and improving other natural capital assets such as farmland, tank system that uses an electric pump. And I’m certainly not watersheds, habitat, and tourism destinations. writing this on a manual typewriter! There are also outstanding concerns regarding air quality, and As a consumer of power, all I have to do is flick a switch or gas “Kyoto” remains shorthand for the bundle of issues related to up my car and there it is: power at my very fingertips. But that greenhouse gases and the range of policy responses that have switch and gas pump are the tip of an incredibly complex iceberg been suggested to address them. of human ingenuity and effort. There are power lines, turbines, refineries, trucks the size of houses, mines, wells, smokestacks, In addition to the tension between environmental protection and scientists, regulatory agencies, energy markets, rig workers, and energy projects, there are also existing and potential clashes on and on. between economic sectors (e.g., the petro-chemical sector would like access to the natural gas being used to extract oil from the At the centre of all of this activity is the raw material and natural tar sands) and between energy projects and communities (e.g., forces from which we have learned to draw power. There is the opposition to the drilling of sour gas wells near urban centres and wind, rivers, tides, sun and geothermal heat. There is oil and gas the construction of new nuclear power plants). trapped beneath the earth. There is coal and uranium. There is wheat, manure, and even French fry grease. Infrastructure is another issue. For example, Manitoba’s hydro capacity is underutilized because of a lack of transmission Western Canada is fortunate to have an abundance of these lines and pipeline construction may be constrained by labour power sources. But, it is far from a simple task to find, extract and material shortages. This points to the critical importance and transform these raw sources in ways that are profitable and of interprovincial cooperation on energy in the region. As with environmentally sustainable. As the articles that follow attest, many other things, the four western provinces are likely much maximizing the benefits of the West’s vast store of power sources better off thinking about the region’s power sources as a single requires creative thinking, entrepreneurship, political leadership, system rather than four separate ones. Saying this, of course, is careful planning and increased cooperation among stakeholders. much easier than making it a reality. The opportunities are many, but the challenges are great. 2 DIALOGUES • Fall 2006 www.cwf.ca The power we use to run our machines also speaks to political power Fortunately, the power required to make this happen does not just lie in Canada. There have been, and will continue to be, calls for a review in the West’s rivers, natural gas, or uranium deposits; there is also an of the federal government’s role in the development of the West’s abundant supply of energy in the form of the ideas and abilities of energy resources. Canada’s First Nations are also key players in western Canadians. If we work together and plan carefully, we have this development and there are numerous outstanding issues to be the power to be the best in the world at producing the sustainable resolved in this regard. energy the West, Canada and the world needs. One need look no further than the many ups and downs associated Let me take this opportunity to thank the contributors to this edition with the idea of building a pipeline to bring northern gas to southern of Dialogues. All the articles were written on a pro bono basis and markets to appreciate the political complexities of energy development all of them shed light on important aspects of the power puzzle in in western Canada. western Canada. I also want to thank the Canada West Foundation’s Chief Economist Todd Hirsch for assembling and working with the fine None of this is meant to dampen spirits about the West’s vast supply list of contributors to this edition.