The New Year is fast approaching and BC premier, Christy Clark, has set the natural resource stage for 2014 with her call for economic growth during her trade mission to Asia in November.
And what will grow the economy? Why, oil and gas exports of course. Never mind that cheap energy is a thing of the past, we have an aging population and not everyone has ownership over resources and access to well paying jobs. Not everyone is able to find a decent place in this market system – people with disabilities, Aboriginal and those with poor job skills – must rely on some kind of assistance from family, social organizations or government.
Former CTV Bureau Chief in Quebec City, Kai Nagata, addresses Clark’s speech given in Tokyo, December 2, in his essay, Christy Clark and the Great False Choice of 2014. His solution to Clark’s question of how we maintain our high standard of living that was set more than 40 years ago, is not through the selling off of as much natural resources as we can get our fracking hands on, but is through equality, efficiency, education and energy security.
Nagata also breaks down three assumptions that Clark’s energy bonanza is based on. His article can be found HERE.