The 21st World Energy Congress (WEC) was held last week in Montreal. Some 6000 energy experts from industry and government met to discuss the issues facing the worldwide energy industry.  The Energy Council of Canada did a superb job sponsoring and coordinating the event, and this particular WEC was the best attended ever.  Hydro-Québec also gets high marks for making it all possible as one of the major sponsors and organisers. 

It became clear from the many distinguished speakers that a number of constants are in play in energy at the international level for the next few decades. The shift away from fossil fuel use in developed economies is clearly observable, while fossil fuel use in the rapidly developing economies of India and China will rise.  Oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear each have a role to play depending on the social and economic needs of the country; the availability of energy resources to that country; and the political will of governments to move ahead with projects and resource development.  It is accurate to say that WEC attendees who heard the representatives from China, India, France and Russia speak to energy development came away impressed with the mutual support offered by their respective energy industries and governments.  They clearly are working together to implement plans and strategies to achieve the goals they have set.

This cohesion of purpose is in sharp contrast to the Canadian experience.  Last Thursday morning at WEC, Canadian energy ministers representing the provinces and the federal government were on stage talking energy.  These same ministers usually meet in private so this public meeting was a first.  In the last year or so, energy industry executives have been mulling over how to overcome the fact that Canada is one of the few resource rich countries lacking a cohesive plan to develop its energy resources.  We have left it up to each province to develop energy resources and while much has been accomplished, the weaknesses of this way of doing things are starting to be seen as real limitations.  At the public round-table discussion, the ministers did what they always do and disagreed on how to co-ordinate Canada's vast power supply resources.  

"The last thing we need is a federally imposed national energy program like we had imposed on certain parts of the country back in the '80s," Alberta Energy Minister Ronald Liepert told the international energy conference.  "This is not about one part of the country developing resources at the expense of the other; it's about all of us pulling our socks up."

For some provincial energy ministers, the prospect of a country-wide energy framework evokes bad memories of the defunct national energy program, a highly controversial system still loathed by Western Canadians, particularly Albertans.  The Trudeau-era program set limits on the price of oil, which wound up benefiting Eastern consumers while crippling Alberta's industry.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis, who also took part in Thursday's roundtable discussion, made it clear that Ottawa has no intention of micromanaging the country's energy flows. Natural resources belong to the provinces, Paradis insisted.  "We have to be careful when we're talking about a national energy policy," Paradis said.  "We saw in the past that it also creates friction."   He said Canada has had success without a national plan, through investments in clean technology and the national building code.

He went on to explain that now, Canada must continue its collaboration with the United States in developing technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration and smart grids.   "This is the way to go because the energy supply is a North American issue," he said.  

But Newfoundland and Labrador Energy Minister Kathy Dunderdale said without a national strategy Canada will continue to lag behind the rest of the world.  "We need a made-in-Canada solution that works for all of us," said Dunderdale, who was to raise the issue with her counterparts in Montreal. "The rest of the world is out in front of us and this is a very pressing issue."   Dunderdale highlighted the need for east-west transmission that reaches across Canada and for transmission lines that link to Canada's North.  She said Newfoundland can't ship its greener energy to provinces that need it, like Ontario. "Sometimes those solutions are isolated," Dunderdale said.  What she really means to say is that if the neighboring jurisdiction refuses to let their power through, there is no avenue for redress.  All eyes then turn to the federal government who by this point is being very discreet and not saying much of anything.

An interim report released in June by the Senate of Canada's energy committee also says that the country needs a comprehensive sustainable energy strategy. The document says improving the sustainability of Canada's energy systems will increase productivity across the country.  A more integrated approach could also help cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and open new export markets, the report said.

The message is clear: there is urgent need for a national discussion on energy," the report said.  "Canada has abundant resources; we need to be strategic in how we sustainably extract, develop, process, transmit, market and use these resources. Working together makes us better."

I personally do not have an outcome in mind and recognize that only a very brave (read: foolish) federal energy minister would make commitments, but I do see the energy industry moving ahead with some sort of proposal to inch the federal government into doing more than simply talking about Canada as a “clean energy superpower.” If Canada is to be a clean energy superpower and have energy production as a large component of its economy, we should have the public debate necessary to build and maintain a broad social consensus.  Without an explicit consensus on energy, we will continue to fall short on objectives.

Pierre Guimond

President and CEO

Canadian Electricity Association