Yet the polling and focus groups on energy issues from Harris/Decima, conducted late last year for Natural Resources Canada and just publicly released by the federal government, also found Canadians clearly identify the economy as their most important issue and the resource sectors as having the greatest potential for job creation and economic growth.
The data also highlight sharp regional differences — especially between the West and Central Canada — in the support for developing certain kinds of fossil fuels and the importance of environmental protection to citizens.
In fact, the survey results demonstrate Canadians clearly have mixed feelings about oil and gas development, particularly in the oilsands, and building new pipelines to export petroleum riches overseas.
The federal government's public opinion research on energy issues included a telephone survey of 2,025 Canadian adults — conducted between Nov. 26 and Dec. 7, 2011 at a cost to taxpayers of $136,506 plus tax — as well as 14 focus groups held in seven cities across the country.
The polling and focus groups were conducted a few months before the Conservative government announced in the March budget, and at a subsequent April news conference, its "responsible resource development" policy that completely retooled environmental protection and approvals for natural resource projects.
The survey results are noteworthy because they indicate the government has partially rejected what its own polling data were saying about Canadians' views on the importance of environmental protection when it comes to resource development and energy exports.
"Participants (in the focus groups) saw the government's primary role as guarding against negative outcomes or undue environmental or public health impacts of energy sector activity," says the research report, in a section examining the roles government is expected to play on energy development and exports.
"These relate to activities such as extracting, processing, using and transporting resources. Participants identified actions such as establishing and enforcing regulations and laws and providing oversight," it adds.
"Secondarily, the government's role is to collect appropriate revenues in exchange for the extraction and export of resources. However, probing revealed a default expectation and appreciation for the Government of Canada making efforts to establish new trading partners."
While the economy was far and away the most important issue to Canadians — cited by 23 per cent of respondents — "issues related to energy or natural resources were not mentioned top-of-mind as the most important task" for the government to deal with at the moment, the report says.
However, the Harris/Decima survey found a small majority of respondents (55 per cent) believed the benefits of exporting resources to new markets outweighed environmental impacts of infrastructure and construction projects (such as railways, ports and pipelines), while one in three Canadians (36 per cent) believed the environmental impacts were more important to consider than jobs or economic growth.
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver, in a statement, said the polling information was just one aspect of the government's cross-country consultation with Canadians on energy development.
He maintained the government's plan strikes a strong balance between protecting the environment while also creating jobs and economic development, especially when the economy remains the top priority for Canadians. He also stressed that creating a more efficient environmental review system while protecting land, air and water "is not an either-or proposition."
"The public opinion research results explain that Canadians are conscious of the connection between energy and the environment, but also understand the energy sector is a valuable and growing area of opportunity for Canadians in every region of the country," Oliver said in the statement.
"Responsible resource development achieves the balance we need to unleash the potential of our resource sector to create jobs and economic growth across Canada while ensuring strong environmental protection."
But NDP deputy leader Megan Leslie said the public opinion research reinforces what opposition parties have been saying for months: Canadians are looking to the federal government to play a stronger role on environmental enforcement for natural resource developments.
"What the Conservatives have done here is they have adjusted the messaging on the things they were already going to do, versus taking cues from communities about where they should go," she said Tuesday.
The data also demonstrate Canadians identify the difference between the role of the federal government in protecting the environment and role of the private sector in promoting resource projects, she noted.
"It echoes what I'm hearing on the ground. People do say, 'Yes, we should be investing in economic growth,'" Leslie added. "But they always follow that up with a great big, 'But not at the expense of the health and safety of our communities.'"
The changes announced by the Conservative government — most of them included in budget Bill C-38, which is expected to pass through the Senate this week — will see it significantly reduce federal environmental oversight of natural resource developments and other proposals by eliminating reviews for small projects and handing more regulatory responsibility to the provinces.
The Harper government also will impose fixed timelines of up to 24 months on major petroleum and mining projects, and hand cabinet final approval on pipeline decisions in the "national interest," stripping the power from the country's energy regulator, the National Energy Board.
One of the projects affected by the new guidelines is the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which has become the focal point for Canadians trying to determine how much environmental risk they're willing to accept in exchange for jobs and economic development.
The $5.5-billion, 1,172-kilometre pipeline would ship oilsands crude from northern Alberta to the port of Kitimat, B.C. for shipment by tankers to Asian markets — but it's facing strong opposition from First Nations, landowners and environmental groups about its impact on land, air and water.
Canadians in the poll were split nearly down the middle on their impression of the oil industry, with 51 per cent holding positive impressions of the sector and 47 per cent negative views. Respondents were more skeptical about the oilsands industry, with 49 per cent holding negative views (including one-quarter with a very negative impression) and 44 per cent with a positive impression.
Alberta and the other western provinces generally held the most positive opinion about oilsands, conventional oil, natural gas and shale gas development, while Quebecers held the most negative feelings toward fossil fuel sources. Ontario residents also were more concerned about oilsands development, while the Atlantic Provinces were more negative toward conventional gas and shale gas.
The mixed reaction to energy development was also found in the focus groups across Canada.
"Focus group participants recognized the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy and were well aware of the fact that energy resources make a significant contribution to the Canadian economy," the report says.
"At the same time, they tended to be quite conscious of the connection between energy and environment and the trade-offs that need to be considered."
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points 95 times out of 100.
Original Article
Source: calgary herald
Author: Jason Fekete
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