The untapped oil, natural gas and mining resources in the North could bring billions in revenues and investment, according to some estimates, and Harper went so far as to predict that cash could turn Canada into an economic powerhouse.
Or as Harper put it: “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
“Those who want to see the future of this country should look north,” Harper said.
“That great national dream — the development of northern resources — no longer sleeps. It is not down the road. It is happening now.”
In a speech to party faithful near Whitehorse, Harper said 30 natural resources projects could spring up in the Yukon over the next decade, although he didn’t specify what those projects might be.
During his swing through the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and northern Manitoba, Harper is expected to follow up on announcements made years ago, such as his promise of a new High Arctic research station, while also making announcements on resource development.
While Harper has won praise from some experts for bringing renewed focus on the North, opposition parties have criticized the prime minister for not following through on promises.
“The real issue for the prime minister is, is he walking the talk?” interim Liberal leader Bob Rae said Monday in Ottawa. “And we can show very clearly to Canadians and to northerners that the kinds of cutbacks that we’ve seen on the environment, on providing basic investments for communities, on looking at the human challenges that face northerners, the government’s actions belie any rhetoric which might flow from various announcements which the prime minister will make this week.”
The greater Arctic region, stretching across the territories and beyond Canada’s legal territory in the Arctic sea, is estimated to hold about 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the Arctic contains 13 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil reserves and one-third of the globe’s natural gas reserves.
One assessment from Chatham House predicted that the Arctic could generate $100 billion in oil, gas and mining investments in the next few years.
The government has already opened the door for more pipeline projects to go forward, giving cabinet final say over whether a project could go forward. It also introduced a “one project, one review” rule that it argues will speed up development.
Critics worry that it will gut environmental impact reviews that are needed in the North before a project goes ahead in one of the country’s most sensitive ecosystems.
The Conservatives had promised four years ago to make regulatory reforms that would make it easier to develop the North’s resources as well as increase the number of oil and gas pipelines in the region.
Tapping the oil and natural gas reserves in the Arctic, estimated to be worth billions in revenue, is not easy, nor is it cheap, which may dissuade companies looking to invest, especially when they can make an easier profit off of the Alberta oilsands.
“Arctic oil and gas is going to be incredibly expensive because of the weather, distance and (lack of) infrastructure,” said Michael Byers, one of Canada’s leading experts on Arctic issues from the University of British Columbia.
Aboriginal groups in the North are also divided on pipeline construction.
Harper’s vow to turn the North into a resource revenue generator will require the government to eventually make a decision about how development will proceed, said Robert Heubert, an expert on Arctic issues from the University of Calgary. Heubert said a grand vision likely won’t come to fruition.
“We’ll probably go the typical Canadian way — piecemeal development,” he said.
Original Article
Source: vancouver sun
Author: Jordan Press
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