Time to cut the neighbours loose

Let's say that you tell your kids and some of the neighbours kids that they cannot throw a ball against your garage door. The neighbours hear about the ban and they confront you. There is an obscure clause in a city bylaw, they say, that states that you cannot prohibit the neighbours kids from throwing a ball against your garage. Ludicrous you say? Can't happen, you claim? Well listen to this!

In 1951 the Alberta government enacted a law (Alberta Gas Resources Preservation Act) that states that the province must maintain at least a 15 year reserve of natural gas before they can export any to other provinces or to the US. In my example, that is akin to you telling the kids not to throw the ball against the garage.

In 1989, the Canadian government and the US entered into the US-Canada Free Trade Agreement, (think of it as the city bylaw in our example) which included an innocuous clause which referred to proportionality with respect to Canada's natural gas and oil and its export to the US. In fact, the clause has the effect of forcing Canada to make available about two thirds of its energy capacity to the US - regardless to the needs or situations of Canadians. This clause was carried over into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Alberta, according to recent studies, has only eight years of proven reserves, much less than the 15 years demanded by their own law. So, the Alberta government should be restricting their export taps a bit to get their reserves back up to the legal minimum, right? Can't! The FTA (and NAFTA) make the Alberta law invalid. The US controls the exports of Alberta energy through the FTA. The US controls the laws of Alberta.

Can you say unacceptable?

NAFTA (which interestingly includes Mexico but the carried-over FTA proportionality clause does not affect them) has a six month exit clause. With six months notice we can get out of NAFTA including: the tribunals that have screwed up our environment by stopping us from banning dangerous chemicals from entering Canada; the lopsided actions that have screwed up our softwood lumber, potato and beef exports; and demands that we give the US, our partner, two thirds of our energy, even if our own country is in need.

Barrack Obama has mused about renegotiating NAFTA. Maybe Canada's Greatest Government(TM) should muse that also. No... hang on a bit. CGG(TM) is owned by the oil companies and their lobbyists.

Maybe Harper will apologize to Canadians when he finished apologizing for the Residential Schools, to Sikhs over Komagata Maru and whatever other groups he wants to pander to.