Tar Sands Threaten Canadian Sovereignty

I read an interesting piece that highlights the American perspective on Alberta's tar sands. George Bush's declaration to end America's "addiction" to foreign oil was supposed to be a plea for new energy alternatives, while instead it has increased the focus on Alberta's oil deposits. 60 Minutes did a piece that offered Alberta's oil as America's energy savior, while daily news publications tout the possibilities moving forward. The Americans seem to forget that Alberta is "foreign", instead they seem committed to ensuring that the oil flows south, and south only.

Arguments like this, even though tongue and cheek, reveal the challenges ahead for Canadian sovereignty:

Last month, Canada threw out its namby-pamby liberal government and ushered in a new era of conservative rule. Thank goodness for small favors. Now when we run out of crude oil and natural gas down here in the United States, we won't have to invade our neighbors to the north to make sure the lights stay on. We can just arrange a friendly annexation.

O Canada! We love your beer, your funny accents, your flag with the botanical theme. Now be a dear and just let us have Alberta. Hey, it's just one province. You have nine more, plus three territories. You can keep the ones named after a dog (Labrador) and an SUV (Yukon) and all the rest. We just want the one with those nasty, dirty tar sands. We'll practically be doing you a favor...

You may have heard that President Bush, in his State of the Union address last week, mentioned that the U.S. must slash its dependence on oil from "unstable nations" in favor of cute little science projects like ethanol, nuclear plants and solar panels. But surely you knew that was sort of an inside joke. Most of those projects are a decade away from viability.

What he really meant was that we'd rather strip-mine our BTUs from the perfectly stable Alberta tar pits, which are so close to home that they might as well be ours.

Dick Cheney wants to visit the tar sands. Alberta has an office in Washington. American investors are encouraging Americans to get a piece of the action. The tar sands have inspired frenzied debate, and clearly America is betting its future on Canada. I see a scenario wherein American companies attempt takeovers to secure control. The lure of money will entice Canada to encourage more American investment, a "partnership" will evolve. The goal will be extraction, with little consideration for the long term consequences to Canadian sovereignty.

Americans are treating these oil deposits as if they are there own, and once a dependency takes hold, it will compromise Canada's independence. We have already seen early warning signs, that oil money translates into a province assuming supposed federal roles. Alberta's Klein found it necessary to reassure Americans that our policy on Iraq wasn't necessarily a reflection of his province's views. Canada's ability to forge an independent vision is handicapped by our "co-operation" with America.

Despite the current scenario, where "the west is in", practically, as a matter of population, future Canadian governments will always slant east. We can reasonably expect situations where Albertans continue to feel alienation, where their voice is marginalized. Couple this reality with the hyper friendly Americans, offering bags of money and goodwill, and you can see the temptations. Conventional wisdom usually looks to Quebec as the main threat to a future Canada. I would suggest, as tar sand potential becomes reality, Canada will face its greatest threat as Alberta is Americanized. The appearance of innocuous deals and mutual benefits, belies a threat to Canadian sovereignty. I fully expect the Americans to exploit Canada's "internal" issues to their benefit, just as they do now throughout the world.