A clear diagnosis of the Oil Sands fever variant of Dutch Disease may be just what the doctor ordered to rally Canadian workers in the fight against global warming.<\/p>\n
A rapid increase in natural resource investment and revenue usually drives up a nation’s currency. This generally makes other industries less competitive and can greatly weaken a country’s manufacturing base.<\/p>\n
Widely known as \u201cDutch Disease\u201d (named after a period of rapid expansion of the natural gas industry in the Netherlands), this well established economic paradox has become a taboo subject in this country. Canada’s highly class-conscious elite is worried that manufacturing workers might make common cause with environmental groups and even some business sectors to challenge the carbon\/profit bomb known as the tar sands.<\/p>\n
A recent Pembina Institute\/Equiterre report titled Booms, Busts and Bitumen argues that Canada’s economy is facing \u201cOil Sands fever\u201d. The study points out that the Bank of Canada believes one-third of the Canadian manufacturing sector’s decline has been caused by a more expensive dollar, which rose alongside the price of oil from $.61 US in 2002 to $1.10 US in 2007 (and has hovered near par since). The study concludes that 40% to 75% of the currency increase has been caused by rising commodity prices, principally oil.<\/p>\n
The higher price has led to a boom in production and export. Between 2002 and 2012 energy grew from less than 13% of total Canadian exports to over 25%. And if plans to double tar sands production over the next decade are realized, this dependence will increase.<\/p>\n
A February Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study gives a sense of the jobs impact of Oil Sands fever. The Bitumen Cliff notes: \u201cThe forestry sector lost close to 30,000 positions. And the manufacturing industry, of course, haemorrhaged nearly a half-million positions. For every new job created in the petroleum sector during the past decade, 30 have been lost in manufac\u00adturing. Across all of the export-oriented goods industries\u2026 net employment declined by almost 520,000 jobs in the past decade.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the precise job toll is debatable, the rapid growth in tar sands exports has undoubtedly hurt manufacturers.<\/p>\n
Despite the obvious link between tar sands expansion, a higher dollar and a decline in manufacturing, corporate sycophants denounce any politician or established organization that draws attention to the relationship.<\/p>\n
Federal Leader of the Opposition Tom Mulcair was aggressively attacked for raising the issue as was former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. In response to the Pembina\/Equiterre report Financial Posteditor Terence Corcoran called the mainstream Pembina Institute \u201coff-kilter \u2026 fomenter of oil sands phobia \u2026 keen on triggering a nation-splitting debate over the oil sands.\u201d For his part, Sun Media’s Lorne Gunter wrote: \u201cLeft-wing environmentalists should just come clean: they hate the oil industry, they hate profits and love big government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yves Engler<\/strong> is <\/em>co-author of <\/em>the recently released<\/em> New Commune-ist Manifesto \u2013 Workers of the World It Really is Time to Unite. For more information go to www.newcommuneist.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n