Dan Woynillowicz is a senior researcher and advisor at the Pembina Institute, a national, non-partisan sustainable energy think-tank. He is co-author of the report, Canadians are seeing economic changes.
by Dan Woynillowicz, Director, Strategy and Communications, Pembina Institute
Canada needs more light and less heat on the economic impacts of oilsands expansion. When it comes to energy issues, the list of things that are apparently too "divisive" to discuss seems to grow by the day — from climate change and pollution reduction, to a national energy strategy, and most recently the impacts of booming oilsands development across the Canadian economy.
The ongoing debate about the economic changes Canadians are seeing warrants serious consideration and action, given the regional tensions those changes are creating. Similarly, as the federal government reduces environmental oversight in an effort to expedite oilsands production and exports, it's imperative that Canadians understand the challenges and risks associated with our growing economic reliance on this sector.