Images of barren grey wastelands were projected behind him as Canadian author and journalist Andrew Nikiforuk summarized the thesis of his most recent book, Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent. A native Albertan, Nikiforuk argued that his province has become a “petro state,” and that the whole of Canada will follow, perpetuating an unsustainable, toxic industry.
Speaking at U of T’s Munk Center on Tuesday, Nikiforuk said that despite the province and oil industry’s arguments to the contrary, the extraction of oil causes major loss of biological diversity. “It’s an earth-destroying economy […] All the predictions are that woodland caribou will become extinct within the next 10 years in northern Alberta.” Nikiforuk also argues that decreasing water and air quality causes increasing cancer rates for Albertans.
A peculiar thing happens in regions reliant on privatized oil industries, said Nikiforuk. They tend to have long-term politicians, low taxes, and low voter turnout. Once the politicians start relying more on oil revenues than tax dollars, their loyalty falls to the oil companies. Recognizing this, locals become disillusioned and stop showing up at the polls. “People just stop voting,” explained Nikiforuk. “Why bother? You’re not being represented. You’re not paying any taxes so there’s no accountability.” He cited Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Sarah Palin as examples of this.
As the industry expands and dependency on foreign customers—particularly the United States—grows, Nikiforuk sees numerous risks for the Canadian economy and sovereignty. “One of the consequences of becoming a petro state, of course, is that you have a petro dollar; your economy becomes pegged to the price of oil and we’ve seen that vary dramatically in Canada.” Nikiforuk fears that with trade deals being made to further tie the Canadian economy to the American one, sovereignty could become a big political issue. “In the end, if we continue at the rate we are going […] the economic integration could very well end Canada’s sovereignty.”
By the conclusion, Nikiforuk’s lecture was not only about scorched landscapes and tar, but national issues like Canada’s world reputation and conscience. “Canada has reached a point now where we need to have a national debate about the pace of development of this resource. If we do not, we will fail as a country.”
