Hi, here is an important support for oil development in Quebec. We hope it will help to finally unlock the political issues we're facing.
Best regards,
Dave P?pin
Quebec must exploit oil resources: manifesto
The province doesn't have the luxury of ignoring potential revenue, group insists
By Philip Authier, THE GAZETTE January 8, 2014 2:01 PM
MONTREAL - Quebec may dream of eliminating its dependence on oil but for the moment it's time to get drilling here, an influential group of former politicians and economic thinkers say.
In a manifesto made public Wednesday, the group says whether it's to curb the provincial debt or deal with the cost of an aging population, oil resources should be exploited as a source of revenue.
"Oil would allow Quebecers to collectively become richer," the group said in the document. "Failing to cease the opportunity would be an error."
The manifesto is signed by 11 Quebec personalities including former Parti Qu?b?cois premier Bernard Landry, former Liberal finance minister Monique J?r?me-Forget and the current president of the Conseil du patronat Yves-Thomas Dorval.
The group recommends the Quebec government authorize the immediate exploration and use of untapped oil resources in Quebec because the province does not have the luxury of ignoring the potential revenue.
It's all well and good for some to say oil energy is a thing of the past, but those who think that are "dreaming in colour."
Oil consumption keeps going up in Quebec. Between 1989 and 2009, consumption increased by 4 per cent.
The number of cars on the road alone has gone from 3.5 million in 1996 to 4.5 million in 2006.
In the average year, Quebec collectively consumes between $11 billion and $14 billion worth of oil a year. That's money going to pay for foreign oil when it could instead be used in Quebec, the manifesto's authors argue.
The group holds up Norway as a model, noting it exploited its oil reserves while protecting the environment and today has used the revenues to create a $645-billion Generations Fund for the future.
Norway, it notes, produces 3 million barrels of oil a day from 51 seabed wells.
The same responsible attitude could be used in Quebec and minimize the impact of such development. Quebec, the manifesto says, has billions of barrels on untapped oil in three areas: Anticosti Island, the Old Harry area of the ?les-de-la-Madeleine and in the Gasp? Peninsula.
pauthier@montrealgazette.com
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