OPINION: A lack of political guts leaves Canada on the sidelines amid global LNG boom – by Konrad Yakabuski (Globe and Mail – April 5,2023)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Canada’s reputation as a good place to do business is suffering serious damage, as the fate of resource projects are determined by the whims of politicians.

It is not enough for promoters of multibillion-dollar projects in Canada to meet among the most stringent environmental and social criteria on the planet; their projects are doomed if they do not fit the particular narrative the politicians seek to spin.

Ottawa’s approval last month of the Cedar LNG project in British Columbia should not fool anyone. The $3-billion liquefied natural gas project co-owned by the Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline is an exception in an otherwise hostile political and regulatory environment for resource projects. Cedar is a relatively small undertaking that provides a model for Indigenous ownership that advances efforts toward reconciliation.

Unfortunately, the same goodwill politicians displayed toward Cedar has not been extended to other LNG projects in Canada. Instead of expediting such projects amid Europe’s scramble for alternatives to Russian natural gas and efforts to wean Asian economies off coal, federal and provincial politicians find excuses to change the subject.

For the rest of this column: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-a-lack-of-political-guts-leaves-canada-on-the-sidelines-amid-global/