{"id":102314,"date":"2025-10-25T05:25:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=102314"},"modified":"2025-10-25T05:25:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:25:00","slug":"baiton-calls-for-pragmatic-reset-on-energy-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=102314","title":{"rendered":"Baiton calls for pragmatic reset on energy policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The productivity fix starts with pragmatism<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Baiton, President and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers<\/a> (CAPP), told the B.C. Business Summit 2025 that Canada is in danger of squandering its global energy advantage through hesitation and half-measures. Representing the upstream oil, gas, and LNG producers that account for more than 20 percent of Canada\u2019s total balance of trade, she said the sector directly employs 450,000 Canadians and supports more than 900,000 jobs nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur industry contributes over one-fifth of Canada\u2019s entire balance of trade,\u201d Baiton said. \u201cYet we\u2019re operating in a global environment where state actors like Russia, China, and OPEC are weaponizing resources, controlling markets, and coercing trade. Even our closest ally, the United States, is reminding us that we can\u2019t rely on a single customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She argued that the world\u2019s energy order is shifting in ways Canada has been slow to recognize. \u201cInstitutional investors are now talking less about energy transition and more about energy addition,\u201d she said, citing Blackrock\u2019s<\/a> Larry Fink. \u201cGlobal energy demand is rising across the north and south \u2014 and with the AI revolution driving new consumption \u2014 we\u2019re going to need all forms of energy for decades to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baiton said that despite encouraging words from Ottawa about the importance of natural resources, policy still lags reality. \u201cWe have a prime minister who recognizes the role of oil and gas in national security and Indigenous reconciliation, but words alone don\u2019t attract capital. Without a clear policy reset, Canada will miss the investment window.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incrementalism will be the death of us<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Baiton\u2019s warning was blunt: Canada\u2019s productivity crisis and its policy gridlock are converging into a national risk. \u201cWe\u2019ve woken up to the threats, but we\u2019re falling back into our usual Canadianism \u2014 plodding along,\u201d she said. \u201cThis window of opportunity won\u2019t stay open long, and incrementalism will be the death of Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said a \u201cpragmatic policy reset\u201d is required, one that reflects the resources Canada actually has and moves with speed. \u201cIncrementalism will be our death,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to get out of our own way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baiton called for an overhaul of policies built during a previous decade aimed at making oil and gas \u201cexistential.\u201d Canada, she said, now has a government that understands \u201cyou can\u2019t have national security without energy security,\u201d and that the resource sector is key to funding the military and rebuilding economic strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oil and gas: Canada\u2019s fastest path to growth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

She pointed out that Canada ranks last among OECD<\/a> nations in growth and competitiveness, and said oil and gas is \u201cthe only sector that can be leveraged fast enough\u201d to reverse that trajectory. The industry, she added, is already a national leader in Indigenous partnerships.  It\u2019s the largest employer of Indigenous peoples, the largest user of Indigenous supply chains, and a growing field for Indigenous private equity ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But without a policy reset, Baiton said, that progress will stall. \u201cWe need to take on key policies like the proposed emissions cap, which is already scaring investors, and fix permitting timelines that run nine to sixteen years. In Germany, it took three years to build three LNG import terminals. In Canada, one project can take 21 years from discovery to dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The message from Baiton was clear: Canada must rediscover the discipline to build, not just talk about building. The productivity fix starts with speed, pragmatism, and confidence in Canada\u2019s own energy advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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