We must export our oil to Asia for a number of reasons, mostly because Canada must export in order to give Canadians a decent standard of living.
The world needs our potash, lumber, coal, fish, minerals and wheat. Other nations export talent - American movies, TV shows, Boeing Dreamliner jets, Google, Microsoft and so forth - all bring revenue into the U.S. Even McDonald's sell more hamburgers abroad than in their own country. General Motors and Ford Motors manufacture their vehicles overseas with the profits coming home.
No such luck for Canada. Some say ship our oil to the U.S., but we would be foolish to put all our eggs into one basket. Brazil, Venezuela, Nigeria and Mexico export oil and they would be would be competitive for us and then the Americans would pressure us for even lower prices and would treat our oil as they treated our softwood lumber industry.
For those people who shout: "Ban the tankers," take a look at the shipping that passes our doorstep. Tankers from refineries at Ioco in Burnaby and Anacortes from Washington state are seen every day. Consider all the container ships and other cargo vessels that are safely sailing past with their fuel tanks brimming full for the long Pacific crossing.
It would be so nice to guarantee all our waters, forests and wild life to remain pristine forever, but we can make safety measures to lessen the impact of any accidents.
Lloyd Davies
Victoria
