Canada: What are we doing with our resource wealth?

Written by Harold McNeill on January 30th, 2014. Posted in Tim Hortons Morning Posts


norwegians-become-crown-millionaires.si

Profit from ‘Stateoil’, the #4 ranked oil company in the world and 70% owned by the Norwegian Government, has made all Norwegians Crown millionaires   (Link to Article) (Link to Ownership). When our family visited Norway in the 1970s, hundreds of oil rigs were being built. The North Sea oil boom was well underway and from that date forward, Norway kept tight control of their share of the resource.

What can Canada learn?

As a result of a FB post made by the daughter of a Cold Lake High School friend about free university in Norway, and an earlier post I made about the quality of ‘birth to death’ social services in Oman as compared to Canada, a few folks were inspired to take me to task. My position in both cases was that Canada and the Provinces need to make better choices regarding the use of our natural resources. Let’s take a look at how Norway manages its resources.

The country is proportional in population, size (Norway is about a 1/3 smaller) and resource wealth as Canada, yet by every measure Norway does a better job of managing their resources. This benefits the entire population. The little Kingdom (yes, it is a Kingdom) is a constitutional democracy with a social democratic system of government, not much different from our own.

Taxes (on which I was mostly taken to task) are admittedly high, just as in many Scandinavian countries, but Norway’s across the board social support system is second to none in the world. Importantly, those high taxes do not mean the citizens have a lower standard of living. When you deduct the benefits received through their social system, they are in much batter shape than the citizens of Canada, Australia and many other similar countries. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, the Government of Norway is tasked with seeing to the collective need of the entire population. Corporations play an important role, but the Government makes sure the people get equitable returns as the resources clearly belong to the people not the corporations.

Collectively, Norwegians are a frugal lot and I doubt any ‘right’ thinking Norwegian would long suffer a Government that began to waste their resource wealth as they run their country into debt. As you can easily confirm, Norway is now among the richest in the world. To gain that advantage, they maintain a controlling interest in all their nature resources. They have purchased sizeable chunks of the oil patch in Alberta and other resources around the world. Their goal is to take advantage of the high value of these resources as a means of securing the future for their citizens.

In Canada our system differs markedly in that the Provinces are largely responsible for managing our resource base and to do this they have entirely turned them over to private corporations. The only direct value they receive is through taxation and the companies often squeeze the government for low taxes as well as sizeable grants when they wish to expand.  British Columbia and Alberta sit as prime examples of how to squander the wealth.  In B.C, by the time we approached the collapse of our massive forestry and fishing resource, we had accrued millions if not billions in debt, rather than billions in savings. You might suggest that is the fault of government, but government was squeezed as noted above.  It often seemed government was so closely aligned with the needs of corporations, they sold the farm.

Alberta has done same with their oil. They were once the richest province in Canada (perhaps they still are on paper at least) and at one time in the not to distant past they had set aside a sizeable ‘heritage’ fund. In spite of all this, today they have accumulated billions in debt and along the way they have slashed their social service network to the core. All this was done in a province that is considered among the most ‘right’ thinking in Canada.

Many have no idea why we have allowed this wholesale rape of our resource system. As in Norway we should be collectively preparing for our future by reaping the benefit of our resources while they last, rather than selling them off to the highest bidder. We also need to be weaning ourselves of dependence on fossil fuels. Read some of the stories on what Norway is doing.

Perhaps for to long we have bought into the American ideal that everything can be solved within a ‘free enterprise’ system where government intervention is reduced to the lowest common denominator and any form of taxation is a burden to heavy to bear. We have all witnessed the rapid descent of the United States from being a world leader to a country that is unlikely to ever again show such leadership. It won’t be to long before China owns more of the United States than do the people of the United States. Canada is moving along the same path as ‘state managed’ rich countries buy up large swathes of our natural resources.

What we are left with is debt and as we well know, debt is an albatross around the neck of an individual, just as it is with a nation.

Harold McNeill

References:

An excellent summary of the importance of using resources wisely during the boom times is provided by Alan Gleb of the Washington based Centre for Global Development during a recent visit to Canada.  Link here:  Oil Myths vs Read Problems

Comparison of Norway and Australia. Similar comparisons could be made to Canada.: The Role of Sovereign Wealth Funds in Managing Resource Booms

More on Norway’s Sovereign Wealth Fund  (Link Here)

General outline of Canada’s resource wealth. A tongue in cheek article in McNeill Life Stories:   Pax Canadiana

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Comments

  • Mike Fedorowich

    September 1, 2023 |

    I have gone through the above noted text and have found it quite informative.
    I am a former member with several law enforcement agencies from across Canada.
    I worked in the First Nations service under the authority of the RCMP with the over sight of the OPP. My law enforcement service was conducted under the authority of the Nishnawbe – Aski Police Service in North West Ontario the Louis Bull Police Sevice in Hobbema AB, the Kitasoo Xaixais Police Service in Northern in side passage on Swindle Island, the Lac Suel Police Service North West Ontario and the Vancouver Transit Authority Sky Train Police Service. I’m presently dealing with an RCMP member for falsifying a report against me for a road rage event. Court case is finished and the charge was dropped but I have an on going complaint with the member and have forwarded to the WATCH DOGS IN OTTAWA FOR the RCMP review and consideration. I believe the said officer is in violation of his oath of office and should be held accountable for falsifying his RTCC all the while dragging me through the court system here in Nanaimo. RCMP continue to stonewall the appeal but Ottawa and the crowns office are still looking into the matter. if your able and find the time or the interest in this very brief introduction, I would very much like to speak with you and would be grateful to hear any wisdom that may come across from your end. I served with First Nations Police Services for ten years in isolation and six years with Transit Police out of New West Minster. I do value and appreciate any time you could spare to chat for a bit on this particular subject matter. Respectfully with out anger but an open mind, Mike Fedorowich Nanaimo BC 250 667 0060

  • Harold McNeill

    February 28, 2022 |

    Hi Robert, I do remember some of those folks from my early years in Cold Lake (Hazel was my aunt and our family spent many fond times with Uncle Melvin, Aunt Hazel and Family. I knew Lawrence and Adrian. Having read a half dozen accounts it is clear their were many false narratives and, perhaps, a few truths along the way. I tried my best to provide an even account from what I read. Cheers, Harold. (email: Harold@mcneillifestories.com)

  • Robert Martineau

    February 25, 2022 |

    Its been a long time since any post here, but its worth a shot. My Grandfather was Hazel Wheelers brother Lawrence, and son to Maggie and Adrien. Maggie Martineau (nee Delaney) is my great grandmother. The books and articles to date are based on the white mans viewpoint and the real story as passed down by the Elders in my family is much more nefarious. Some of the white men were providing food for the Indians in exchange for sexual favors performed by the Squaws. Maggie was the product of one of those encounters. Although I am extremely proud of my family and family name, I am ashamed about this part of it.

  • Julue

    January 28, 2022 |

    Good morning Harold!
    Gosh darn it, you are such a good writer. I hope you have been writing a book about your life. It could be turned into a movie.
    Thanks for this edition to your blog.
    I pray that Canadians will keep their cool this weekend and next week in Ottawa. How do you see our PM handling it? He has to do something and quick!
    Xo Julie

  • Herb Craig

    December 14, 2021 |

    As always awesome job Harold. It seems whatever you do in life the end result is always the same professional, accurate, inclusive and entertaining. You have always been a class act and a great fellow policeman to work with. We had some awesome times together my friend. I will always hold you close as a true friend. Keep up the good work. Hope to see you this summer.
    Warm regards
    Herb Craig

  • Harold McNeill

    November 26, 2021 |

    Hi Dorthy, So glad you found those stories and, yes, they hold many fond memories. Thanks to social media and the blog, I’ve been able to get in touch with many friends from back in the day. Cheers, Harold

  • Harold McNeill

    November 26, 2021 |

    Well, well. Pleased to see your name pop up. I’m in regular contact via FB with many ‘kids’ from back in our HS days (Guy, Dawna, Shirley and others). Also, a lot of Cold Lake friends through FB. Cheers, Harold

  • Harold McNeill

    November 26, 2021 |

    Oh, that is many years back and glad you found the story. I don’t have any recall of others in my class other than the Murphy sisters on whose farm my Dad and Mom worked.

  • Harold McNeill

    November 26, 2021 |

    Pleased to hear from you Howie and trust all is going well. As with you, I have a couple of sad stories of times in my police career when I crossed paths with Ross Barrington Elworthy. Just haven’t had the time to write those stories.

  • Howie Siegel

    November 25, 2021 |

    My only fight at Pagliacci’s was a late Sunday night in 1980 (?) He ripped the towel machine off the bathroom wall which brought me running. He came after me, I grabbed a chair and cracked him on the head which split his skull and dropped him. I worried about the police finding him on the floor. I had just arrived from Lasqueti Island and wasn’t convinced the police were my friends. I dragged him out to Broad and Fort and left him on the sidewalk, called the cops. They picked him up and he never saw freedom again (as far as I know). I found out it was Ross Elworthy.