Page 15 - Suncor 360 - January 2015

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KEVIN LYNCH • Vice-chairman, BMO Financial Group and a former Clerk of the Privy Council, Secretary to the Cabinet and Head of the Public Service of Canada
Despite having massive unconventional energy reserves, Canada faces an energy security conundrum – one of demand, not supply. The U.S., our largest and, in effect, only customer, is being propelled toward net energy self-sufficiency and energy security on the tide of the shale-gas revolution. In contrast, China will soon overtake the United States as the world's largest energy consumer and is very concerned with security of energy supply.
To stay in the energy game, Canada needs to diversify its energy exports to new markets, particularly fast-growing energy consumers in Asia and possibly the increasingly energy-insecure countries of western Europe. But achieving this shift requires a pivot, since Canada lacks the transportation capacity to ship energy,
oil or gas, to these potential markets.
It will require enormous investments and complex planning.
Apart from the global economics of oil, the most important issues now facing the Canadian energy sector are First Nations title and treaty rights.
Especially on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2014 that granted land title for 1,750 km2 (1,087 mi2) in B.C. to the Tsilhqot’in First Nation, we’re going to see something that has long been needed: an epic shift in relations between government and industry and Canada’s First Nations.
Where industry has aspirations to develop and transport resources in areas where
First Nations have no treaty arrangements with the Crown, working in partnership with First Nations to develop process certainty needs to be the priority. Ownership and the rights, responsibilities and authorities of
all parties need to be understood and predictable in every project and partnership.
To this end, the corporate sector must show true leadership in engaging from the beginning with First Nations and designing long-term solutions together that work for everyone. Significant missteps in the past,
One possibility is a public energy transportation corridor, stretching from coast to coast, which could include pipelines, electrical grids and other forms of energy transport. It would be established by government in the national interest. In turn, government would set the rules for those operating within the corridor, to be determined after appropriate public consultation and reflect the multiple licensing objectives. Given this certainty, the private sector would compete to build, own and operate energy transportation facilities within the corridor.
How Canada shapes its energy future will significantly influence our long-term growth prospects and prosperity across the country. We should be clearer about our national interest in the crucial area of energy market diversification.
particularly by organizations that haven’t kept pace with political and legal realities regarding First Nations, have been the source of huge lost opportunities. We need to learn from those missteps and recognize the great potential for First Nations to help shape Canada’s energy future through partnerships with industry.
What was once seen as a de-risking exercise has changed significantly. Industry shouldn’t regard relations with First Nations as something to ‘deal with.’ It’s an opportunity whose benefits are inestimable. And our energy and economic future depends on our collective ability to get it right. In my advisory role, I’ll be highly engaged with the leaders of companies like Suncor. I believe it’s in the energy industry’s executive offices that the leadership innovation we need can be generated and where meaningful transformation can take place.
Energy is a long-term planning sector, and it needs a strong long-term vision shaped with the help of First Nations. As Canada approaches its 150th anniversary, it’s time to start imagining what the next 150 years will look like.
SHAWN A-IN-CHUT ATLEO • Former National Chief of the Assembly of
First Nations in Canada and a tireless advocate for the rights of First Nations in Canada; recently received an academic appointment to facilitate dialogue between First Nations, government and business leaders