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Canadian oil: ethical, cheaper
If the United States restricts imports of Canadian oil it could be forced to buy from repressive governments, says the Fraser Institute, a conservative Calgary-based think-tank.
In a new study, the institute measures 38 global jurisdictions that produce more than 250,000 barrels per day against 17 yardsticks covering civil, political and economic freedoms, plus eight measurements specific to the freedom of women.
“In recent years, Canada’s oil exports have been assailed by groups trying to persuade American consumers and policymakers that a reduction in Canadian oil imports would not have negative consequences for the United States,” said author Mark Milke, the institute’s director of Alberta policy.
“On the contrary, in the absence of Canadian oil, Americans would likely face increased costs for oil and possibly supply limitations.
“Americans should also not overlook the critical issue of civil, political and economic freedoms.
“Unlike Canada, most other sources of oil imports are jurisdictions that any reasonable person would find objectionable,” Milke wrote.
Canada, Norway, only high scores The study determined that, except for Norway, Canada is the only major oil-exporting country that scores highly against all measurements of freedom, including the rights of women to full career, medical and travel choices, the property rights of all citizens, media freedom, religious freedom, judicial independence and relative freedom from corruption.
Milke said that “restricting trade with an ally that has similar values in terms of equality, civil rights and individual freedoms is simply not in America’s best interest.”
The study ranked Canada six among the world’s producers at 3.3 million bpd, behind Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Iran and China, with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran accounting for the most significant exports.
The study notes that Canada now provides more oil to the United States than all of the Persian Gulf countries combined, accounting for 21.1 percent of all the imports (up from 6.4 percent in 1979) compared with 14.4 percent from the Persian Gulf, down from 24.5 percent in 1979.
Milke argued that oil will “remain a chief component of the global energy mix for the next several decades, so America has two options: either continue to embrace oil imports from Canada — a safe, secure and stable ally with an excellent record on human rights — or resort to importing increasing amounts of oil from governments that regularly violate human rights as a matter of policy, and, in some cases, are state sponsors of terrorism.
“Critics of imported Canadian oil must confront the fact that, in the absence of such imports, America will need to seek other suppliers of oil and those supplies will likely come from jurisdictions that many American consumers and policymakers find objectionable for commonsense treasons.”
—Gary Park
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