Where will our soldiers pug in their electric tanks? Photo: Bruce Forsyth. 
Where will our soldiers pug in their electric tanks? Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
October 2017
“We don’t think there should be a carbon-based energy industry by the middle of this century. The real alternative is not an alternative route. It’s an alternative economy.” Gerald Butts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in May 2012 when asked about the proposed route for the Northern Gateway pipeline.
On 5 October 2017, TransCanada Pipelines cancelled their proposed Energy East Pipeline, a pipeline that would have transported Alberta crude to refineries in the Maritimes and eventually to markets across the Atlantic. This will not happen now.
The Trudeau government imposed stringent greenhouse gas regulations on TransCanada, the first and only company so far to have them imposed on a pipeline project and ones that aren’t imposed on foreign oil producers, thus creating an uneven playing field for TransCanada and Canadian oil.
Gone with this $15.7 billion project are approximately 15, 000 construction jobs and a potential for 1000 permanent jobs, along with billions in tax revenue that could be used to help pay down the federal debt and help fund social programs across the country.
Gone too apparently is the memory of then derailment of a 74-car freight train carrying crude in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in July 2013 that resulted in 47 innocent people being burned to death and destroyed half of the downtown core. While pipelines can leak, never has one caused this much destruction. They are also a more environmentally way to transport crude, as opposed to truck and rail transportation.
Maybe this is just a step towards Gerald Butt’s dream of living in a world free of carbon-based fuels. Maybe this is why there is such a big push on these days to increase the sales of electric cars, with all the major auto manufactures vowing to produce only electric cars within the next 10 years.
The Wynne government is also working hard to convince the lowly minions who make up the Ontario population that electric cars are the future of personal transportation. While the idea is good in theory, as with all theories, there are some things that will not work no matter how hard you try.
The Ontario government is offering subsidies of up to $14,000 towards the purchase of electric cars, the same cars that if you could afford the sticker price for most of them in the first place, you wouldn’t need the subsidy to get you buying them.
However, in an example of do as I say, not as I do, the Ontario government’s passenger vehicle fleet is currently an insignificant 4.16% electric and most of them are hybrids. That’s hardly leading by example.
The Wynne Liberals are also spending an additional $17 – 20 million on 485 fast-charging stations across the province and they are offering subsidies of up to $1,000 to install home charging stations, taking more of our already thinly-spread tax dollars from social programs that actually help to improve people’s lives.
Despite all the virtue-signalling pressure that is being applied to the populace to “go green,” “think of the planet,” ” Won’t anyone please think of the children?”, there are some practical problems that need to be addressed before a lot of people, myself included, take the plunge into the electric car market.
Firstly, electric cars will need to have the same range as gas-powered cars. For those of us who have to go further than the nearest GO or TTC station to get to our destination, the limited range of most electric cars is a serious problem.
Secondly, until electric cars can be recharged in the same amount of time as it takes to fill up a gas tank, a family road-trip from Toronto to Disney World in Florida could turn an approximately 20 hour non-stop drive (if you choose to do such) into a three-day or longer excursion just getting there, assuming of course that American states also install charging stations. For those who need to maximize those vacations days from work, the sooner you get to your destination, the more time you have to enjoy the place.
However, my reluctance to embrace the utopian carbon-fuel-free world envisioned by Gerald Butts and his puppet Justin Trudeau is peanuts compared to the problems that our Canadian Armed Forces will face if they’re to embrace electric vehicles. Oh sure, the vehicle fleet that’s strictly for on-base use could easily be converted to electric as a lot of them are only going short distances.
However, what are our troops in the field going to do, whether it’s on a peacekeeping mission or a war zone like Afghanistan? You can’t exactly plug a tank or troop carrier into a tree. Our aircraft and ships are going to need pretty big batteries to make a trans-Atlantic crossing, either that one on hell of a long extension cord!
Generators like you’d find at your local Canadian Tire store are all gas-powered, so they’re out of the question.
Will an electric fighter jet have the same power and thrust as a carbon-based fuel powered jet?
Oh sure, maybe we could retro-fit tanks and trucks with solar panels, but what happens if it’s a cloudy day? I guess we won’t be able to fight a war or maintain the peace between warring parties that day.
Maybe we should ditch all our tanks and return our Armoured Corps to their cavalry roots, although the increased horse flatulence may create other problems.
At least the Royal Canadian Navy and Coast Guard ships could be outfitted with sails.
Until we solve problems like these, we will still be pumping oil out of the ground for transportation needs and for the production of plastics too. Don’t forget about plastics.
Go to www.ranken-energy.com/products%20from%20petroleum.htm for a partial list of items that use petroleum.
Instead of concentrating on ramming electric cars down our throats, maybe this and any future government should acknowledge that the environmental protections we already have in place have already encouraged industry to become more fuel efficient and cut the emissions from everything that burns carbon-based fuels, with new advances continually being made.
Let’s keep improving on those technologies and let the electric vehicle market organically improve their product so they can sink or swim on their own.
Bottom line, if more people wanted electric vehicles they would buy them, with or without subsidies or virtue-signalling pressure tactics.
We will need carbon-based fuels for the foreseeable future and we should be embracing our own energy sector, not driving them out of business. The oil consumed in Canada should come from Canada instead of OPEC producers, the same ones that don’t uphold the same human rights and environmental standards as Canadians do.
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- Will all the ships, tanks, trucks, aircraft, helicopters and passenger vehicles in the Canadian Armed Forces’ fleet become museum pieces like these ones? Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
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- Will all the ships, tanks, trucks, aircraft, helicopters and passenger vehicles in the Canadian Armed Forces’ fleet become museum pieces like these ones? Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
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- Will all the ships, tanks, trucks, aircraft, helicopters and passenger vehicles in the Canadian Armed Forces’ fleet become museum pieces like these ones? Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
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Below is an edited version that appeared in the Toronto Sun, 14 October 2017
With the decision of TransCanada Pipelines to cancel their $15.7 billion Energy East Pipeline, a pipeline that would have transported Alberta crude to refineries in the Maritimes and eventually to markets across the Atlantic, we can say goodbye to the creation of 15, 000 construction jobs and a potential for 1000 permanent jobs, along with billions in tax revenue.
Maybe this is just a step towards Gerald Butts’ dream of living in a world free of carbon-based fuels and why there is such a big push on these days to increase the sales of electric cars.
The Wynne government is also working hard to convince the lowly minions who make up the Ontario population that electric cars are the future of personal transportation.
However, in an example of do as I say, not as I do, the Ontario government’s passenger vehicle fleet is currently an insignificant 4.16% electric and most of them are hybrids. That’s hardly leading by example.
However despite all the virtue-signaling by progressives, there are some practical problems that need to be addressed.
Firstly, electric cars will need to have the same range as gas-powered cars. For those of us who have to go further than the nearest GO or TTC station to get to our destination, the limited range of most electric cars is a serious problem.
Secondly, electric cars must be able to recharge in the same amount of time it takes to fill up a gas tank. When on a long road trip, who wants to spend even 20 minutes using a quick-recharge station, assuming you can find one on your journey.
However, our Canadian Armed Forces will face some serious obstacles if they’re to embrace electric vehicles. Oh sure, the vehicle fleet that’s strictly for on-base use could easily be converted to electric as a lot of them are only going short distances.
However, what are our troops in the field going to do, whether it’s on a peacekeeping mission or a war zone like Afghanistan? You can’t exactly plug a tank or troop carrier into a tree. Our aircraft and ships are going to need pretty big batteries to make a trans-Atlantic crossing.
Will an electric fighter jet have the same power and thrust as a carbon-based fuel powered jet?
Maybe we should ditch all our tanks and return our Armoured Corps to their cavalry roots, although the increased horse flatulence may create other problems.
At least the Royal Canadian Navy and Coast Guard ships could be outfitted with sails.
Until we solve problems like these, we will still be pumping oil out of the ground for transportation needs and for the production of plastics too. Don’t forget about plastics.
Maybe this and any future government should acknowledge that the environmental protections we already have in place have already encouraged industry to become more fuel efficient and cut the emissions from everything that burns carbon-based fuels, with new advances continually being made.
Bottom line, if more people wanted electric vehicles they would buy them.
Sources: http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/09/no-energy-for-electric-vehicles-from-govt-staffers, http://brianlilley.com/if-transcanada-were-only-named-bombardier, various Ontario government press releases.
