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The drop in oil prices means the Canadian oil and gas industry is seeing a $40 billion hit in 2015 and a 25-30% cut in growth, according to Glen Hodgson, Chief Economist of the Conference Board of Canada.
Hodgson was one of the panelists at a special panel and reception held Monday, May 11, 2015 at 1 Wellington Street and moderated by Velma McColl, Principal, Earnscliffe Strategy Group.
Alex Ferguson, Vice-President, Policy and Performance, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, called the loss equivalent to the total revenue of the Canadian mining industry and a significant impact on our country.
Yet average consumers are benefiting from lower energy prices said Adam Sieminski, Administrator, U.S. Energy Information Administration. In the U.S. the average household will have an extra $750 to spend this year.
Regardless of the price of oil, James Meadowcroft, Canada Research Chair in Governance for Sustainable Development, Carleton University, said that policy makers need need to focus on climate change which will require a set of policies and a long term transition to lower carbon.
Panelists debated the effects of lower oil prices on the provinces, the federal government and world economies. More than 160 Members of Parliament, staffers, senior government officials from Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development registered for the panel along with Ambassadors and other senior diplomats, business and non-governmental organizations plus Carleton students and faculty.
This event was organized with the support of James Rajotte, M.P., Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance; Nathan Cullen, M.P., Official Opposition Critic for Finance; and Geoff Regan, M.P., Vice Chair of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources.
CPAC taped the panel for broadcast and it will be available at http://www.cpac.ca
A power point presentation from Velma McColl, Principal, Earnscliffe Strategy Group is available here.
A power point presentation from Adam Sieminski, Administrator, U.S. Energy Information Administration is available here.
A summary of the discussion prepared by Carleton student Nichole Ekkert-Vine is available here.