Alberta, as we all know, has been getting filthy rich on oil and gas royalties. Newfoundland and Labrador will soon lose its “have-not” status thanks to its energy revenue.
And then there's this “we're getting rich, too” press release from B.C. today:
The May 21, 2008 sale of oil and gas rights sets new records with $441 million in bonus bids and higher average per-hectare prices than any previous sale. Yesterday's sale brings the fiscal year-to-date total to more than $480 million and puts B.C. on track to smash the $1.2-billion record set last fiscal, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld announced today.
Now, these are one-time revenue shots, of course. The real money comes when the oil and/or gas starts flowing and provinces get a piece of every barrel of oil or cubic foot of gas sold.
Still, B.C.'s big bonus for selling drilling rights underlines, I think, why, net-net, high energy prices are a positive for Canada.
Check out the scorecard for oil and gas drilling rights.
Oh NO! Not another province with oil revenues!
So let me get this straight….British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland/Newbrunswick and the NWT are all getting rich off of natural resources…..
Ontario and Quebec are losing money on manufacturing……
Well geeze! I have the answer! Both Ontario and Quebec need to refocus their manufacturing sectors on providing for and serving the needs of the other provinces in their extraction processes and equipment as well as developing their own tremendously resource rich regions. By supporting the booming industries in the other provinces, they can support themselves. Isn't self-sufficiency the goal of any modern nation?
Couple this with the new Canadian Content laws and Canada could do very VERY well in supporting itself and returning to major export status…..oh wait, wasn't this the Conservative Vision?