The setup at Noble Diesel for Wednesday's press event

By Aaron Mahoney

Pipelines

Canadian Taxpayers Federation stops in Lethbridge to talk pipeline deficit

Jun 12, 2019 | 11:17 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s cross-country pipeline tour stopped in Lethbridge on Wednesday, June 12, to show how much money taxpayers are losing because Canadian oil is sold for less than its full value due to a lack of pipeline capacity.

The tour includes a large digital clock displaying the losses going up in real-time.

The CTF is a federally incorporated, not-for-profit citizen’s group that bills itself as being dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government.

Alberta Director for the CTF, Franco Terrazzano, says the point of the cross-country tour is to show all Canadians why they should care about pipeline development.

Week-in-review: Passenger rail, a big investment in Coaldale and an NFL draftee from Lethbridge

23h ago

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: May 3, 2024

May 03, 2024

Week-in-review: Municipal election changes, a leadership debate and green bins

Apr 27, 2024

“Canadian taxpayers are losing out on billions of dollars because we can’t get pipelines built and we’re not receiving full value for our oil. That means we have less money for important things like hospitals, hiring more teachers and taxpayers are stuck with a higher tax bill,” Terrazzano said.

Based on data released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the CTF has calculated just how much additional revenue the federal government would receive if that oil price differential was lower.

“Since 2013 the pipeline deficit is costing Canadian taxpayers over $6 billion, and we have a display showing the real-time cost of a lack of pipelines is going up by $3 million every day,” Terrazzano added.

The CTF’s pipeline tour is travelling through Alberta after having stopped in all nine other provinces.

A few examples given by the CTF to show potential benefits for taxpayers if increased pipeline capacity captured full value for Canadian oil from 2013 to 2023 included:

– More than 16 hospitals could be built based on the cost of Grande Prairie’s regional hospital
– Over 21,000 new teaching positions in Alberta could be fully funded for ten years
– All residents of Lethbridge could be exempt from paying federal taxes for nearly 11 years

Terrazzano explained that workers in Alberta’s energy industry are made worse off when governments block pipeline development, but so are the rest of Canadian taxpayers.

“This is the important message the CTF has taken to every province: all Canadians benefit when pipelines get built.”

In May 2018, the federal government announced its intent to buy the Trans Mountain Pipeline from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion. That was met with criticism from both sides of the debate, from an environmental standpoint and a taxpayer standpoint.

We know where Terrazzano and the CTF stand on the taxpayer’s view, but he admits that Canadians are right to have environmental concerns given the world we live in today.

“We should have environmental concerns, and we should have a regulatory system that considers those concerns and that also lets us have development. When we’re talking about the environment, we also need to have a global lens. Oil use is not going anywhere anytime soon, and so we have to ask ourselves where we want the oil to be produced and have the jobs created. Do we want that to be in Canada, or places like Saudi Arabia, Russia or Nigeria? We can create jobs at home and help the global economy if we have a regulatory system that allows pipelines to get built,” Terrazzano stated.