I recently read in my local newspaper that the Province of Quebec was rationing propane because of the CN Rail strike which was, at the time, in full swing.  Apparently, many people who live in that province are dependent on propane to heat their homes and cook their food and, in general, deal with our northern hemisphere’s climate.

The great stone brains who govern the poor devils that live in Quebec have also allowed its citizens to become, to a large extent, dependent on foreign oil and other petroleum-based fuels.  This is the present state of affairs in Quebec, even though such products are readily available in Canada, particularly from Alberta and Saskatchewan.  It is hard for any rational person to understand why the premier of Quebec would be so anti-pipeline given his province’s dependence on railroads and unstable foreign governments to provide for his people’s energy needs.

Quebec current receives 60% of its petroleum products from foreign sources. What would happen should foreign upheavals result in the province being cut off?  Such a situation could happen at any given point in time.  Surely to goodness this premier, who by the way resembles a throwback to a member of the old Plouffe Family television show, understands the importance of pipelines. Then again, he may wish to cling to his politically correct ideas and take a chance that the supply of petroleum his people desperately need will never be disrupted. 

Doesn’t this fellow have the responsibility to support programs, policies and initiatives to ensure the long-term well-being of the people he is responsible for protecting? By denying pipelines through his province—which would safely and efficiently transport Alberta and Saskatchewan oil and gas products—he puts the welfare of his people at unnecessary risk. The construction of pipelines would allow him to rest easy, content with the assurance that his people will be able to withstand our northern winters in the event foreign sources of petroleum dry up for whatever reason and alternate forms of energy are not capable of meeting demand.  This is, for most thinking people, so obvious that one has to wonder just what is going on in the mind of the Quebec Premier.  Can he really be that dumb, that irresponsible?

It has become politically correct to bash fossil fuels and support so-called eco-friendly sources of energy such as solar, wind and hydro power. The problem is, these alternate forms of energy cannot, at this point in time, compete with the efficiencies of petroleum-based products.  If Quebec and other “woke” jurisdictions could develop reliable, alternate sources of energy, its Premier’s obstinate opposition to additional pipelines could be understandable. However, as just noted, the listed alternate sources of energy are, at present, much too expensive and unreliable. No one with basic common sense would dismiss the use of petroleum products as the only reasonable solution for people living north of the 49^th Parallel. The recent propane shortage scare in Quebec supports my argument.

Quebec’s bullheaded approach to this problem might be better accepted if Alberta-based pipeline companies were asking the Province of Quebec to contribute to the cost of constructing the proposed pipeline, but that is not the case. The pipeline will cost Quebec and other provinces absolutely nothing. On the contrary, the citizens who live along the pipeline’s path will benefit through jobs and numerous other benefits, which will ripple through their entire economies.

So, for no cost and for numerous benefits, some of which will be never-ending, a man who purports to be a responsible leader of his constituents refuses to even consider the construction of something that will, if nothing else, act as a safety net for the very people he represents.  Just how stupid and irresponsible is that?