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By Maureen McCall

Just three days into a new decade Canadians woke up to a new geopolitical reality. The U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani has raised fears that an escalation of the U.S.-Iran conflict could disrupt world oil supply. Policy discussions have suddenly pivoted from weaning the world from fossil fuels to hard questions about global and energy security. Some analysts argue ­­­­­Iran will back attacks on oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf and the rest of the Middle East and maybe even on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure if tensions escalate sufficiently.

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The political and even military disruption that could ensue could be considerable. The oil supplies and economies of almost every country could be affected, including Canada’s. We still buy Middle Eastern oil despite our considerable domestic supplies and, of course, if the world price of oil rises, that affects everyone. The airstrike has reminded us — and it seems many of us had forgotten — that oil and gas resources are still geopolitically important.