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I had the opportunity Sunday to participate in CBC’s weekly radio program Cross Country Checkup. The topic was Ottawa’s approval of the Trans Mountain and Line 3 projects and the rejection of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project.

It was astonishing that after 40 minutes, and having heard from both Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan and B.C. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, there was no recognition of the role energy plays in the daily lives of Canadians, its economic benefits or the objectives and scope of Alberta’s climate leadership plan.

It’s equally fascinating they believe to know more than the federal cabinet, the National Energy Board and all the experts who presented evidence on the projects’ impacts.

The discussion was instead about how the approved pipelines would encourage development of the “tarsands,” or how there was no way the federal government approved Trans Mountain on the basis of scientific fact.

Best to leave the resource in the ground, said more than one caller. Others refused to recognize the oilsands will be developed regardless of new pipelines or believed the transition to renewables is right around the corner.

What this suggests is a lack of understanding of the relative energy density of renewable options as compared with fossil fuels and what it means in terms of costs to consumers.

Also missing was any acknowledgment about being part of Confederation. More Canadians need to understand that sometimes it’s about what’s good for the country, not a specific province.