https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/letters/article-dec-21-big-oil-seems-to-have-decided-albertas-males-are-disposable/
I believe columnist Robyn Urback sends the wrong message in
characterizing Albertans as helplessly bullied by a need to address
global warming. Rather, I’ve found that jobs are disappearing because
oil producers have accelerated their strategy of displacing workers with
technology.
Suncor’s layoffs reached 1,700 in 2015. Chief executive Steve Williams
told investors the company’s search for “operational excellence for
perfection” meant workers had to go. Suncor pioneered driverless trucks
eliminating a further 400 jobs in 2018. Cenovus almost doubled
production but laid off more than 2,500. Canadian Natural Resources
redlined 400 jobs through attrition.
Big Oil seems to have decided Alberta’s males are disposable. Had
Alberta protected its people – as occurred in Norway – perhaps there
would be enough money to support displaced workers through the transition.
We should all pull together in the most humane way we know how if we
expect to deal with the fallout from rising temperatures. Let’s not fuel
the fire of divisiveness in a generation of Albertans. Continuing to
pander to a sense of entitlement and seeking scapegoats will likely only
keep them from growing up.
Robyn Allan Economist; Whistler, B.C.
[Perhaps we could find work for unemployed Albertans in cleaning up the
messes left by the oil and gas industry.]
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