Travis Davies, manager of media and issues with Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), spoke to Airdrie Chamber of Commerce members at a lunch meeting on Feb. 16 at Woodside Golf Course.
Davies told the group of about 70 local businesspeople that oil and gas is a huge driver of the local and national economy.
According to the Canadian Energy Research Institute employment in Canada, as a result of new oilsands investments in production and processing, is expected to grow from 75,000 jobs in 2010 to 905,000 jobs in 2035, with 126,000 jobs going to provinces other than Alberta.
That will translate into growth for cities like Airdrie, he said.
“It’s really good to see a… town grow like this and I am happy to see it prosper,” he said.
Davies grew up in Cochrane and said the oil and gas industry was “in my backyard.”
“Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world,” he said.
“One in six people in Alberta rely on oil and gas for their paycheques. These are people working in the oil sands but also people who are employed by businesses that depend on oil such as Cam Clark Ford. These people need a place to live and Airdrie has proven a great place.”
He said although oil and gas are vital to the country’s economic growth, finding more and better way to use renewable resources is also important, as is measuring and dealing with emissions.
“We also need to be more transparent about what we are measuring, how we are doing and what we are doing about it,” he said. “Most people know and understand oil and gas has a huge economic impact on this province but there is an increased importance to be transparent and build credibility.”
Marie Lauer, events coordinator with the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce, said she recently travelled to Europe and many people there felt Alberta is not taking care of the environment.
“What are you doing to improve our international reputation?” she asked.
“We are going to embassies and making sure people have the facts,” said Davies.
“We need to focus on putting together good, credible information. The knowledge level is low and what they have heard is very bad.”
Andrew Gowers, of Airdrie business Destination Cycles, asked why the industry isn’t piping oil and gas to Ontario.
“The problem is infrastructure,” said Davies. “We would love to have the east buying domestically but that is not a reality right now.”
Mark Overdulve of Valera Consulting Inc. asked how close the industry is getting to infrastructure for natural gas powered vehicles.
“We do have some infrastructure but we are a far way from seeing natural gas stations on the highway,” said Davies.
“There is too much infrastructure investment.”
Lorna Hunt, executive director of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce, asked if there is a large amount of oil resources in northern Canada.
“It is not worth exploring,” said Davies.
“Why go when we have it already. The climate is intense and the location is far from the market. There is, however, support for development from northerners because of economic opportunities.”
Hunt said the Chamber invited Davies to speak because she thought it was important for the members to hear from an oil and gas expert.
“We are all Albertans,” said Hunt. “Although business in Airdrie does not depend entirely on oil and gas, there is a lot of spin off and the royalties help all Albertans.”
The Airdrie Chamber of Commerce hosts a Lunch ‘N Learn every third Wednesday of each month. The next event will feature speaker MP Blake Richards on March 21.
For more information, visit www.airdriechamber.ab.ca or call 403-948-4412.
