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Energy

GOP governors announce plan to ‘unleash American energy’

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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry

From The Center Square

“The reason that inflation is out of control is because of the federal government. If the federal government took its foot off of the neck of American energy, we could absolutely lower the cost of everyday goods.”

Republican governors on Monday announced a plan to “unleash American energy.” They also called on President Joe Biden to protect U.S. energy security after they say his administration has taken more than 200 actions against the oil and natural gas industry.

The governors unveiled their plan in front of a the PBF Energy Chalmette Refinery on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, led by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.

“American energy has done more than any other industry to lift more people out of poverty globally than any other industry that I’ve known of,” Landry said.

He said governors know the needs of Americans more than anyone else.

“What we hear from our constituents is that inflation is eating into the pockets of Americans. One of the greatest drivers of that inflation is energy,” Landry said. “The reason that inflation is out of control is because of the federal government. If the federal government took its foot off of the neck of American energy, we could absolutely lower the cost of everyday goods.”

The Louisiana governor listed actions the president took “attacking the industry” from his first day in office, including pausing new oil and gas leases, cancelling the Keystone XL pipeline, prioritizing foreign energy over domestic energy, and releasing agency “rules and regulations at a neck-breaking speed,” that hurt Americans’ pocket books and prioritize “government regulations over free market solutions.”

Joining Landry were governors Mike Dunleavy of Alaska, Brian Kemp of Georgia, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.

“Americans are paying 40% more every time they fill up their gas tanks and Republican governors believe one of the best ways to help Americans with all these rising costs is to support an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to American energy production,” Stitt said, similar to those being implemented in Republican-led states.

“Oklahoma has some of the most affordable reliable energy in the entire country,” he said, because of its “all-of-the-above approach.” Oklahoma is the 6th-largest producer of crude oil and natural gas, the third-largest producer of wind-generated electricity, has among the lowest electricity prices for commercial and industrial consumers, and reduced its electricity generation carbon intensity by 61% over the last two decades, he said.

Stitt cited examples of the president’s “regulatory war on American energy,” including another new EPA emission rule over which 25 attorneys general sued.

“When you’re a governor, you’re working for everybody,” Burgum said, including Republicans, independents and Democrats. “Right now, we’ve got so many Americans that are struggling to put gas in their tank and food on the table.” The governors are “fighting for every American who’s having to pay more than they should,” he said, because of Biden administration policies under the guise of “a big lie that says, ‘if we do all this it’s going to be good for the environment.’”

The U.S. is producing roughly 13 million barrels of oil a day but could be producing “15, 16, 18, 20 million barrels a day,” he said. “That would be not just energy independence, that would be energy dominance. We’d be selling that to our allies instead of our allies having to buy from our enemies,” which is what happened, he said.

The governors are part of a 21-governor coalition who called on the president to pursue “an all-of-the-above energy approach that will promote homegrown energy” instead of pursuing policies that benefit China.

Their solutions include ending regulatory overreach that restricts domestic energy production, including reversing policies on the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines; increasing onshore and offshore lease sales for all forms of energy production, including in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; expediting approval of federal drilling permits; removing the pause on LNG exports; reversing EPA rules; working with Congress to enact comprehensive permitting reform, among others.

Alberta

Alberta calling for federal election! Premier Smith demands feds scrap dangerous oil and gas production caps

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Premier Danielle Smith, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz and Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean issued the following statement on the proposed federal oil and gas production cap:

“This production cap will hurt families, hurt businesses and hurt Canada’s economy. We will defend our province, our country and our Constitutional rights.

“Make no mistake, this cap violates Canada’s constitution. Section 92A clearly gives provinces exclusive jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development yet this cap will require a one million barrel a day production cut by 2030.

“The evidence is overwhelming. Three reports from reputable firms have shown that these regulations will sucker-punch Canada’s economy, a million barrels cut every day according to S&P Global, $28 billion a year in lost GDP according to Deloitte, and up to 150,000 lost jobs according to the Conference Board of Canada.

“The losses to GDP mean billions a year will disappear from the economy. Billions that won’t be going towards new schools, hospitals and roads, all for a reckless ideological scheme that will not reduce global emissions.

“Ultimately, this cap will lead Alberta and our country into economic and societal decline. The average Canadian family would be left with up to $419 less for groceries, mortgage payments and utilities every month. Canadian parents and workers will suffer while Justin Trudeau outsources the duty to provide safe, affordable, reliable and responsibly produced oil and gas to dictators and less clean producers around the world. We could be the solution. Instead, Ottawa would rather sacrifice our ability to lead.

“Tweaks won’t work. This cap must be scrapped. Alberta’s government is actively exploring the use of every legal option, including a constitutional challenge and the use of the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act. We will not stand idly by while the federal government sacrifices our prosperity, our constitution and our quality of life for its extreme agenda.”

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Business

Premiers fight to lower gas taxes as Trudeau hikes pump costs

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From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

By Jay Goldberg 

Thirty-nine hundred dollars – that’s how much the typical two-car Ontario family is spending on gas taxes at the pump this year.

You read that right. That’s not the overall fuel bill. That’s just taxes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau keeps increasing your gas bill, while Premier Doug Ford is lowering it.

Ford’s latest gas tax cut extension is music to taxpayers’ ears. Ford’s 6.4 cent per litre gas tax cut, temporarily introduced in July 2022, is here to stay until at least next June.

Because of the cut, a two-car family has saved more than $1,000 so far. And that’s welcome news for Ontario taxpayers, because Trudeau is planning yet another carbon tax hike next April.

Trudeau has raised the overall tax burden at the pumps every April for the past five years. Next spring, he plans to raise gas taxes by another three cents per litre, bringing the overall gas tax burden for Ontarians to almost 60 cents per litre.

While Trudeau keeps hiking costs for taxpayers at the pumps, premiers of all stripes have been stepping up to the plate to blunt the impact of his punitive carbon tax.

Obviously, Ford has stepped up to the plate and has lowered gas taxes. But he’s not alone.

In Manitoba, NDP Premier Wab Kinew fully suspended the province’s 14 cent per litre gas tax for a year. And in Newfoundland, Liberal Premier Andrew Furey cut the gas tax by 8.05 cents per litre for nearly two-and-a-half years.

It’s a tale of two approaches: the Trudeau government keeps making life more expensive at the pumps, while premiers of all stripes are fighting to get costs down.

Families still have to get to work, get the kids to school and make it to hockey practice. And they can’t afford increasingly high gas taxes. Common sense premiers seem to get it, while Ottawa has its head in the clouds.

When Ford announced his gas tax cut extension, he took aim at the Liberal carbon tax mandated by the Trudeau government in Ottawa.

Ford noted the carbon tax is set to rise to 20.9 cents per litre next April, “bumping up the cost of everything once again and it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Our government will always fight against it,” Ford said.

But there’s some good news for taxpayers: reprieve may be on the horizon.

Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s promises to axe the carbon tax as soon as he takes office.

With a federal election scheduled for next fall, the federal carbon tax’s days may very well be numbered.

Scrapping the carbon tax would make a huge difference in the lives of everyday Canadians.

Right now, the carbon tax costs 17.6 cents per litre. For a family filling up two cars once a week, that’s nearly $24 a week in carbon taxes at the pump.

Scrapping the carbon tax could save families more than $1,200 a year at the pumps. Plus, there would be savings on the cost of home heating, food, and virtually everything else.

While the Trudeau government likes to argue that the carbon tax rebates make up for all these additional costs, the Parliamentary Budget Officer says it’s not so.

The PBO has shown that the typical Ontario family will lose nearly $400 this year due to the carbon tax, even after the rebates.

That’s why premiers like Ford, Kinew and Furey have stepped up to the plate.

Canadians pay far too much at the pumps in taxes. While Trudeau hikes the carbon tax year after year, provincial leaders like Ford are keeping costs down and delivering meaningful relief for struggling families.

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