Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 23, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A6 Oil prices will rebound Re: Pipeline dreams (Letters, April 20) As an experienced oil and gas person who has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of pipelines being built, I take is- sue with the comments of Gerry Trudeau. He is factually incorrect in all respects. Canada does sell heavy oil in substantial amounts and today the price is very low. This is due to a combination of pipeline incapacity not allowing product to get to market, the Saudi/Rus- sian-caused glut and COVID-19 resulting in there being a 30 per cent drop in demand. In the late 1990s my company sold oil at $10 per barrel, a slide from $30 only months earlier. At the time I never thought I would ever see such devastation again. The price did rebound and touched $140 per barrel before the shale oil production in the U.S. caused a new glut and per- barrel prices dropped again to the mid-twenty- dollar range. In the last week, Western Canada Select (our heavy oil) was selling for as low as $2.85 per barrel, which is a loss, as the thinner added to the heavy oil costs approximately $4 per barrel. Mark my words: oil prices will rebound, and we will need the pipelines to get it to market. While the move away from gasoline to electric cars is not disputed, it will not have any effect on the market for our heavy oil. Gasoline is pro- duced from light oil. Conversely, Western Canada Select is a grade with a molecular makeup with greater numbers of carbon molecules. Heavy oil is the feedstock used for the manufacture of thou- sands of consumer products. The future for our oil at proper pricing is assured. What we need are pipelines. Trudeau is misguided when he states that the unstable permafrost in the North will make the terrain incapable of sustaining pipelines. I sug- gest that he look to Russia and the pipelines it has been using for decades to get its oil through Siberia to the market. Let First Nations participate in the ownership of the pipelines, in a financially responsible man- ner where they borrow and repay the invested capital just as oil and gas companies do. One hundred years from now, we will see our oil continue to be exported to markets and northern communities will have had the standard of living that they deserve during that time. Canada is believed to have the largest heavy oil reserves in the world and we need to get it to market. Be a proud Canadian. DONALD BENSON PRESIDENT, NORDIC GROUP OF COMPANIES Winnipeg Education cuts damaging Re: Critics fear long-term effects of Pallister order for staffi ng cuts at post-secondary facilities (April 20) Premier Brian Pallister: I'm learning that your government desires to cut funding to the operat- ing functioning of our universities by 10 to 30 per cent. And I think about the peeling veneers on our shabby but fully functioning environment at the University of Winnipeg, where I work, and the biohazard of the carpeting in my small noisy office. Now, from isolation, I talk to my students on the phone and by email, I edit their work on my laptop at home, I hear their anxieties about their rent, their lost part-time low-paying gigs, and their declining futures. As my free-floating pen- sion continues to dive in value, I read statements from financial institutions telling me to "stay the course," do not divest, do not panic. And I think about your government's intention to divest in a panic, to strip our education system. I'm confounded by an irrational betrayal by our provincial government. As we battle a virus, I learn that the Pallister government is at risk of becoming one. The Pallister reactions will attack what is most vital to our lives. It's disturbing that a political organization could be so terribly unwit- ting about what goes on between teachers and stu- dents in the strenuous, daily efforts of learning and progress. There is no reduced need for our services at the universities. Quite the opposite: students are pouring in, and they need our professional atten- tion more than ever. The precipitous actions against the education sector in this crisis reveal a government afraid and reactionary. Like populists, the Pallister government diverges from leadership to a bully- ing antipathy for its own citizens. If the province could borrow a slogan from any financial institu- tion and "stay the course," our shared investment in learning will gain in value. If not, the Pallister government simply bankrupts everyone, and certainly bankrupts our students. MARGARET SWEATMAN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPT. OF ENGLISH The University of Winnipeg To a hammer, everything can begin to look like a nail. To Premier Brian Pallister, who seems to be a saw, everything looks like a chance to cut. DAVID LETKEMANN Winnipeg Thanking them for their service I have ordered online and picked up my grocer- ies at both Superstore and Walmart in the last few weeks. At Walmart, the person who brought out the groceries and loaded them in my vehicle was not allowed to accept a tip. Not so at Superstore, where the person was ecstatic to get a tip after loading my groceries. Now, I understand a company like Walmart having a policy of no tipping under normal circumstances; however, these are not "normal circumstances." There is certainly an element of risk involved during this pandemic and I, for one, would like to recognize that with a tip for their work. Therefore, I would hope Walmart would sus- pend this rule for the duration of this pandemic. These people are likely being paid near minimum wage, and deserve our gratitude, and a nice way of expressing this gratitude is with a tip. JAMES THACKER Steinbach Many drugs in short supply Re: Government-sanctioned price gouging (April 16) I read the recent comments of Dr. Milton Te- nenbein with considerable dismay. In the middle of a pandemic, I do not think it is appropriate to attack front-line workers such as pharmacists when they are putting their lives on the line, ensuring that people are able to get their life-saving medications. A few weeks ago, a rationing program was wisely recommended by the Canadian Pharma- cists Association, not as a money grab as Dr. Tenenbein has portrayed it, but as an attempt to ensure that there was no hoarding of medications, and that everyone would have what they need when they need it. It is risible to infer that the tiny amount of extra money pharmacies would make is their motivation. In spite of his teaching position in the College of Medicine, he did not take the time to ascertain what is actually going on. Many drugs are in short supply. Hundreds of drugs were hard to get even before COVID-19 and now the distributors are rationing. This he should have known, or could have easily discovered if he had bothered to ask any community pharmacist. Instead, he launches an ill-considered and unfair attack. I have been in general practice for the last 40 years in an inner-city practice, and so I am very much on the front lines of this pandemic. The pharmacists who fill the scripts I write, that every doctor writes, are as much exposed as I am and I think are owed an apology from Dr. Tenenbein. DR. DIARMUID DECTER Brandon LETTERS AND FP COMMENTS WHAT'S YOUR TAKE? THE FREE PRESS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. The Free Press is committed to publishing a diverse selection of letters from a broad cross-section of our audience. The Free Press will also consider longer submissions for inclusion on our Think Tank page, which is a platform man- dated to present a wide range of perspectives on issues of current interest. We welcome our readers' feedback on articles and letters on these pages and in other sections of the Free Press ? Email: Letters: letters@freepress.mb.ca Think Tank submissions: opinion@freepress.mb.ca ? Post: Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, R2X 3B6 Please include your name, address and daytime phone number. ? Follow us on Twitter @WFPEditorials OUR VIEW YOUR SAY PERSPECTIVES EDITOR: BRAD OSWALD 204-697-7269 ? BRAD.OSWALD@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A6 THURSDAY APRIL 23, 2020 Pallister determined to do it his way O NE of the most crucial responsibilities of any government during a recession is to offset economic decline with stimulus spending. That usually means borrowing significant sums against future tax revenues, to be repaid when the economy improves. When three of the four components of gross domestic product - con- sumer spending, business investment and net exports - slump during a recession, it's critical for governments to step in with a robust spend- ing plan. Fiscal expansionism during economic downturns is a widely accepted policy prescrip- tion. It's proven to shorten periods of contraction and speed up economic recovery. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manitoba and the rest of the world are entering one of the worst economic downturns in modern history. As a result of strict physical-distancing measures, the economy is suffering from widespread job losses, business closures and the shuttering of not-for-profit organizations. Early economic forecasts are predicting the province's GDP could shrink by close to four per cent in 2020. Without significant government in- tervention, the long-term economic consequences could be catastrophic. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister doesn't ap- pear to subscribe to government-intervention policies during recessions. Rather than roll out a comprehensive stimulus package, Mr. Pal- lister has decided to do the opposite: he plans to implement new austerity measures. Instead of increasing government spending to boost ag- gregate demand and provincial GDP, the province is clawing back hours for public servants (and threatening layoffs) while imposing deep cuts to government-funded institutions. Mr. Pallister has already suspended some home care services - including bathing, laun- dry, cleaning and respite - which have callously been deemed "non-essential." He has announced plans to cut funding for post-secondary institu- tions, which could cripple academic programs and compromise the future education of students. He is also demanding other government agencies, including Crown corporations, reduce spending by as much as 30 per cent. Mr. Pallister says the moves are necessary to limit how much new borrowing the province is forced to take on. He says he doesn't want to saddle future generations with more debt than necessary. As it is, the province is projecting to borrow an estimated $5 billion more than planned this year in response to the pandemic. What the premier fails to consider, though, is his measures will result in further economic con- traction. Reduced government spending, especial- ly during an extreme recessionary period such as this one, will reduce economic output. A drop in consumer spending, business investment and net exports - coupled with declining government spending - is a toxic cocktail that could result in years of economic damage. It could cause a complete collapse of the economy. Under that scenario, income tax, corpo- rate tax and consumption tax revenues would fall further, causing more damage to government's bottom line. That's the other, more dire, side of the equation Mr. Pallister is ignoring. To its credit, Ottawa has stepped up with much-needed fiscal stimulus. Not only has the federal government rejected spending cuts, it has introduced several wage- and business-subsidy programs to limit economic decline. The province this week finally announced some modest relief for business, including a loan program (some of which may be forgivable) and by contributing to Ottawa's commercial rent assistance pro- gram. But that will hardly make up for the deep spending cuts this province is planning. Federal intervention alone is not enough to avert economic disaster in Manitoba. The provin- cial government must step up with an aggressive stimulus plan. Failure to do so could have incalcu- lable consequences. EDITORIAL MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister Published since 1872 on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the M�tis A_06_Apr-23-20_FP_01.indd A6 2020-04-22 10:57 PM ;