@RussDiabo:
I was at the First Nations C-5 summit. Carney isn’t listening
@amirattaran.bsky.social:
Carney has royally pissed off Indigenous people.
He invited them to meet and offered to pay their travel to Ottawa. So they bought non-refundable tickets–only for him to renege and cancel their invitations!
Now they are out thousands, because he broke his promise.
I think the racist Harper Con Carney, did it on purpose. He’s nasty cruel douche fucker.
Bill C-5 revealing itself as a Trojan horse designed to appease Alberta’s fossil fuel interests, If Bill C-5 is to have any credibility in a climate-constrained world, it must confront the deeper issue: Alberta’s entrenched dependence on oil royalties by Johanne Whitmore and Francois Delorm, July 24, 2025, The Hill Times
Prime Minister Mark Carney is courting First Nations leaders to rally support for Bill C-5, a sweeping piece of legislation that fast-tracks federal approvals for so-called “nation-building projects” like pipelines, mines, and ports.
Framed as a tool for economic resilience amid trade tensions with the United States, the bill is rapidly revealing itself as a Trojan horse designed to appease Alberta’s fossil interests while sidelining climate boundaries set by science and Indigenous rights.
If Bill C-5 is to have any credibility in a climate-constrained world, it must confront the deeper issue: Alberta’s entrenched dependence on oil royalties.
The trap of oil royalties
Alberta’s public services are funded largely through oil and gas royalties, creating a fiscal dependency that distorts national policy. To maintain these revenues, the province must continually expand its fossil sector—locking Canada into a carbon-intensive economic model. In 2025, oil and gas revenues still account for nearly 28 per cent of Alberta’s budget meaning one in every four dollars spent on healthcare, education, and social services depends on a volatile global market.
Despite its wealth, Alberta often criticizes the equalization program, ignoring that its outsized contributions stem from fossil revenues and a lighter tax burden. Its top marginal income tax rate is just 15 per cent, compared to 20.5 per cent in B.C. and 25.75 per cent in Quebec. This structure makes Alberta’s public services highly vulnerable to energy price swings and undermines long-term fiscal stability.
Time to rewrite the rules
To appease Alberta, Carney has rolled back environmental policies, scrapping the carbon tax, reviving pipeline projects under legislative gag orders, and retreating from climate commitments. This shift contradicts his earlier calls for an economy guided by human values rather than market forces. For consistency, he should acknowledge the sacrifices Canadians have made over the past 25 years, notably by financing the $34-billion Trans Mountain pipeline, subsidizing carbon capture, and absorbing the costs of climate disasters.
It is now Alberta’s turn to show goodwill. Carney should stop conceding and instead make any new energy megaprojects conditional on economic diversification. This would break the province’s dependence on oil royalties and end the dynamic where Alberta holds the rest of Canada hostage in the fight against the climate crisis.
C-5: a step backward on democracy
Bill C-5 allows the federal government to override environmental laws and Indigenous rights in the name of “national interest.” It does not require decision-makers to consider a project’s climate impact before approval—a glaring omission as Canada faces escalating wildfires, floods, and heatwaves The bill’s rushed passage, with limited public consultation, has triggered widespread opposition. Indigenous leaders walked out of recent meetings with Carney, calling the process a “facade” and warning of legal challenges.
A vision for fiscal reform
Canada needs a new economic model—one that respects scientific limits and prioritizes the public good. That means reforming Alberta’s tax system to reduce dependence on volatile oil royalties and investing in clean energy, tech, and sustainable industries. Diversification isn’t just smart economics—it’s essential for long-term stability.
Public services must be funded equitably across Canada, regardless of a province’s resource wealth. Escaping fossil dependency—which distorts policy and forces science to serve outdated economic models—requires bold leadership and climate-aligned fiscal reform. Only then can Canada build a future-ready economy grounded in the biophysical limits defined by science—and not the reverse.
Johanne Whitmore is a senior researcher and chair in energy sector management at HEC Montréal. François Delorme is an associate professor in the department of economics at the school of management at the Université de Sherbrooke, and CEO of Delorme Lajoie Consulting Inc.
The Hill Times
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