September | 2020
UPCOMING EVENTS ADVOCACY CORNER NEWS UPDATES
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| ADVOCACY CORNER
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MISSION CIPMA’s mission is to ensure the sustainability and growth of a healthy and viable independent fuel marketing and distribution sector at both the wholesale and retail levels in Canada. Our specific goals include: Ensuring that independent fuel marketers thrive and have the opportunity to earn a fair and reasonable return that is proportionate to their business risk and capital investment, and ensuring that Canadian consumers and independent fuel marketers have access to a competitively priced and readily available supply of fuel products in all regions of the country.
UPCOMING EVENTS CIPMA CONNECTION | 2020-2021 EVENTS
VIRTUAL FALL CONFERENCE October 21, 2020
CANADIAN FUEL MARKETING CONFERENCE April 19 – 21, 2021 Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal
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ADVOCACY CORNER The Advocacy Corner will be featured in the newsletter on a bi-monthly basis. We will continue to monitor and track all policy related issues that matter to you, our members, in the lead up to and post the federal election.
TRUDEAU PITCHES HIS NDP BACKED PANDEMIC RECOVERY PLAN AS THE BLOCK SEEKS CONDITIONS AND THE CPC DENY THEIR SUPPORT By: Michelle Coates Director, Strategy, Public Affairs and Government Relations, Syntax Strategic Throne Speeches, often dubbed “political word salads” by tongue and cheek journalists and pundits alike, are always grandiose in messaging, light on specifics and peppered with recycled policy commitments. The Trudeau government’s Speech from the Throne was no exception. While Canadians won’t have a full accounting of commitments until a fall fiscal update is introduced, the Throne Speech
provided a clear narrative on the direction this government is heading and the priorities it has set. A month ago, newly appointed Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland was toting the need for a “Green Recovery” strategy. While we can expect that will continue to be this government’s guiding bellwether, the Trudeau government wisely made fighting COVID-19 and saving lives the number one priority of its “Four Foundations” approach to managing Canada’s response to the global pandemic. But once you break down the sub-headers, the Throne Speech boils down to two primary themes – pandemic response and green recovery. The Highlights The Pandemic Response Plan: Captured in the governments guiding foundations are immediate actions to tackle the pandemic including extending the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to summer 2021; replacing the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) with the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB); increasing COVID testing capacity; and procuring a range of vaccine options and mass amounts of additional PPE. In addition to these immediate measures, the Trudeau government revealed a treasure chest of goodies to help Canadians “build back better”. Features include a panCanadian early learning and childcare system; national Pharmacare; universal broadband connectivity; and a lofty
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commitment to create one million new jobs. For small and medium sized businesses directly impacted by the pandemic, the Throne Speech signaled further financial relief. The Trudeau government has committed to expanding the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA); improving the Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP); eliminating barriers to interprovincial trade; and introducing free, automatic tax filing for simple returns. The Green Recovery Plan: While the focus of the speech was managing the fight against COVID, Trudeau and his team recognize his base is expecting his government to deliver on its climate change commitments lest Canada be left behind in the postpandemic era. With that, the Throne Speech laid out the Trudeau governments “resiliency agenda for the middle class” which outlined a few quintessential, but unsurprising policy points that will have direct impacts for the energy and natural resource sectors. The Trudeau government is doubling down on its commitment to proceed with an influx of investments in renewable energy and next-generation clean energy solutions. In particular, the government has committed to massive subsidies to spur Zero Emission Vehicle manufacturing and charging infrastructure capacity. As an additional incentive, the government will cut corporate tax rates in half for companies who make investments in zeroemissions products. The speech contains a not so subtle plea to the energy sector, that Canada “cannot reach net zero without [its] know-how” and promises to support manufacturing, natural and energy sectors as they work to “transform to meet a net zero future”, while giving kudos to farmers as they work to reduce their carbon footprints. The Election Plan: So, will the Throne Speech trigger a fall election? Unlikely. With nary a mention of oil and gas or a nod to western alienation in the speech, the Conservative Party is fired up and denying its support for the Throne Speech. The Bloc was quick to counter Trudeau’s approach with a list of demands including increasing health care funding while opposing the government’s proposal for national standards for long-term care. But Trudeau only needs support from one party. Within a day of the Throne Speech, Singh secured a major win for the NDP, as the Liberals agreed to their demand to increase the CRB from $400 to $500 per week. While debate on the Throne Speech continues in the house of
commons, the NDPs endorsement is likely, thwarting a vote of non-confidence which would otherwise trigger a snap fall election. The Liberal party's concession to the NDP signals they aren’t looking for an election… yet. In a minority context, there is nothing stopping Trudeau from engineering an election in the form of a mini-budget when it’s convenient for his government. This is where the game of political risk gets complex. The Liberals are polling well across Canada and with the WE controversy quite strategically pushed into the background, some pundits argue if there were ever a time for Trudeau to trigger an election – now would be it. But it’s a dodgy strategy to rush to an election based on polling numbers at a time like this. As COVID cases continue to creep upward, Trudeau needs to proceed with caution. If he initiates an election too soon, Canadians might just be annoyed enough to give him the boot. Meanwhile the Conservative Party, under the new leadership of Erin O’Toole, are chomping at the bit for a reason to take down the Trudeau government but they too must proceed with caution. They need time to sort out their vote getting policy initiatives not to mention introduce Mr. O’Toole to Canadians. His team will work hard to distinguish Mr. O’Toole as the more thoughtful, ethical, and empathetic alternative to a Prime Minister who continues to be mired in optics controversies of his government’s own making. The Bloc are equally eager to take Trudeau to task as they continue to maintain momentum of electoral support much to Trudeau and O’Toole’s chagrin. Meanwhile Singh and the NDP are nowhere near ready for an election. Their coffers have been cleaned out. They will talk the big talk over the next few months, but they are unlikely to vote non-confidence unless there’s a really compelling reason (namely an uptick in their polling) to do so. The pandemic will play a central role in Trudeau’s political strategy. He’s betting big that his expensive plan will secure him a majority win, when the time is right. So, while the odds are increasingly against a fall election, make no mistake, the campaign to lead the country postpandemic has already begun and Canadians can expect to be back at the polls by spring 2021. Michelle Coates is an experienced leader in public affairs, specializing in government and stakeholder relations, communications strategy development and advocacy outreach. As a government relations representative for CIPMA, Michelle represents the views and interests of independent Canadian fuel marketers across the country, providing timely and pertinent advice and analysis on Federal and Provincial regulations impacting the oil and gas industry.
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NEWS UPDATES Please note that all orange text in the following section is hyperlinked. If viewing electronically, you can click to read full articles.
GLOBAL
THE DRILLDOWN: TRUMP’S OIL AND GAS AGENDA FACES TOUGH FIGHT IN COURTS The Trump administration is again being rebuked for failing to protect the environment and address climate change through a recent appeals-court ruling that refused to revive a permitting program for oil and gas pipelines. This article also includes national and international gas and oil industry updates. OIL DEMAND TO SHRINK AS VIRUS RETURNS, WARNS INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY A resurgence in coronavirus cases and lockdowns has prompted the International Energy Agency to reduce its forecasts for oil demand this year. The Paris-based agency said that it now expected a demand of 91.7 million barrels a day this year, a drop of 8.4 million daily barrels to a low not reached since 2013. IEA CALLS FOR ‘DRAMATIC’ SCALING UP OF CLEAN ENERGY TECH TO MEET CLIMATE GOALS A “dramatic” scaling up of clean energy technologies will be required if the world is to reach its climate and energy goals, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). In a report published on September 10, the Paris-based body said that while calls to cut greenhouse gas emissions were “growing louder every year,” emissions were still at levels it described as being “unsustainably high.” Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association | Connection 2020 |
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UNITED STATES TRUMP APPROVES ALBERTA-ALASKA RAIL LINE PROJECT; LINE WOULD MOVE OIL, OTHER RESOURCES U.S. President Donald Trump announced on September 25 that he was issuing a presidential permit for the A2A Cross-Border Rail project. The project — which would see a 2,570-kilometre rail track running from near Anchorage, Alaska, through Yukon and the Northwest Territories into northern Alberta — will cost about C$22 billion. BIG OIL’S GREEN MAKEOVER BP, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, is aiming to ride the waves of disruption instead of being crushed under them. Led by a new chief executive, BP is trying to reinvent itself as an energy company in the age of climate change. The company is shrinking its oil and gas business, revving up offshore wind power, and developing solar and battery storage. It is even considering installing electric car charging kiosks at its gas stations, part of a drive to eliminate or offset its carbon emissions to a net zero level by 2050.
NATIONAL THE DRILLDOWN: ALBERTA PREMIER JASON KENNEY TRASHES THRONE SPEECH Among those frustrated with the September 23 throne speech are the Alberta government and Canada’s oil and gas industry, after the province and the struggling sector were only briefly mentioned in Gov. Gen. Julie Payette’s agenda-setting address. “Alberta is disappointed that, instead of listening to Canada’s provinces, the federal government doubled down on policies that will kill jobs, make Canada poorer, and weaken national unity,” Premier Jason Kenney said on September 23. CHRIS HALL: THERE'S NO PATH TO NET-ZERO WITHOUT NUCLEAR POWER, SAYS O'REGAN Minister of Natural Resources Seamus O'Regan says Canadians have to be open to the idea of more nuclear power generation if this country is to meet the carbon emissions reduction targets it agreed to five years ago in Paris.
ALBERTA OIL SHIPPED THROUGH PANAMA CANAL TO ATLANTIC CANADA TO AVERT COVID-19 THREAT TO ENERGY SUPPLY For most of the Irving Oil’s Saint John refinery’s 50 years of operation, it has relied on crude oil from sources outside Canada, including Saudi Arabia, the United States, Norway, and Nigeria, to meet most of its demand. In 2019, about 80 per cent came from non-Canadian sources, with the remainder from offshore Newfoundland and Labrador by tanker and Western Canada by rail. Any event — such as a COVID-19 outbreak in any of these oil-supplying countries — that disrupts the flow of crude oil to the refinery threatens the energy security of most people in Atlantic Canada. THE OIL SANDS AREN’T DYING – AND CANADA STILL NEEDS THEM TO THRIVE Back in May, when the federal government published its guidance on which sectors would be deemed “critical infrastructure” during the COVID-19 pandemic, energy and utilities topped its list of 10 vital functions. This acknowledgment made perfect sense. Without refineries, pipelines, terminals, road and rail transport, control rooms and centres, drilling, extraction, onshore and offshore production, processing, gas stations, truck stops and chemical manufacturing – to name just some of the activities singled out as essential – life as we live it today would simply not be possible. NATURAL RESOURCES CANADA INVESTS IN CLAY ANALYSIS PROJECT Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) awarded $1.6 million on September 17 to the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) under its Clean Growth Program to develop a technology to analyze clay content in oil sands and mine tailings. THE OIL SANDS HAVE A FUTURE, AND IT INCLUDES POLLUTER PAYS A central tenet of industrial development is the polluter-pays principle: Those who profit must pay for the mess generated by pulling resources from the ground or turning raw materials into goods. If you want to own the upside, you’ve got to own the downside.
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DOVER FUELING SOLUTIONS LAUNCHES DMP PROBE
KENNEY UNCONCERNED WITH OPEC DEMAND DROP, SAYS ‘REAL WORLD’ NEEDS OIL AND GAS
Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS), a part of Dover Corporation that delivers advanced fuel dispensing equipment, electronic systems and payment, fleet systems, automatic tank gauging, and wetstock management, is proud to announce the launch of a brand-new addition to its family of fuel management products: the DFS DMP Probe. This global solution – and the only probe from DFS that can be purchased, installed, and used anywhere in the world – is set to revolutionize fuel management for fuel retailers.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney isn’t concerned after OPEC cut oil demand forecasts and BP said it expects oil demand to peak in the 2020s. In fact, he says BP is echoing what his government has also said. “There will be a huge demand for oil and gas well into the future,” he said during a news conference on September 16.
WESTERN REGION TRUCKING INDUSTRY LOOKS TO DIGITIZE TDG SHIPPING DOCUMENTS FOR SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY The world has seen dramatic changes in the last decade through the digitization of almost every aspect of our lives. These transformations have shaped the way we do business and created efficiencies in that we now consider to be the norm. The trucking industry has seen significant digital transformation in recent years with the increasing adoption of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) as a replacement for paper logs. Initially adopted to help regulate driver hours of service, the ELD platform is now being leveraged to achieve new kinds of supply chain productivity benefits. ALBERTA PREMIER SAYS CROSS-COUNTRY ENERGY EAST PIPELINE REMAINS A POSSIBILITY Alberta's premier says new federal Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole was just stating the obvious when he indicated the Energy East pipeline project was "not on the table" in a conversation with the premier of Québec. INDIGENOUS-OWNED COMPANY SUPPLIES 250,000 MASKS TO OIL INDUSTRY AMID COVID-19 Major players in Alberta’s oil and gas industry looking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have tasked a First Nation-owned company with supplying hundreds of thousands of masks. Goodfish Lake Business Corporation, run by Whitefish Lake First Nation, has been producing work coveralls and offering dry-cleaning services in Alberta for more than 40 years. Making masks in a pandemic wasn’t part of the plan.
ONTARIO / QUÉBEC REGION COURT RULES ONTARIO GOVERNMENT’S LAW ON FEDERAL CARBON TAX STICKERS UNCONSTITUTIONAL Ontario’s Superior court has ruled the Ford government’s law on requiring carbon tax stickers at all provincial gas stations is unconstitutional. “A government or political party can, in the words of Ontario’s minister of energy, ‘stick it to’ another tier of government or political party as a matter of free speech in an election campaign or otherwise,” Justice Edward M. Morgan wrote in a decision that was shared by the plaintiff in the case, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), on September 4. O’TOOLE’S GOAL TO ‘TRIPLE’ CONSERVATIVE STRENGTH IN QUÉBEC BUILT ON PROMISES OF AUTONOMY Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole emerged from “a great first meeting” with Québec Premier François Legault on September 14 to say he aims to “double and triple” his party’s Québec caucus in the next federal election.
ATLANTIC REGION FEDERAL APPROVAL OF NEW BRUNSWICK CARBON TAX FOR HEAVY EMITTERS COMES WITH WARNING New Brunswick's carbon price on heavy industry has won federal approval, but that approval comes with a warning that the decision is just a truce, not a lasting peace in the federal-provincial battle over climate policy. N.L. SAYS NO DEAL TO HUSKY'S REQUEST FOR A 'TREMENDOUS' AMOUNT OF MONEY Newfoundland and Labrador's finance minister says there is no way the government can prop up an oil company threatening to pull the plug on a $2.2-billion project. Canadian Independent Petroleum Marketers Association | Connection 2020 |
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VIRTUAL FALL CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2020
Join us on Wednesday, October 21 for our first-ever virtual conference! Hear from industry experts on what the future holds, and how, as a sector, we prepare for 2020 and beyond. Deadline to register is October 10.
More info: www.cipma.org/events
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Get to know companies and leaders from Canada’s gasoline and convenience sector in the new monthly podcast Pump Chats. Hear from industry analysts on what’s next for the industry, how it's weathering COVID-19, and its evolution to a cleaner, more sustainable tomorrow.
NOW AVAILABLE EPISODE 1 Jessica Friesen CEO, Gales Gas Bars
Wewant wanttotoshare sharethe thesuccesses successesofofour ourmembers. Members. We members. youwant wanttotofeature featureyour yourcompany’s company's IfIfyou company’srecent recent achievements,updates, updates,ororsimply simplywant wanttotobe be achievements, featured,please pleasereach reachout JenniferStewart Stewartatat featured, outtotoJennifer jstewart@cipma.org jstewart@cipma.org
Jennifer Stewart, President and CEO jstewart@cipma.org | Cell: 613.915.5699 MAILING ADDRESS | 3-1750 The Queensway, Suite 115 - Toronto, ON., M9C 5H5
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