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by Deidra Garyk
Imagine that you work for or invest in an oil, natural gas, or coal company. Now, imagine that your government is going to use legislation to limit your career advancement opportunities by banning you from sitting on a board for a Canadian incorporated company. If you are lucky enough to somehow pass the test and get rewarded with a board position, imagine that you and your fellow board members must make decisions based on equity and the best available science to meet your company’s climate commitments, and that you must give the alignment of climate commitments priority over all other priorities, other than duties under the Income Tax Act.
Imagine that this same legislation requires all Crown corporations and financial institutions to have at all times one board member who is a person with climate expertise.
Maybe advancing your career is the least of your concerns because this same legislation forbids financial institutions and insurance companies from providing products and services – loans, bank accounts, insurance, etc. – to oil, natural gas, and coal companies. The lack of access to capital and insurance means you are barely hanging onto the job you need to pay your bills.
You are probably thinking this is so outlandish that it is laughable. You may also think that no sane, rational legislator would ever propose something this ridiculous. But you would be wrong.
Senator Rosa Galvez has introduced private member’s Bill S-243, An Act to enact the Climate-Aligned Finance Act and to make related amendments to other Acts, which passed second reading in the Senate. You can read the full Bill here.
It has not been thrown out, even though, at the risk of being unparliamentary, this Bill is WACKO. You may argue that private members’ bills have a low likelihood of success, but that is irrelevant. It is the intent that matters. The legislators and climate alarmists know that if you control the money, you control the behaviour.
Targeting hydrocarbons and the people who work to produce these necessary products has become normalized. Recall NDP MP Charlie Angus’ foolish, discriminatory private member’s bill to criminalize positive comments about oil and gas. Similarly, Senator Galvez’s Bill S-243 should also be derided and discarded.
For years, the great “saviour” and on-again-off-again leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, has been sanctimoniously telling us oil and gas “deplorables” what is best for us. She has been on the forefront of trying to forcibly transition oil and gas workers out of our jobs to save the planet.
As the late Rex Murphy so eloquently asked in his 2019 article, did Ms. May ever consult with any oil and gas worker about what they want?
Of course not. She does not have to because she is morally righteous, in her own mind. Elizabeth May does not represent me and never will. She turned the Green Party into a congregation of (real) racists and eco-terrorists.
While it may seem galling to have elected and appointed members of our government overtly target workers in a particular industry, Galvez, Angus, May, and the like do it because they think no one will notice. In fairness, Canadians have become frustratingly apathetic. However, even when we notice, they do not fear repercussions. They do not feel shame. Outrageous climate-related bills and policies have become acceptable, and even lauded by eco-politicians’ donors. Targeting natural resource development, and by extension its workers, gets applauded.
Financing hydrocarbon production has become so verboten that the heads of Canada’s five largest banks – private businesses – have been summoned to the House of Commons environment committee to talk about the climate impacts of the financial system. In other words, it will be a finger waging about the banks’ funding of fossil fuel projects.
Recently, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilievre, wrote an attention-grabbing op-ed in the National Post encouraging businesses to fire their corporate lobbyists and instead persuade the people.
Whether you decide if you will vote for Pierre Poilievre or not in the next election, he is correct. The administrative state is controlling behaviours, with very few controls in place to keep them in check. Things are being run by unelected agencies and bodies influenced by political operatives, unions – who no longer represent the working people – and sometimes foreign influencers. (Do not believe me about foreign interference? Investigative journalism is available at The Bureau. Check it out.) Politics is not being played by the people for the people, and elections are not won by voter engagement alone.
This does not mean it is hopeless. Individuals have a role to play by speaking truth to hold leaders and lawmakers to account.
About Deidra Garyk
Deidra Garyk has been working in the Canadian energy industry for 20 years. She is currently the Manager, ESG & Sustainability at an oilfield services company. Prior to that, she worked in roles of varying seniority at exploration and production companies in joint venture contracts where she was responsible for working collaboratively with stakeholders to negotiate access to pipelines, compressors, plants, and batteries.
Outside of her professional commitments, Deidra is an energy advocate and thought leader who researches, writes, and speaks about energy policy and advocacy to promote balanced, honest, fact-based conversations.
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