A coalition of energy associations is hopeful Ottawa and the provincial governments will take seriously the need for a national framework on energy issues, even though a recent meeting of energy ministers offered few concrete actions.

Michael Cleland, chairman of the Energy Dialogue Group (EDG) - a collection of 18 energy producers and distributors from across Canada - says while nothing tangible emerged from last week's Council of Energy Ministers meeting in New Brunswick, he is encouraged that governments are finally recognizing a national policy is needed to "break some logjams on energy-supply issues" - in particular, streamlining regulations.

"Let's just say (the EDG message) was much more front and centre, and there was much more awareness of the pressures we have to come to grips with," says Cleland, who is also president of the Canadian Gas Association. "(Energy ministers have) come to the realization that we really do have a crunch right across the board on energy supply, tight markets wherever you go, and probably moving into a new price environment that we're going to have to get used to."

In a prepared statement, the ministers called for "a renewed commitment to work collaboratively to ensure continued prosperity from Canada's energy resources," and agreed to "work together to enhance the security, reliability and sustainability of Canada's energy systems."

Pierre Alvarez

The EDG message - drafted this summer and delivered to the ministers last week - seeks a national energy framework that clearly defines energy policies and the integration of energy supply, environmental goals and research and development, without which it says Canada is destined to face "a volatile energy future."

Cleland says reluctance to adopt a national framework has been twofold: First, provinces "tend to get their knickers in just a little bit of a twist" when Ottawa raises the issue of resource ownership; and second, people fear a repeat of the National Energy Program (NEP) of the 1980s, which devastated Canada's oil and gas sector.

"We all know (the NEP) is past, it's a different world. So why not have the federal government come out and say what it thinks on an energy policy? And if they do that, it should in fact be reassuring for the provinces for the most part," he says. "That's Step 1. Step 2, then, is the signal from governments that developing energy resources is a big priority for us."

Cleland says the federal government is close to coming forward with "something and what we know tells us it should be reassuring; it should help to put some of the old bogeyman (the NEP) back in the closet forever."

He adds that he was heartened by remarks made by Prime Minister Paul Martin during a speech delivered in Quebec last week, in which the PM acknowledged Canada's potential to become a world energy power.

"In an insecure world, short on energy, short on commodities and becoming more so as China, India and others multiply global demand, Canada's energy and mineral endowment is one of our greatest comparative advantages," Martin said. "That's why, as well, we need to join forces with the provinces, territories and others to facilitate the development of our energy resources."

The EDG will continue to lobby decision-makers in Ottawa and other centres of power across Canada until something concrete is placed on the table - within a few months, it hopes.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), also a member of the EDG, says that although the steps made last week were small, it believes governments from across the country are moving in the right direction.

"We didn't expect big things in the short term," says CAPP president Pierre Alvarez. "This is about making sure governments understand what's going on in the marketplace, that we don't get any inappropriate government response, such as stepping into the marketplace."

Among the issues Alvarez hammered home when presenting to energy ministers were: Designing a "smart regulation" system to make regulatory processes more efficient to bring on new areas of supply; human resource issues; making research and development a priority; and efforts to ensure Canada achieves energy efficiency.

"We told them that ... price run-ups will happen when you get periods of instability, but over the longer term there are issues the government can do something about," Alvarez says.

Large energy consumers, meanwhile, echoed many of the same concerns as the producers and also called for an energy policy to ensure the long-term viability of their operations in Canada.

The Coalition of Industrial Energy Consumers - an affiliation of various industrial manufacturing associations from across the country - told the minister that preliminary results from a recent coalition survey of major industrial energy consumers show high energy costs are a factor for a significant number of companies rethinking future investments in Canada.

Roger Larson, president of the Canadian Fertilizer Institute and the coalition member who addressed the meeting, says secure and affordable energy supplies are vital if Canada's industrial end-users hope to keep up with competitors from around the globe.

In the fertilizer industry, he adds, companies have invested billions of dollars and are looking for long-term solutions that will ensure they have a supply of feedstock - largely natural gas - and energy that will allow them to compete.

It's a similar story with other industrial energy users.

"In all cases, if you look at the longer term, five to 10 years, we need access to energy something comparable to what our global competitors have," says Larson. "Our competition is not U.S. companies, our competition is other players from around the world ... My own industry has made significant investments in Trinidad, in Venezuela, in Argentina, and the question is, are we going to export to the United States from those countries or from Canada?"

(John Ludwick can be reached at ludwick@businessedge.ca)