Environmentalists, such as Elizabeth May of the Green Party, argue that investment into oilsands development should be instead be allocated to innovation in the clean-tech sector. May suggests that growth in the clean-tech sector helps to achieve both economic goals and environmental goals.
Canadian politicians have long supported the oilsands throughout its ups and downs, which has resulted in the recent Alberta budget crisis. The Redford Alberta government is expected to run a $4 billion deficit due to declining oil revenues.
May also points out that Canada’s policy response in the March 2012 budget was met with widespread skepticism. During this budget, the SR&ED program was overhauled – funding was taken away from the SR&ED program and made available for direct grants. The “picking of winners” by government has an empirically lousy record.
May believes that as long as Canada’s policies continue to stress the non-renewable resource sector, Canada will continue to under-perform globally in the commercialization of new research and development technologies. Canada needs to devise a strategy that (1) invests more in innovation, and (2) is decoupled from non-renewable resources via further investments in green energy technologies.
