Alison Redford says U.S. and Canada should use status as an energy powerhouse to do good across the globe

Canada and the United States must use their future petroleum independence to "tilt" the balance of power in the world in "new and unexpected ways," says Alberta Premier Alison Redford.

Speaking at an international defence and security forum in Halifax on Saturday, Redford took issue with suggestions that North America's rising energy production capacity could lead Canada - and especially the U.S. - to disengage from parts of the? world, such as the Middle East, if it no longer depends on foreign oil imports in the coming decades.

Redford said a better choice would be for North America to use its burgeoning energy supplies, and its coming status as an energy powerhouse, as a force for good on a volatile planet, by exporting both energy, and democratic values, to foreign markets.

"We've never been shy about standing up for our ideals in many forums in many ways, whether it's human rights, social justice or democracy," she said. "And energy can help to serve those ends.

"But there will always be the temptation to choose the opposite course. North American energy independence could lead, and some may fear, could lead North America to turn inwards, away from the demands and conflicts of a turbulent world.

"I will tell you that from the perspective of Albertans, we are looking outwards. We are building bridges. We want to open new markets, particularly to Asia."

Redford was participating in a panel discussion on North America's future energy independence, held at the annual Halifax International Security Forum, a gathering of political, military and policy experts.

The discussion was prompted in part by a report last week from the International Energy Agency that predicted the U.S. is set to become the largest oil-producing nation on the planet, producing more than even Saudi Arabia - one day making foreign oil imports into North America redundant.

Future U.S. oil independence is expected to be driven by the development of massive shale oil and gas supplies in North Dakota, Texas and elsewhere - energy reserves once locked deep into underground rock formations, that are now accessible due to new drilling technologies.

If true, the prediction could threaten important existing U.S. markets for Albertan oil, threatening the industry in the oilsands and driving down Alberta's oil revenues.

Finding and securing new, non-U.S. markets for Alberta oil - whether overseas, or in other Canadian provinces - therefore makes sense for Redford from an economic point of view.

But she also said it makes sense from a social, political and human rights perspective for both Canada, and the U.S., to use their new energy power and influence for the advancement of North American ideals.

"As producers, and not just consumers of energy here in North America, we can reassess the global balance of power, and I believe tilt it in new and unexpected ways.

"Over the next two decades, world energy demand is expected to grow by one-third or more," said Redford. "The number of cars on the roads will double, and the United Nations has set 2030 as the goal date for providing universal energy access to the billions that currently live without it.

"More than ever, energy will be a precious resource with stark strategic implications."

Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F233/~3/Rw-gZcNmZAU/story.html

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