Lost resource opportunities mean higher taxes – by Colin Craig (Toronto Sun – September 7, 2017)

http://www.torontosun.com/

But it’s not just the oil and gas sector that is constantly being obstructed.
Ontario’s “ring of fire” – an immense mining opportunity in northern Ontario
– has yet to ignite and the massive Site C hydro dam in B.C. is facing
opposition from the province’s new government. In 2016, the Financial Post
identified “35 projects worth $129 billion, that have been stalled or cancelled
due to opposition from environmental, aboriginal and/or community groups.”

Every Canadian should reflect on four words Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin recently shared at a conference in Banff. After describing how she had heard about several oil and gas companies cancelling their multi-billion dollar projects in Canada, Fallin quipped – “opportunity here, opportunity there.”

The inference was that she could approach those companies and try to convince them to invest in her flourishing oil and gas state. Fallin of course wants the thousands of jobs those companies would bring, the billions in tax revenues they would pay and all the other positive spinoff effects.

So why is Canada letting all those jobs, and the billions of tax dollars they would contribute, slip between our fingers?

Total provincial and federal government debt in Canada is closing in on $1.4 trillion. On top of that, governments in Canada will face a colossal financial challenge over the next couple of decades as our population ages. Simply put, waves of baby boomers are starting to require more costly health care procedures while the portion of our population in the work force shrinks.

If we continue to miss out on enormous resource projects, don’t be surprised to see a period of steady tax increases – governments will need to find the money somewhere.

For the rest of this column: http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/07/lost-resource-opportunities-mean-higher-taxes