A long-time consultant in the oil and gas industry says the audience was shocked and he was embarrassed to hear the words of federal cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan at the Oil and Gas Conference in St. John’s this week.
In his address, O’Regan admitted he was “disappointed to hear some of the partisan rhetoric coming out of this room” because he said they had done great work the past few years and that he felt the industry should be above partisan politics.
The federal government is taking a lot of heat for Bill C-69 which will take control of decision-making from the Public Utilities Board and possibly increase the amount of time it takes to make decisions on applications by oil companies.
O’Regan, who spoke by video, rubbed consultant Rob Strong the wrong way when he declared that he was speaking to a partisan audience. Strong says that if they weren’t partisan before, they sure as hell are now.
Strong says to hear O’Regan blame their woes on the former Harper administration is ridiculous.
He says the Liberals haven’t changed a thing up until now as you still need 900 days to get approval for an exploratory well. He also noted that the Liberals have been in power for almost four years.
Hear Rob Strong discuss O’Regan’s address and the Noia Conference with VOCM’s Paddy Daly here: