Journal Staff
Should senior government be leaning on the petrochemical industry to refine more of the nation’s oil in Canada?
That question lies at the heart of The Big Debate, a two-day conference coming to Sarnia on May 5-6.
Moderated by Jeffrey Simpson, national affairs columnists of the Globe and Mail, the showdown will feature a left-leaning economist pitted against a University of Alberta energy professor.
Jim Stanford is an economist with Unifor, the author of Economics for Everyone and a regular on CBC TV’s “Bottom Line” economics panel.
Professor Andrew Leach is Enbridge professor of energy policy at the Alberta School of Business and recently spent a year working on greenhouse gas policy for the oil and gas sector.
The second day of the conference at the Holiday Inn on Venetian Boulevard will focus on oil sands bitumen, and the case being made for a new refinery in Sarnia-Lambton to process it.
The event is hosted by The Bowman Centre, which argues Canada is losing billions of dollars in wealth annually by exporting its oil resources unrefined.
Day Two will also feature a panel discussion and question and answer session.
The conference is expected to draw senior stakeholders from the oil, transport, fuels, petrochemical, government and labour sectors.
Registration info at www.etouches.com/ehome/thebigdebate
Full registration is $500, or $85 for the dinner only.