The False Promises of Canadian Interest

In this presentation, I intend to show how the oil and gas industry frames corporate profits as being in the national interest to justify expanding fossil fuel infrastructure. This approach is a specific strategy that firms use to gain access to contested territories and spaces. Such a narrative tends to create conflict among workers and encourages a form of right-wing patriotism that stands in opposition to the communities and environmentalists challenging extractivism. Throughout this talk, I will demonstrate how the rhetoric of the Canadian national interest is leveraged to diminish public resistance, thereby lowering risks for fossil fuel companies and undermining Indigenous sovereignty as an extension of settler colonialism. Finally, I will address how many analysts are questioning the actual profitability of the Coastal GasLink project, which stands in stark contrast to the claims made by the government and LNG Canada.

Part of the GPE Brown Bag Seminar Series. All are welcome.