N.L. is making a mistake by doubling down on fossil fuels through offshore subsidies, according to a scholar.

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Kirti Pathak
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According to a political scientist who has researched the state's oil sector, federally sponsored offshore oil subsidies in Newfoundland and Labrador are a "misuse of monies" and another step in the wrong economic direction for the cash-strapped province.

Angela Carter, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo, says it's increasingly difficult to watch the government offer hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to oil companies while not taking effective steps toward building an economy that isn't reliant on oil.

In a recent interview, Carter, author of the 2020 book Fossilized: Environmental Policy in Canada's Petro-Provinces, said, "What oil companies are attempting to do is squeeze whatever they can out of the remaining reservoirs." She is concerned that the current offer $205 million in cash and a $300 million reduction in royalties for the Terra Nova oilfield's owners may encourage other oil corporations to seek similar treatment.

Since December 2020, the Newfoundland and Labrador government has offered oil corporations more than $280 million to restart or keep in play projects that are in jeopardy. The funds come from a $320 million fund allocated by Ottawa to the province for safety enhancements, facility maintenance and renovations, research and development, and clean technologies in the oil sector.

"This is about jobs in our province," federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan told reporters when the grant was announced last September. "This is for our industry's future."

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