5 minute read
Canada Needs To Seize The Moment
BY CODY BATTERSHILL
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As the year drew to a close, Canadian energy watchers learned Qatar had inked a long-term deal to supply Germany with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a bid to help replace Germany’s Russian supplies.
Many of those Canadian energy watchers were left scratching their heads. “This could have been us in the supplier role,” some thought.
They’re not wrong. The conversation over Germany’s growing interest in replacing Russian energy with other sources is widely known. As one close observer remarked, Canada has failed, so far, to recognize a business case in LNG – while Qatar has embraced it.
According to Eric Nuttall, a commentator and partner with Ninepoint Partners, Canadians stand to lose out on about $100 million annually in taxes and royalties on this one deal alone.
It’s a massive transaction. Qatar has signed agreements that will see them send as much as two million tons of LNG a year to Germany beginning in 2026. The agreement will run for at least 15 years.
And it’s a deal that begins to solve Germany’s supply problem even as the country continues to reach out globally for an alternative source and to build new infrastructure to receive – and then to distribute – LNG.
A big question remains: How could Canada, so blessed with an abundance of natural gas and other sought-after energy resources, have squandered this opportunity? The inescapable answer is that Canada’s just not showing up. There’s a real need, in my view, for a renewed market diversification focus on Canadian oil and natural gas exports.
And it’s not just in Germany. The world will require natural gas, oil, hydrogen, hydroelectricity, uranium and every other future Canadian energy product for a long time to come. Concluding this deal doesn’t mean Canadian resources aren’t still in hot demand.
The Qatar – Germany arrangement equates to only about six per cent of the volumes of Russian gas that Germany imported in 2021. So it’s an important first step in replacing Germany’s Russian supply, but there still appears to be room for other suppliers in the discussion.
And at 15 years in duration, the deal suggests Berlin may be softening its opposition to longer contracts – even as long as 25 years, Bloomberg reports. This runs counter to suggestions in media interviews from Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson that Canada has only three years of LNG markets ahead of it because, he says, the European Union plans to move shortly to hydrogen.
I think this whole markets discussion has to be revisited – and fast. Canada’s an exemplary energy supplier, with an enviable record on the environment, human rights, safety and Indigenous reconciliation. We simply can’t afford to sit this discussion out.
NAIOP Calgary is excited to announce Bob Harris as the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at the 2022 REX Awards.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a member of the Calgary commercial real estate industry each year to recognize and honor their professional achievements. As founder and CEO of Centron Group, Bob has built Centron into a leading Western Canadian developer and builder. NAIOP Calgary couldn’t have been happier to see Bob’s efforts being recognized. Congratulations!
Bob founded Centron Group in 1984 after serving for 13 years as VP at Charter Construction Limited. Through diversified experience and vision Bob has built Centron into a leading Western Canadian Developer and builder of fine commercial and residential projects. Bob and the Centron Care program has provided invaluable gifts to local not-forprofit organizations with their facility requirements through their expertise and experience in real estate development. Bob has made a profound impact on community and the commercial real estate industry! The Calgary Real Estate Excellence (REX) Awards is a premier awards dinner, which highlights and celebrates the achievements of groups and individuals active in the office, industrial, retail and mixed use real estate industry in Calgary hosted by NAIOP Calgary.
ABOVE: BOB HARRIS
DELIVERING AN ORGANIZED PLACE
In a chaotic world full of clutter, Raylene Place offers a welcome oasis. With her company, Organized Place Inc., Raylene is helping clients organize and downsize their spaces, whether that involves a focused reorganization and decluttering of one area or an entire home overhaul. She specializes in helping seniors and their children prepare to downsize the family home after the death of a spouse or in anticipation of moving into assisted living facilities.
“About 80 per cent of my clientele is in their 50s and 60s dealing with their older parents, and they just can’t do one more thing,” says Raylene Place, founder of Organized Place Inc. “We take it from this big daunting project, like a parent’s house that is packed full, to manageable downsizing steps.”
When people don’t know where to start, they call Raylene and she brings more than just incredible organizational skills to the project. Along with her team of six, Raylene coaches clients through the act of purging items in a respectful, kind and loving way, often acting as mediator between her clients and their parents. Giving up cherished items can be difficult, but Raylene’s approach of acknowledging the importance of the items and the memories attached to them while expressing the reality of how much can come with them when they downsize into a smaller space makes the process easier.
“I help them get from the fighting and the stress of downsizing to solutions everyone can agree to and move forward in a loving and kind way,” she says.
The team provides clients with a stress-free transition, whether that transition is due to death, divorce, relocation or aging, and clients place their trust in Raylene to share the burdens that come with these major life changes. She and her team are declutter coaches, personal consultants and concierge assistants dedicated to providing workable downsizing solutions from consultation through to selling or donating extraneous items. Raylene has earned her place as a trusted authority when it comes to organizing, downsizing and decluttering any space for her base of valued repeat clients that become like family. Whether clients are working through grief after a loss or are excited to enter the next chapter, Raylene is honoured to support and guide them through the process.
“They unconditionally trust me with their most intimate objects and the most important people in their lives. I take care of people when they are transitioning, whatever that transition is,” she says.
No matter what the space or situation, Raylene Place is calming the chaos and offering clients a beautiful Organized Place.
Raylene Place, President & CEO, Organized Place Inc.
