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Letter - Energy sector isn't hurting

Letter to the editor from the Grand Forks Gazette May 28, 2014.

The conservative government is slashing funding for education, research and public broadcasting, but there's one part of our economy that enjoys remarkable support from the taxpayers of this country; the energy sector.  The IMF (International Monetary Fund) in their latest report states the oil giants in Canada are subsides to the tune of $34 billion each year ($34 billion of your money and mine).Canada subsidizes the petroleum industry more than any other country in the world with the exception of the U.S.A. and Luxembourg. Big oil must be very pleased they have a friend in Ottawa, so willing to hand out billions of taxpayers’ dollars to companies that already earn billions of dollars by gouging us at the pumps. But that's not all. The Alberta tar sands consumes 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year heating the thick gooey bitumen to recover the oil locked within. The taxpayer is on the hook, paying through tax breaks and subsidizes, for half of the natural gas used in the oil sands recovery.If you're not happy contributing to big oil’s profits, remember there is an election next year.David Janzen,Grand Forks