Energy Examined

John Desjarlais believes that the media, which tended to sensationalize Indigenous action, had misrepresented indigenous experience and point of view. He says that there is room for many Indigenous voices. Speaking up and providing more context and points of view regarding resource development is crucial.

The discovery and development of oil in offshore Newfoundland has turned Newfoundland and Labrador from a have not to a have province. According to a recent study, it's also transformed NL into a diversified, global player by nurturing entrepreneurial companies that have developed world-class technologies and professional talent.

Energy Examined host Tonya Zelinsky speaks with Mark Shrimpton, an international expert on industrial benefits planning who authored the study. They explore how offshore oil is building a long-term and sustainable economy for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bob Merasty is the executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network, an organization looking to build a sustainable future for Indigenous communities across Canada through responsible development of natural resources. "We're no longer passengers," says Merasty, highlighting the growing confidence of Indigenous groups to become owners and equal partners through equity deals on pipelines, Indigenous-led LNG projects, entrepreneurial supply-chain businesses and more.

Merasty discusses with Energy Examined the impetus behind this trend, including benefits like jobs, economic growth and poverty reduction, steps needed to take things further, such as improved access to capital, and the vital role Indigenous businesses can play as land and natural resource stewards.

Stuart Pinks, outgoing CEO of the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board, discusses the state of oil and natural gas activity in Nova Scotia.

Pinks talks with Energy Examined host Tonya Zelinsky about the strong resource potential of the region, exploration opportunities, the long history of collaboration with the fisheries industry, and the world-class regulatory structure that underlies the province's history--and future potential--as an oil and natural gas producer.

Aimee Sheppard of Cenovus Energy and Kathy Hawkins of InclusionNL discuss the state of diversity and inclusion in Canada's oil and natural gas industry. Sheppard is the senior industrial benefits and diversity advisor with Cenovus Energy in St. John's, Newfoundland; Hawkins is executive director for InclusionNL.

Sheppard recently won an award from Energy NL for her work on inclusion and diversity with Cenovus. Together, she and Hawkins discuss with Energy Examined industry-led initiatives like STEM for Girls and the West White Rose Project Diversity Research Fund, as well as increasing opportunities for traditionally unrepresented groups in oil and natural gas.