Last month in France, some 40 people drowned in the span of six days while trying to cool off their bodies during a deadly heat wave. Some people didn’t know how to swim. In some places, swimming wasn’t safe. When imagining the desperation that would have led people to take these risks, the image of buffalos being run off a cliff comes to mind – a large, anxious crowd trying to save their lives but in the panic of the moment, jumping to their deaths. 

It’s devastating, almost too devastating to really consider. And that’s to say nothing of the nearly 4,000 people in France, Belgium and the Netherlands alone who died in what was the hottest heat ever recorded in Europe, simply because their bodies could not cope. Climate experts are estimating the final death count will be closer to 20,000 people across that continent. 

Heatwaves are of course not a new phenomenon, but the new temperatures they are hitting are, and are directly linked to climate change. This is according to climate scientists, the people dedicating their lives to studying how greenhouse emissions produced by the burning of fossil fuels are causing extreme weather across the planet. 

Cue Prime Minister Mark Carney. On the heels of this deadly heatwave, only a day after torrential rains cancelled Ottawa’s Canada Day party, and as raging wildfires were forcing evacuations from the Northwest Territories to Northern Ontario, Carney stood beside Alberta premier Danielle Smith to announce federal support for her new oil pipeline pitch. If built, this 1,200-kilometre pipeline could transport an additional one million barrels of oil a day to the B.C. coast, where it can be sold to Asian markets. 

And contrary to promises made when Carney and Smith announced their memorandum of understanding for the project in November, it will be largely publicly funded, managed by Alberta and the federal crown corporation, Trans Mountain Corp. A single private proponent currently has its name down to back the project, and it’s only on the hook for 10 per cent of the costs. 

Private industry, it seems, is not ready to touch a new pipeline with a 10-foot pole. Maybe it’s because, as Smith insists, oil companies don’t yet trust the government will actually help these companies, rather than hinder them. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s because they can see that in 10 to 15 years, when this pipeline is up and running, the demand for oil and natural gas could be a lot lower than it is today. The oil crisis caused by the Iran war has already caused a jump in Chinese electric vehicle imports in Asia and Africa, according to the Associated Press, and Reuters reported that domestically, China is accelerating its efforts to electrify its heavy truck fleet, moving it off of diesel.  

Carney’s most recent YouTube vlog tries to explain why, in this context, the federal government continues to skip down the pipeline path hand in hand with Alberta. “When we control our energy, we control our future,” he said, making the pitch for prioritizing energy security over honouring Canada’s previous commitments to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. While the U.S.’s war with Iran has compelled some countries to lean harder into electrification, Canada has decided it’s the perfect time to invest more in oil production. 

Sure, there are many hurdles this pipeline project still needs to clear before we see shovels in the ground. Maybe Carney is buying himself time, keeping Alberta happy, and in the country, while putting pieces in place for a more large-scale energy transition. He is, after all, also promising a doubling of Canada’s electrical grid, massive investments in nuclear power production (a topic for another time), as well as in a carbon capture project that taxpayers will supposedly fund alongside major oil producers. But how much time will he need? And how much time do we really have? 

While the Pontiac was mostly spared any serious damage in last week’s storms, Quyon’s Canada Day fireworks were cancelled and Otter Lake’s parade got soaked just as it was crossing the finish line. It’s just a summer storm, the guy at the mic assured. And the band played on.