Notice Board

The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) presents a session with former MLA Gary Mar as he discusses energy issues in the wake of Joe Biden's election victory.

Setting a Broad Table of Energy and the Environment: How there has to be a merger of the two in order to be successful

Thursday, January 28, 2021 – 10 a.m. (MST) 
YouTube Live link: https://youtu.be/S6B_BJaiQV8

With the November 3, 2020 US election resulting in Joe Biden being elected president and the Democrats gaining control of both houses of congress, what are the likely implications for Alberta’s Energy Sector?

The new president and administration have signaled we can expect changes to US environmental policy and to the approval process of Keystone XL Pipeline, but what does that mean for energy rich Alberta?

The speaker will analyze the questions and argue that a more collaborative approach on issues of mutual concern will return, continuing the strong Canada-US relationship upon which Alberta’s Energy sector relies.

Speaker:                     Gary G. Mar, Q.C.  President and CEO. Canada West Foundation (CWF)

Gary Mar was named President & CEO of CWF in April 2020. An accomplished and respected leader, Gary brings deep experience in government and business, and established expertise in CWF’s key policy areas in natural resources, trade, investment and human capital. Prior to joining the CWF, Gary served as President & CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry..

Gary has broad experience in government, having served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Alberta from 1993-2007. As an elected official, Gary held several cabinet portfolios: Community Development; Health and Wellness; Education; Environment; & International & Intergovernmental Relations. Gary then served as the Official Representative of Alberta at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C., from 2007 – 2011, and worked extensively with the Alberta energy sector on advocacy issues in Washington DC and many US States. 

Gary next served as Alberta’s Representative in Asia from 2011 to 2015. He led the province’s strategic outreach efforts from his post in Hong Kong and worked with Alberta’s offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei. Following his government service, Gary was an independent consultant working for both Chinese and Canadian companies seeking assistance with Trans Pacific trade and investment. In 2016, he co-founded Canadian Advantage Petroleum Corporation which has successfully purchased heavy oil in Alberta and sold it directly to refineries in China. 

Gary has been appointed as an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta School of Business in Marketing, Business Economics and Law beginning July 1, 2020. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne Business School and is a public speaker at energy related conferences. Gary completed a law degree at the University of Alberta and practiced criminal, civil, corporate, commercial and real estate law in Calgary prior to entering politics.

In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. Remember, you can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming.

Link to SACPA’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFUQ5mUHv1gfmMFVr8d9dNA

For further information on the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs, visit the SACPA website.