A Stranded Nation

Great documentary. Very informative. Is nice to see an honest point of view on one of Canada's most important sectors.

Well-produced, but lacks information on the other side of the debate and ofnte seems to contradict itself a lot. Yes Canada needs a lot of energy and oil is involved in our everyday activities, but there is no discussion about transitioning those sources towards renewables. The video refers to the need for renewables and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also discusses the need to continue extracting more oil. These ideas are difficult to reconcile. I think an argument could be made that current oil production and the workers within it need to be supported more in today's economy, but the notion that new pipelines and new extraction for foreign export are compatible with climate action is not possible. Experts in the documentary say we all have a responsibility to tackle climate change, but extracting new oil does not fall in line with that goal. I 100% agree we need to protect the middle class and workers in Alberta and put money into those communities as the industry naturally declines. The world is increasingly responding to climate change and governments should concurrently help communities into a transition.

It is also very weird that the token environmentalist is Leonardo Dicaprio. Many environmentalists even criticize him for being so inconsistent. There are countless examples of other environmentalists in Canada who do not rent private jets and yachts, and make conscious choices to lower their carbon footprint. And yet, none of them are mentioned.

Although articles have stated that this is independently funded, I really doubt that is possible. I would be interested in seeing a detailed budget for the film if it was actually independently produced (what cameras were used, how much the drone footage cost, what editing software was used) because I think there are some clear signs that a lot of money went into it (money that a recent graduate most likely does not have).

Within the first 20 minutes they say: "We need to have a zero tolerance policy for misrepresentation, for defamation, for slander against the industry." The film attempts to be apolitical while equating support of the fossil fuel industry with patriotism.

Would love to have seen coverage from a neutral position. Take an objective, scientific approach. Nobody doubts that energy has brought us First World development. Advancement. Modern convenience and wealth. Awesome. But why focus on only ONE narrow choice of energy - Oil ?

When you focus on ONLY one form of energy, makes me think this was funded by ONLY those companies who stand to benefit from that one form. Those who argue that economic development ONLY comes by harvesting Alberta's oil - to have it burnt in China.

Look- I get it - when one's job is in jeopardy or lost, its natural to look to reverse that course. And I sure believe we should nudge our economy in a direction that supports good First World jobs. But, Let's not pretend this film/ argument is about creating jobs. Because jobs will come producing ANY form of energy - Nuclear, Solar, Hydrogen, etc., etc..... if you just let them compete. Take the massive subsidies off oil and gas, along with the minuscule ones on Renewables, and let the market run.

Perhaps, instead of our Gov't putting billions into a Pipeline ( to ship oil to China), we should put it into building a nuclear plant (to ship electricity to our neighbours.) Perhaps we build & ship solar PV panels, H2 cells, etc.

Then we consumers get to fill our car tank with $9 of electricity, instead of $60 of gasoline. What's wrong with that? And Energy workers in Alberta have more jobs, better paying, more sustainable, and less prone to market vagaries.

You take a dim view of the Alberta worker community, if you think the only thing they can do is dig stuff from the ground and burn it. I believe they could perform leading edge jobs - producing H2 Fuel cells: Ballard Power; Nuclear reactors: CANDU; Solar PV: Canadian Solar.

Nigeria can dig stuff from the ground and burn it ( no offence Nigeria). But leading economies do leading edge technologies.

An objective film would be agnostic on the form of energy, and be supportive of ALL forms ... talk about the Energy industry, not just the Oil industry.