There is something consumers in developed countries take for granted, and something that’s now a problem worldwide, largely a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s a reliable and consistent supply of materiel for production and distribution called logistics - or, more popularly, "the supply chain." The supply chain depends on an adequate supply of raw materials and efficient transportation. It’s broken right now, difficult to fix, and a significant reason for the higher cost of living we’re all experiencing, particularly with critical items like energy and food.
Due to the pandemic, many businesses have had to reduce production or service because of worker shortages and disruption to their own product supply. There was already negative impact on product supply from environmental and sustainability requirements that producers and suppliers are still learning to manage. Even though Canadians benefit from good, fairly continuous access to consumer products, we have seen significant price increases to products, partly a result of production and supply disruptions. Trucker protests and blockades across the country inhibited transportation of goods, further disrupting supply. The war in Ukraine has the Western allies sanctioning Russian economic activity while supporting extraordinary supply of consumer goods and military materiel to Ukraine. It’s negatively impacting global economies. Furthermore, governments in Canada are planning to spend more money they can ill-afford to offset some of the cost increases consumers are facing, such as energy and fuel, while they also try to assure us they can pay off a huge pandemic debt. The good news is that the Canadian and Albertan economies are growing again, but at a high cost. The Bank of Canada has added to that cost by finally raising interest rates in order to control inflation and demand for goods, particularly now that supply is uncertain.
As for that tyrant Vladimir Putin, we’re lucky that he and his generals haven’t read The Art of War by Sun Tzu, a reference I would think is required reading for military officers everywhere. Over 2,500 years ago in China, Sun Tzu wrote that logistics is the line between disorder and order. Armies at war cannot take supply chain for granted; however, the Russian army is bogged down in Ukraine, partly because of inadequate re-supply of food, fuel, arms and equipment. They’re also freezing their butts off, but who would think a Russian soldier wouldn’t be ready for winter combat? Then, of course, there’s the indomitable spirit and impressive fighting skill of the Ukrainians.
Canadian government willingness to help offset European energy supply from Russia is a noble gesture but, as European leaders know, it’s a hollow one. We have the energy supply but we don’t have the logistics to deliver the supply. Alberta could supply Europe with 1.5 million barrels of oil per day, more than seven times the oil pledged by the federal government, but we can’t get it there. We don’t have the pipeline capacity (don’t even think about rail transport) or, for liquid natural gas, the port capacity. Thanks to some misguided federal plans and policies, we are ill-prepared and ill-equipped to meet market needs and opportunities, even in our own country.
Roger Jackson is a former deputy minister and a St. Albert resident.
