Harper declared that the development of the oil sands was “akin to the building of the pyramids or China’s Great Wall” and noted that “even now, Canada is the only non-OPEC2 country with growing oil deliverability.” The message to those in attendance could be captured by the phrase “[Canada is] the most attractive combination of circumstances for energy investment of any place in the world.” But i [...] For the next several decades, a group of private international oil companies controlled most of the world’s markets to the detriment of the majority of producing countries, particularly those in the Middle East. [...] He consolidated oil assets under the state- owned Rosneft (including the seized assets of the dismantled oil company Yukos), and then used the company to secure a loan to buy the 10.7 per cent interest needed to increase the Gazprom holding to a controlling interest at 50.002 per cent.13. [...] Although the provincial government brought stakeholders together to devise a viable strategy, most experts, including the influential Pembina Institute environmental think tank, say the new water management framework implemented in February 2007 failed to address the long-term viability of the Athabasca River,17 the source of much of the water. [...] A National View Notwithstanding the benefits Alberta’s surge in demand for people, goods, and services brings to the rest of Canada and to the federal government’s coffers,19 the resulting appreciation of the Canadian dollar has put pressure on Ontario’s battered manufacturing sector.