“More women want to have their voices heard and reflected in energy policies. They care about the environment but not at the expense of their standard of living.” Providing more information to women on these issues was why Bodnarchuk and 39 other women who work “in or around” the energy sector decid- ed to start Canada Powered by Women in 2019. “Back then, we wanted to encourage women to approach the federal election being held that year by increasing their knowledge around the is- sues of the environment, the economy and ener- gy rather than on a partisan basis,” she says. “We know that energy policy and personal prosperity are tied together with the carbon tax being a great example of that. Our mandate is to provide information, share women’s per- spectives and enable people to make their own decisions about policies.”While Bodnarchuk sees the carbon tax as a highly visible poli- cy in terms of its costs, the group is also look- ing at providing more insight to its audience of engaged women on the effect of the proposed emissions cap on Canadian oil and gas producers. “There’s more of a disconnect between energy production and how that affects prosperity so we’re going to be providing more information about the emissions cap and its implications and then asking engaged women what they think about that,” she says. “We want to shed a light on the potential impact of that policy on Canada’s competitiveness, the support for transfer pay- ments, and the impact on the social safety net.” The group will conduct a larger scale national survey in May as part of what it sees as a continuing conversation with engaged women throughout the country, but Bodnarchuk already sees some trends emerging. “As their knowledge increases, engaged women are more predisposed to support energy devel- opment and production in Canada, knowing that liquefied natural gas is a cleaner form of energy
than burning coal as an example,” she says. “Supporting emissions reduction technology and developing LNG for export to reduce emissions from coal-fired power generation in China and India are ways to address the priorities of engaged women. They want energy policy that reflects a balanced approach.”
66 SPOTLIGHT MAGAZINE ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 24 ISSUE 3
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