Canadians have largely tuned the sector out. They must be tuned back in if there is to be any hope of restoring rationality to political decision-making
It’s a common lament heard in oil and gas circles: “We need to communicate more effectively.” You hear it constantly these days – and we’ve heard it consistently over the years.
But nothing seems to change.
The sector’s poor communication skills are worrisome because the survival stakes are higher than they’ve ever been.
One big reason – beyond the fact that no one can agree on what “effective” really means – is that the sector seems unable to communicate with one voice. Or even multiple voices synchronized to create a unified message.
The sector also struggles to really understand its audience.
So, what it lacks in subtlety and nuance, it makes up for with bluster and brashness. And just hopes someone is listening.
But they’re not. And it’s getting the sector nowhere. Fast.
Take the recent sectoral communicative response to the federal government’s proposed emissions cap legislation.
Predictably, the sector’s “Acronym Army” of industry associations leapt into the communicative abyss to condemn the proposed framework as a de facto cap on hydrocarbon production and, thus, an........