Former Saskatchewan premier Grant Devine sees a key ingredient in the issue of food security of Saskatchewan as a substance dwelling beneath the earth all across the province, and pretty much everywhere else in North America — natural gas.
“I may be an optimist, but to just sit there and not look at this, it would bother enough of us,” Devine said about why there will be pressure to pursue increased use of natural gas.
He said the affordability, accessibility and abundance of natural gas is as such that it only makes sense for government, as well as the private and academic sectors to start working towards expanding the use of natural gas for energy needs, including operating large motors.
Devine was one of many presenters speaking during the first session of the 19th annual Farming for … Profit Moose Jaw Conference at Heritage Inn on Sunday. The conference continues today at the same location.
While there is a cost to implementing a new source for such energy to be used for such purposes as mass transportation, Devine said it has happened before. He noted that while many of the machines and large trucks now run on diesel fuel, there was a time only a few decades ago that all big motors in Saskatchewan were petrol — but a change happened.
“We made that transfer, and my contention is we need to make the transfer again now.”
For more on this story, read an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
