My Favorite Place #QualityEssentials

This post was brought to you by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers via sheblogs. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like fall. Whether it’s the abundance of pumpkin everything or the change of season bringing about a return to routines, people are generally happy in the fall months. Perhaps it’s because we know what’s next, and living on the Canadian prairies we know all too well that in just another month or two we’re going to be plunged into some bitterly cold temperatures.

Sitting beside my natural-gas fireplace, a huge favorite feature of our new house, it doesn’t escape me how fortunate we are to live in the province and country we do. While our winters are certainly frosty, we have an abundance of resources to help us cope, and it’s actually astounding how much of our daily products and lifestyle practices are as a result of our oil and gas industry in Canada.

Earlier this year, a market research study suggested a large portion of the Canadian population didn’t know or care much about the oil and natural gas industry. Being that Canada is the 5th of petroleum products worldwide, this is concerning. With an industry so abundant in our country, yet
misunderstood in some aspects, CAPP is helping to educate Canadians about the oil and gas industry.

I learned, while sitting beside my cozy fireplace in my nice warm house while keeping my bare feet cozy in a pair of slippers and wrapped in a blanket that I was virtually surrounded by products made as a result of the oil and gas industry.

In one regular day of my mommy-life here in Saskatchewan, I found an immense number of products made as a result of petroleum and gasoline. In fact, I came across no less than twenty products before I even stepped out of my bathroom to start my day! I bet you’ll be surprised by a few products I came across before even started my day this week:

Shower curtain
Shampoo bottle
Body wash
Soap
Deodorant
Hand lotion
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste
Hair comb
Clothing
Eyeglasses
Candles
Lipstick
Hair coloring
Linoleum under my feet
Shaving Cream
Rubbing alcohol
Bandages
Hair Curlers
Slippers

That’s twenty items without leaving my bathroom that I found made with petroleum and oil products. To say that the oil and gas industry in Canada has a huge impact in our daily lives is an understatement, yet many people think of simply heating our homes or driving our cars as a direct impact from the industry.

The oil and gas industry in Canada not only employs 550,000 people in Canada (direct and indirect) but also makes payments towards the government that average $18 billion per year, which of course then goes towards our roads, infrastructure and social programs. Living in western Canada, I’m acutely aware of how the oil and gas industry impacts our province’s employment and overall success. The oil and gas industry makes up 20% of the value of Canada’s main stock exchange, the TSX. This is returned to investors and shareholders.

I think if Canadians understood the vast impact of the oil and gas industry beyond what we hear in the news or in debate in the editorials of newspapers, we’d care more than the survey statistics shared. An awareness campaign is a spectacular idea – we certainly can’t make any judgement calls on our opinion of an industry we don’t understand and I myself know better than to let someone else form my opinion for me.

After reading my short list, how have you used oil and gas products in your life already today?

For more information about the Oil Sands industry visit oilsandstoday.ca

This post was brought to you by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers via sheblogs. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.