Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree says Canadian national security agencies are looking into a B.C. company accused of financial ties to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
The RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service are “reviewing the situation and then they will have more to say,” the minister, who oversees the agencies, said on Wednesday.
Anandasangaree was responding to a Global News report that the U.S. government had sanctioned a Vancouver company over its alleged role in a $100-million Hezbollah financial network.
Seven Seas for International Trading and Logistics was formed in B.C. in 2022 by three directors, all based in Qatar. Corporate records obtained by Global News show it remains active.
It has not been sanctioned by Canada.
The B.C. government said it had reached out to the federal government about Seven Seas, since Ottawa is responsible for sanctions related to terrorist financing.
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“Any next steps from the province would be informed by that engagement with our federal partners,” the B.C. Finance Ministry said in a statement.
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Neither the RCMP nor CSIS has yet responded to questions about the company. Global Affairs Canada has not responded to questions sent on Monday.
Israel intends to seize parts of Lebanon as strikes against Hezbollah intensify, government says
Hezbollah is a key part of Iran’s so-called axis of resistance, a collection of terrorist factions that serve Tehran’s interests through the Middle East.
Canada calls Hezbollah “a radical Shia group ideologically inspired by the Iranian revolution.” The Lebanese faction is involved in the U.S. and Israeli war that began on Feb. 28.
Canadian security agencies have long accused it of fundraising and money laundering in the country.
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Asked why Canadians had only heard about the Vancouver company as a result of U.S. enforcement action, Anandasangaree repeated that more information would be coming.
“We often do not talk about matters that are under investigation, and as you’re aware, there are a range of things that our law enforcement do, including on national security matters, and this is one of those matters where they will have more say.”
The U.S. sanctions allege the B.C. company is part of a network led by “Hezbollah financier” Alaa Hamieh that spans Lebanon, Syria, Poland, Slovenia, Qatar and Canada.
Its founder, Raoof Fadel, “is involved in numerous projects with Alaa Hamieh and the Hizballah finance team,” according to the press release announcing the sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury statement said Seven Seas was “Hezbollah-associated” and was the “Canadian branch of Alaa Hamieh’s similarly named Lebanese companies.”
Reached by Global News on Wednesday, Fadel said from Qatar that he was consulting his lawyer prior to commenting.
Donald Trump has thanked Iranian negotiators for hearing him out (Picture: AFP)
Donald Trump has hinted at a mystery gift presented to him by an Iranian peace delegation as he threatens to send even more troops to the Middle East.
Around 3,000 troops from ‘The All American’, Fort Bragg-based brigade are said to be ready to be mobilised as the US President pushes Tehran to capitulate and end the war.
Asked if he trusts the Iranians, Trump said he doesn’t trust anybody but alluded to receiving a ‘gift’ that he said suggested ‘we’re dealing with the right people.’
‘They gave us a present, and the present arrived today,’ Trump said speaking at the White House on Tuesday.
‘It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. And I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.’
Pressed for more detail, Trump said it was ‘oil- and gas-related’ but went no further.
Fire and fury at the Iranian Ministry of Defence’s electronics industries building in Tehran following a strike on Monday (Picture: AFP)
‘It was a very nice thing they did. But what it showed me is that we’re dealing with the right people.’
Trump told reporters Iran wants ‘to make a deal,’ and he claimed his team held talks with an Iranian leader.
He did not say who that was, but said the US has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, whose whereabouts are still unknown after a strike that killed his family triggered the war.
Since then, more than 2,000 people have been killed, the global economy has gone haywire, sending oil prices surging with missile strikes erupting all over the Middle East.
Iran has denied talks had been held. ‘No negotiations have been held with the US,’ Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that ‘fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
Trump threatened over the weekend to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passed before the war, within 48 hours.
Thai ship Mayuree Naree burns after an Iranian USV strike in the Strait of Hormuz on March 11 (Pictures: EPN/Newscom / Avalon)
Iran has insisted that ‘safe passage’ in the Strait of Hormuz is possible for non-enemies. Vessels with ties to China, India and Pakistan are among those that have already passed through.
Trump’s approval rating fell in recent days to its lowest point since he returned to the White House in response to his handling of the Iran war.
Americans’ views on Trump soured significantly with regard to his stewardship over the cost of living, as gasoline prices surgedand his promise to avoid ‘stupid wars’. The survey found 35% of Americans approve of the US strikes on Iran.
Iran can only muster 10 missiles a day
Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin said in a televised statement that Iran fired dozens of missiles on Israel in the war’s first and second days but this number ‘dropped quickly’.
He attributed that to Israel’s continued strikes on military headquarters, launch sites and missile production sites across Iran.
Although the volume of missiles has decreased, Iran has kept up and indeed increased the pace of its launches, sending millions of Israelis into shelters multiple times a day, with failed interceptions causing deaths and injuries.
Now, Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif says his country is ready to ‘facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks’ to end the Iran war.
‘Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict,’ Sharif wrote on X.
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Gas prices remain high in the Lower Mainland and there are concerns about other potential consumer impactsas conflict in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran continues.
The cost of gas was sitting around $2.14 per litre on Monday, with similar prices seen around the region on Sunday and late last week.
As the war continues to put pressure on the pumps, experts say that food prices could also increase by the end of April.
“If oil remains at around say $100 a barrel, we’re likely going to see the average family of four spend anywhere between 400 and $600 more on food for the entire year because of the attacks in Iran,” said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
The hardest hit items are expected to be meat, dairy, produce and seafood as they have to be transported in refrigerated trucks that require more energy.
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Charlebois also warned that another price hike could be coming later this year.
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“Right now you may be looking at a double whammy, so on the one side you have energy costs pushing prices higher, but don’t forget with fertilizers with yields being impacted, markets could start to push commodity prices higher mid-year for example,” he said.
“We could see input costs go up for manufacturers, so that would be that double whammy you would see later in the year.”
Metro Vancouver gas prices soaring amid Middle East conflict
Small businesses across B.C. say they are also feeling the impact of rising fuel costs.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said that so far, many owners have been absorbing the costs.
“Everything from your local pizzeria and the cost it takes for them to deliver that pizza to your home, your local plumber, electrician, every service call just went up in cost,” said Kalith Nanayakkara, CFIB’s senior policy analyst for B.C. said.
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“Small businesses who are already operating on very thin margins will reach a point where they’re forced to pass those costs on to consumers.”
To support the economy. the CFIB wants the B.C. and Canadian governments to move more quickly to develop Canada’s domestic energy supply.
Anti-war protesters marched through central London earlier this month (Picture: Andrea Domeniconi/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
Thousands of protesters will descend on central London this weekend for several demonstrations linked to the ongoing war in Iran.
The biggest event is expected to be a Stop the War demonstration against the US and Israeli strikes later today.
Crowds of demonstrators will march from Russell Square near the British Museum to Richmond Terrace, Whitehall, where speeches will take place.
The Met said the assembly in Richmond Terrace must finish at 6pm and any speeches and amplified music must stop at 5.30pm.
Meanwhile, a separate Stage for Freedom demonstration against the Iranian government will march from Hyde Park Corner in Knightsbridge to the Iranian embassy near Hyde Park.
The force said the assembly at the embassy must conclude at 5pm.
Stop the war protesters must stay in the shaded area on this map until the procession begins along its route (Picture: Met Police)
The protesters must stick to this route (Picture: Met Police)
Scotland Yard has imposed strict conditions on the demonstrations.
It has banned the use of amplified sound equipment for music or speech, or any other item to create noise, including musical instruments, sound‑emitting devices, or items struck or banged together.
Superintendent Neil Holyoak, who is in charge of policing London this weekend, said: ‘Officers will be on duty this weekend to police these events and ensure they pass off safely and peacefully.
‘As always, we will not hesitate to act if we see criminality.
Protesters shout and chant slogans during the ‘Stop The War’ rally against the strikes on Iran on March 7 (Picture: Getty)
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‘We have imposed conditions, chiefly to minimise noise and disruption to local residents based on extensive feedback.
‘Those who refuse to comply with the conditions risk being arrested.
‘We will also not tolerate people setting off fireworks which we have seen in recent weeks.
‘Please ensure if you are planning to attend this weekend’s events you act within the law and respect surrounding residents and businesses.’
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MORE: Iran fires missiles at UK-US base Diego Garcia after warning ‘British lives are in danger’
Two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands but neither hit (Picture: Reuters)
Iran fired missiles towards the UK’s Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean, US officials have said.
Two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were fired at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands but neither hit, the Wall Street Journal and the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr reported.
One of the missiles was shot down by a US warship, while the other failed in flight, the newspaper said, citing multiple officials.
Ministers gave the US permission to strike Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz from UK bases including Diego Garcia on Friday afternoon.
Iran reacted angrily, with foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claiming it will ‘exercise its right to self-defence’.
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Posting on X, he said: ‘Vast majority of the British People do not want any part in the Israel-US war of choice on Iran.
Ignoring his own People, Mr Starmer is putting British lives in danger by allowing UK bases to be used for aggression against Iran.
‘Iran will exercise its right to self-defence.’
Diego Garcia is around 2,360 miles away from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers (Picture: Anadolu via Getty Images)
The UK gave the US permission to strike Iranian missile sites targeting the Strait of Hormuz from UK bases including Diego Garcia (Picture: Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street)
Where is Diego Garcia military base?
Diego Garcia is around 2,360 miles away from Iran and home to an airbase capable of accommodating long-range US bombers.
The UK has agreed to cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back the base.
Diego Garcia is strategically valuable to the US, and has been used as a launchpad for operations in the Middle East for years.
It has a large airfield, major fuel storage facilities, radar installations and a deep-water port.
UK ‘should have acted a lot faster’
US President Donald Trump said the UK ‘should have acted a lot faster’ in giving the US permission.
He has already piled pressure on Nato allies, calling them ‘cowards’ for refusing to offer warships to reopen the Strait.
Diego Garcia is the site of a joint military facility of the United Kingdom and the United States (Picture: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Government had previously granted the US permission only for ‘defensive’ action.
When that decision was made, RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was hit by an Iranian drone.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described Sir Keir’s latest move as the ‘mother of all U-turns’ in a post on X.
The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party said granting further permission for the US to use British bases must first have a parliamentary vote.
The Prime Minister will hold a Cobra meeting next week to discuss plans to help households with the cost of living caused by the war, it is understood.
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Hours after his head of counter-terrorism quit saying he couldn’t support the war against Iran, President Donald Trump claimed he didn’t really know him that well but that he had “always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.”
“I always thought he was a nice guy,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, not long after Joe Kent had announced he had stepped down from running the National Counter-terrorism Centre. “I didn’t know him well.”
That sentiment is at odds with his past praise of the conspiracy theorist who rose in Trump’s estimation for his embrace of the false claim that the 2020 election had been stolen and that the FBI had fomented the January 6, 2021, violent attack on the Capitol.
In fact, Trump’s endless lying about a stolen election enraged his followers, and he himself asked them to converge on Washington DC, on the day of the congressional election certification. It was his own speech hours before the assault, according to many of those who participated, that drove them to violence.
Joe Kent, then-director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testifies in December during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing on “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland.”
Tom Williams via Getty Images
“I think this man has a tremendous future, a very special person,” Trump said of Kent in 2022 as he endorsed his run for Congress in Washington state.
That year, Kent defeated the sitting Republican who had earned Trump’s wrath by voting to impeach him for his coup attempt but then lost the general election to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Kent ran again for that seat in 2024 but lost to Perez a second time.
Trump, after winning back the White House in that election, appointed Kent to a top position in the national security world. “Joe will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the World, to the cartels in our backyard. Congratulations Joe!” Trump wrote in a February 3, 2025, post.
That history apparently was no longer relevant Tuesday for Trump. “I realised that it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat,” he said.
Kent had cited his opposition to Trump’s 17-day-old war. “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he wrote in a social media post that included an image of his resignation letter.
While Kent has embraced anti-immigrant and white nationalist positions over the years, the theory that Israel pushed Trump into the war was actually laid out by Secretary of State Marco Rubio days after the attack began on February 28.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman known for her longtime opposition to a war with Iran and Kent’s supervisor, on Tuesday afternoon released a statement that neither addressed Kent’s departure nor the wisdom of Trump’s decision to attack Iran.
“As our commander in chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country,” she wrote. “After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.”
While Trump in his public comments on Tuesday called Kent “a nice guy,” Trump’s aides and supporters were far less charitable.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Kent’s letter with a lengthy, 450-word post of her own. “The absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries, is both insulting and laughable,” she wrote.
Taylor Budowich, a former top White House aide, claimed that Kent was about to be fired. “Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the centre of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work,” Budowich wrote. “He spent all of his time working to subvert the chain of command and undermine the president of the United States. This isn’t some principled resignation—he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned. What a loser.”
Olivia Troye, once a national security aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, said the White House likely feels the need to damage Kent’s credibility because of his assertion about Iran. “He actually calls out the lack of imminent threat,” she said.
National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned abruptly on Tuesday in protest of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, now in its third week, accusing Israel of repeatedly luring the United States into conflicts.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said in his resignation letter to Trump.
He criticised Israel in harsh and at times feverish terms, bizarrely accusing the country of also being responsible for US involvement in the 2003 Iraq War and of “manufacturing” the Syrian civil war.
A political appointee who was confirmed last summer, Kent served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a longtime critic of overseas military entanglements who has nonetheless been silent on Trump’s decision to start another war in the Middle East.
Trump has struggled to explain why he agreed to attack Iran when he did, alluding to vague threats the nation posed to US interests, as Americans start seeing higher costs at home. Thirteen US service members have been killed and around 200 injured in the conflict so far.
Kent said in his letter that he supported “the values and foreign policies” that Trump campaigned on in his past three presidential campaigns. Trump went so far as to dub himself the “President of Peace” in the last election cycle.
Kent believes, however, that “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined” Trump’s platform and “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.”
He went on, delving deeper into the supposed conspiracy: “This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women.”
Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is sworn in during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Dec. 11, 2025.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
“You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos,” Kent wrote. “You hold the cards.”
Kent is a military veteran with 11 combat deployments under his belt. His wife, Shannon, was working in Navy intelligence when she was killed in Syria in 2019.
He mentioned both of these facts in his letter, saying that he “cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back on the letter’s contents.
“I don’t know where Joe Kent is getting his information,” Johnson told reporters.
He said that he attended national security meetings with other Gang of Eight lawmakers — top Republicans and Democrats in both chambers of Congress — and that the group was shown evidence of an imminent threat.
But Democratic Senator Mark Warner, who was also in the meetings, has said that was not the case.
Taylor Budowich, a former deputy chief of staff in the Trump White House, smeared Kent as a “crazed egomaniac who was often at the centre of national security leaks, while rarely (never?) producing any actual work.”
“This isn’t some principled resignation — he just wanted to make a splash before getting canned. What a loser,” Budowich said on X.
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
Donald Trump has been accused of backtracking and contradicting his own statements regarding the war in Iran.
Speaking at a press conference later yesterday, Trump slammed the UK for its response to the war, calling it ‘very disappointing’.
Trump has also asked France, China, Japan, South Korea and Britain to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.
But the President’s own remarks have seemed to contradict himself, telling reporters: ‘Really, I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory – because it is their territory.’
Less than an hour later, he said: ‘They should come, and they should help us protect it. You could make the case that maybe we shouldn’t even be there at all, because we don’t need it.
‘We have a lot of oil. We’re the number one producer anywhere in the world times two.’
Seemingly referencing NATO, Trump added, ‘If we need help, they won’t be there for us. I’ve known that for a long period of time.’
Again, moments later, he said: ‘We have some who are enthusiastic. They’re coming.’
Speaking to reporters, Trump also said ‘we want them to come and help us with the Strait (of Hormuz)’.
Later, he clarified: ‘My attitude is we don’t need anybody. We have the strongest nation in the world. We have the strongest military by far – we don’t need them.’
Varying lengths of the Iran War
Within the space of just minutes, Trump changed his tune on some key points (Picture: CNN)
At the beginning of the war, Trump said he thought the strikes in Iran would be ‘four weeks or so’.
Days later, he said the war was ‘very complete, pretty much’ – before, on the same day, saying the war wouldn’t end that week, but would ‘very soon’.
On why the US attacked Iran
In an address made shortly after attacks began, Trump said: ‘Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.
‘They can never have a nuclear weapon. That is why in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime’s nuclear program — at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan — after that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons.’
Days later, Trump said he ‘knew Iran was going to attack’, claiming that if the US didn’t fight, Iran would attack first.
The strike at an Iranian girl’s school
Mass funerals were held for the 175 children killed in a US strike (Picture: Shutterstock)
After a strike on an Iranian school killed 175 children in late February, there was confusion as to whether Iran, the US or Israel was behind it.
US Central Command has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in this war and even released a photo of the USS Spruance, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group located within range of the school, firing a Tomahawk missile on February 28.
When asked by a reporter whether the US was responsible for the blast, which killed mostly children, Trump responded, without providing evidence: ‘No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.’
He added: ‘I will certainly, whatever the report shows, be willing to live with that report.’
After a report found that the US struck the school, Trump said: ‘I don’t know about it.’
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Experts say the war in Iran is having a rippling effect across the world, and B.C. is starting to see some impacts.
The pressure on oil supplies has pushed the price of gas in Metro Vancouver to record highs of more than $2 per litre.
“With few exceptions, the price has gone nowhere but up since the beginning of the conflict,” Dan McTeague with gasbuddy.ca and affordableenergy.ca told Global News.
He said oil is up about $30 a barrel, with gasoline up about 24 cents a litre.
“Just at the beginning of this, we were in the $1.67 to $1.70 range, so we’ve seen a pretty dramatic increase, especially on the diesel side, where diesel prices have gone up as much as 45 to 52 cents a litre, and that, of course, will leave a bit of an impact as it comes to all of the products that are made or serviced or, you know, part of the supply chain,” McTeague said.
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He added that they expect to see fuel surcharges to reflect the higher costs of transportation across the board — including trucks, trains and jet fuel.
“All forms of energy have taken a pretty substantial hit from the high energy prices,” McTeague said.
He said that the longer the conflict goes on, the greater the impact on prices being driven even higher for everyone.
“When it comes to carriers and transport and distribution, it’s much more impactful because they have nowhere to go but to increase, pass those increases on the longer they go,” he said.
“What does that cost an average truck, depending on what they’re pulling, depending on what they’re hauling?”
US-Iran war: Trump demands other countries help protect Strait of Hormuz
But shoppers can expect to see higher prices at the grocery store.
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“There’s a lot of pressure on energy costs, obviously, diesel, gas prices, and the food supply chain is a very energy-intensive sector,” Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, director of the AgriFood Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, told Global News.
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“I mean, so obviously when you have energy costs go up, it will impact the cost to move things around, to manufacture, to produce food, everything.”
Charlebois said they have seen similar scenarios in 2008 during the financial crisis, where energy costs went up and three months later, food inflation followed.
He said that if oil remains at $90 a barrel, shoppers can expect to see an extra two or three per cent increase across the board.
But any product connected with the coal chain or refrigeration is likely to become more expensive, Charlebois said, saying prices for meat, dairy and produce are expected to climb.
“Obviously, everything will be impacted, but those are the categories that are probably going to be more impacted,” he said.
“As far as food inflation goes, we did see in the numbers this morning that food inflation did drop to 5.4 per cent. We were expecting that drop to continue into March and April, but now it’s highly unlikely because of attacks in Iran.”
Charlebois advised shoppers that if they see something on sale, grab it.
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“The thing about 2026 is that I do feel that Canadians are much more strategic about grocery shopping than just four years ago,” he added.
“Four years ago, food inflation came violently into our lives and I actually think that most Canadians weren’t ready for it. Now they’re much more ready, they’re more informed, they go to different grocery stores as well, they understand how much things cost now.”
How the Iran war is driving up the cost of flying
Travel is also expected to get more expensive.
Some airlines have already started adding fuel charges to tickets.
“I think what you’re seeing happening now is a volatility in jet fuel that hasn’t been seen in years,” John Gradek, a former Air Canada executive and McGill University faculty lecturer in aviation management, told Global News last week.
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BC Ferries also told Global News in a statement that fuel is one of its most significant and unpredictable operating costs.
“To help minimize fare volatility and protect customers from sudden swings, BC Ferries operates under a fuel deferral mechanism approved by the BC Ferries Commissioner,” the organization said in a statement.
“As part of each performance term, the Commissioner establishes a set fuel price for the system. If market prices move above or below that level, the difference is tracked through the fuel deferral account rather than immediately impacting fares.”
BC Ferries said it will continue to monitor fuel markets closely.
The Iran war is causing a global oil shock with energy prices skyrocketing across the world.
And in a bid to avoid running through supplies, governments around the world are instituting energy-saving measures, including asking employees to work from home or cut down on driving and other measures while the crisis continues.
In Thailand, an order for civil servants to work from home for the foreseeable future came with another request, as well – the Thai prime minister also ordered measures including suspending overseas trips and using stairs instead of elevators.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has around 95 days of energy reserves left, officials have said, and it has been seeking additional sources of liquefied natural gas from the United States, Australia and South Africa.
Pakistan has mandated a four-day work week and work from home measures for a large swathe of its public service and ordered that all universities hold classes online, citing “resource conservation.”
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Vietnam’s government has asked private firms to consider letting their employees work from home, while India has asked liquefied petroleum gas consumers to avoid panic buying.
Sri Lanka introduced fuel rationing on Sunday to extend the life of its supplies. Under the new system, motorcycles will be allocated five litres, cars 15 litres, and buses 60 litres of fuel per week.
The island nation has secured fuel shipments until the end of April, authorities at the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation told reporters in Colombo, adding that police will be deployed to reduce lines and minimize hoarding.
Iran’s new supreme leader vows to continue Strait of Hormuz blockage
“It’s supply and demand,” said Concordia University economist Moshe Lander.
“When supply of oil is being constrained and demand is not constrained with it, then the price is going to go sky high. And we’ve already seen that in Canada at the pumps,” he added.
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While part of the effort to contain the price of oil involves raising supply, such as Canada and dozens of other countries agreeing to release 400 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves, the other part of the puzzle is lowering consumption, Lander said.
The Iran oil shock has the potential to be a “pivot point,” Lander said, forcing economies around the world to rethink the way they do their business.
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“Usually economies go full steam ahead until some shock comes along, whether it’s from the supply side or the demand side, that causes this pivot moment,” he said, adding that the lockdowns forced by the COVID-19 pandemic were such a pivot point.
“The idea of working from home is a lot more acceptable now,” he said, explaining why this made it easy for governments around the world to pivot to work from home recommendations.
While most of the countries that have put in place such measures are heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil, “Canada is not immune,” Lander said.
What happened during the last oil price shock?
During the 1973 oil crisis, the U.S. and Canadian government put in place several measures to contain the price of oil, which rose by 400 per cent during the period of the crisis.
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The U.S. imposed a national speed limit of 89 km/h (55 mph) on all highways in 1974, a limit that was not lifted until 1995.
In Canada, then-prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau set limits on the price that Canadians can be charged for oil at the pumps.
Fuel prices impacting flight costs
However, in the present day, it is unlikely that Canada will see any consumption controls, said Behrouz Bakhtiari, a professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business.
“I do not foresee any bigger mandates from the government towards consumers to lower their consumption,” he said.
“We’re not a country that does well with mandates. Mandates with respect to consumption, I don’t see it would fly at all,” Bakhtiari added.
For one, it would bring back the polarizing debates that came with the COVID-19 lockdowns, which the federal government might want to steer clear of, Lander said.
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“A stay at home or work from home order isn’t necessarily going to be met with the greatest acceptance within (Canadian) society,” he said.
“I think that the easiest way to do it is to make a recommendation or at least indicate to firms, hey, it’s your decision and you guys decide what you want to do and work with your workers.”
However, it would take a lot for Canada to be in the same dire straits as some Asian economies, Bakhtiari said.
“For Canada to find itself in this position… before that, many other countries would have to be hit very, very, very hard,” he said.
Instead, Bakhtiari said the Canadian government might try to put in place some supply side measures by ensuring that oil is being pumped at capacity.
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This could involve a number of measures from ensuring crucial energy lines, like Enbridge Line Nine from Ontario to Quebec, run at capacity to delaying maintenance on some lines to ensure they run full time, he said.
Another measure could include issuing an emergency rail priority order under Canada’s Railway Safety Act. This would essentially mean that oil transportation from Western Canada to the refineries in the East would take precedence over all other rail traffic, he said.
Canada’s role in historic emergency oil reserve release
This would ensure the “refineries on the east side are able to produce, to process the oil coming from the west,” and get crucial energy to Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, he said.
This would mean the federal government would have to act like a “handshake” between Western and Eastern Canada.
A result of the 1970s oil crisis was the creation of Petro-Canada, a national oil company. Canada could use this as an opportunity to find buyers other than the U.S., which buys most of its energy, Bakhtiari said.
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“Canada should use this opportunity, just like we used tariffs, as an opportunity to diversify supply,” he said.
The 1973 oil crisis prompted structural, long-term shifts in industry, Lander said, pointing to cars and electronics becoming more energy efficient. This current oil shock presents a similar opportunity, he said.
“Do we go back to the old halogen-style light bulbs? No. Once you go one direction, you usually don’t go back,” he said.
