The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that some people argue that because Canada has a lot of oil and gas in the ground, we should exploit it and use the money to develop new industries. Columnist John Rapley writes, however, that unlike the Gulf states or Norway, which have invested their oil revenues to develop new industries, Canada has consistently spent its royalties. Low taxes might be great for Albertans, but there's no evidence the money saved has been used to develop new economic industries as is happening in other countries. Even if Canada were to use its royalties to build new industries, it still may not make sense to plough public dollars back into what increasingly looks like a sunset industry. Every dollar invested in one industry is a dollar not invested in another that might promise better returns. Compare China. If back in 1990, China had used the same strategy of exploiting its existing comparative advantage, it would today be a nation of farmers and an exporter of low-value manufactured products. Instead, it has become a high-tech powerhouse. Exporting no cars in 1990, it now leads the world, thanks largely to its pioneering of electric vehicles, which has left Canada's industry in the dust.