Canada needs to have flexibility to determine whether every takeover is in Canada’s best interest
TORONTO—The U.S.$15.1-billion bid by China National Offshore Oil Co. for Canada’s Nexen Inc. once again raises the question of how far we should go to ensure there is a core of Canadian-headquartered and controlled multinational businesses. If Canada is to be a global player, it has to have its share of global corporations. Nexen […]
Senate Energy Committee urges feds to develop national energy strategy, but critics say report ignores climate change
When the Senate Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources Committee released its report on Canada’s energy future last month, it called for the federal government to develop a national energy strategy to fully realize its potential as an energy superpower, and described it as “a call to action,” but environmentalists say the report ignores […]
A next-generation biofuel strategy offers hope for the future
Biofuels, including conventional ethanol made from corn or wheat, have had a tough year. In January, the United States ended a long-standing excise-tax exemption that acted as an ethanol producer incentive, and at the same time lowered tariff barriers that had prevented the import of Brazilian sugarcane-based ethanol. This move has strengthened global calls […]
National energy strategy possible, federal leadership missing
For decades, the legacy of the National Energy Program left politicians so shell-shocked and risk-averse that they were unwilling to even moot the need for a national energy policy. Now that the Senate of Canada, the corporate lobby in the Council of Chief Executives, and the premiers are all willing to talk about the […]
Feds locked into one-dimensional strategy aimed at increasing raw oil exports
BURNABY, B.C.—Nobody debates that Canada possesses vast energy resources—we are a large nation with a significant endowment of both fossil fuel and renewable power sources. But, as policy-makers, we must carefully consider how to leverage this endowment to ensure our role as an energy superpower that is both economically and environmentally sustainable. Lasting success […]
Government beholden to ‘resource curse,’ says Greenpeace, CAPP calls accusations ‘rhetoric’
The federal government is acting against the national interest by placing the interests of Canada’s oil industry above its citizens, according to a recent report by Greenpeace Canada, but the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says the report’s rhetoric masks common ground between industry and environmentalists. Keith Stewart, a climate and energy campaigner with […]
Stage set for offshore oil boom in Nova Scotia
All eyes in Canada may be locked on the Enbridge pipeline and the oilsands but elsewhere in the country, the energy sector is not idle: the stage has been set for an offshore oil boom in Nova Scotia. While environmentalists and fishermen are desperately trying to stop oil drilling in the Gulf of the […]
It’s up to Harper government to change public’s minds on Northern Gateway
TORONTO—When he emerged from the snow banks of Davos to deliver his Swiss Throne Speech last winter, Stephen Harper made it clear where he thought Canada’s future lay. His Conservative government, stinging from politically-motivated delays in its Keystone XL pipeline south of the border, would make it a “national priority” to ensure Canada has […]
Ottawa and provinces must collaborate on resource development: Energy Minister Oliver
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was probably on his way to a relatively relaxing summer following the passage of Bill C-38, the feds’ massive, omnibus budget implementation bill, at the end of June. That all changed last week when B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced that her province would block Enbridge’s controversial Northern Gateway pipeline […]
Feds refocus environmental assessment process on major energy projects
The leading industry lobby for Canada’s electricity sector is hopeful that the feds’ regulatory streamlining will expedite the approval of energy projects, but an expert on environmental assessments with Canada’s largest law firm says that litigation could further delay some projects. “[W]e want to focus on the big projects, the huge projects that can […]
