Businesses, non-profits urging feds toward ‘bold green recovery,’ but domestic context could push Canada down different path, says expert
As the federal government continues to spend unprecedented sums to float the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, politicians, advocacy organizations, private companies, and experts are trying to increase the pressure on Ottawa to begin new stimulus spending on eco-friendly initiatives that seek to lower Canada’s carbon footprint, kickstart the dormant economy, and live up to […]
In the next wave of economic recovery, ‘speed, scale, and simplicity’ need to make way for sustainability
When Finance Minister Bill Morneau provided Canadians with a fiscal update July 8, he described how the federal government helped pull Canadians and businesses back from the brink of financial insolvency due to the country entering lockdown in response to COVID-19. Three principles, he said, were applied to all new programs: speed, scale, and simplicity. […]
Lobby groups push feds to pivot to recovery phase, say more cash needed for key sectors
Associations are pivoting to recovery in their federal advocacy asks, with those among the most actively lobbying government in May pushing for flexibility on some of the government’s emergency measures and calling for more funding to protect at-risk industries. The busiest groups lobbying last month include members in the post-secondary education, oil, and forestry sector […]
Wind and solar groups unite in new national renewable energy association ‘during this period of historical global transformation’
As the coronavirus restrictions continue to ease across the country, a new national renewable energy association is getting ready to push to ensure “renewable energy and energy storage play a central role in transforming Canada’s energy mix during this period of historical global transformation,” reads a press release from the Canadian Renewable Energy Association. On […]
Mr. Rajotte goes to Washington
It seems fitting, before discussing the intricate and somewhat frayed bilateral relationship between Canada and the United States, to first acknowledge the recent passing of Allan Gotlieb, an esteemed public servant, a visionary diplomat, and Canada’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States (1981-1989). And while the geopolitical tensions of the Cold War have long passed, […]
Canada should seize this opportunity to invest in a green recovery, says letter-writer
Canada is in the middle of a crisis as it responds to the COVID-19 pandemic; continuing to subsidize oil, gas, and petrochemical production puts Canadians at risk. Expanding fossil fuel infrastructure compromises our health and accelerates climate change. Furthermore, since this crisis hit, the economics of energy have changed drastically and many of the proposed projects are […]
Environment, resource development agenda among April’s top-lobbied files
COVID-19 is offering important lessons for Canada’s approach to climate change and the need for green programs to be built into economic recovery, say some of the groups lobbying the ministers focused on these files and pushing them to the top of the list during the pandemic. Over the last two months, Natural Resources Minister […]
Oil demand drop, renewable energy resiliency prompts calls for federal clean energy investment in economic recovery
Following recent evidence showing that renewable energy hasn’t shared the same fate as oil and gas, which have seen recent and dramatic drops in demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Green Party MP Elizabeth May is calling on the federal government to support the renewable sector over the beleaguered oil sands, with a number of environmental […]
Canada can take clean stimulus lessons from Obama
“This is a meaningful, shovel-ready project that will create jobs for local workers.” This 2009 quote, from then-prime minister Stephen Harper announcing federal stimulus dollars for a new highway passing lane in Nova Scotia, pretty much sums up his government’s approach to pulling Canada’s economy out of recession a decade ago: if it’s ready to […]
Days of fossil fuels aren’t over, but for Canada they are shrinking
TORONTO—As the International Energy Agency says, “the global oil industry is experiencing a shock like no other in its history.” The collapse in prices and dramatic cuts in demand, with ongoing production having no place to go, has devastated Alberta and Newfoundland, prompting desperate cries for federal help. The question of what governments should do […]
