Reality check needed on pipeline rhetoric
Last week, before the Liberal government made the extraordinary announcement that it would buy the Kinder Morgan pipeline, a majority of Senators moved to push the government on the pipeline by passing Bill S-245. Throughout the process of crafting their legislative message to the Trudeau government, I witnessed pro-pipeline Senators repeatedly invoking the “rule of […]
Majority of Canadians says pipeline could lift economy, but generational divide in support exists: poll
Ottawa is ensnared in a legal battle with British Columbia over concerns of the environmental impact of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, but one recent poll suggests that a significant proportion of Canadians thinks that the project could be a boon to the economy, though there’s a sharp generational gap in support that could dampen […]
Senate debate on Trans Mountain reveals reliance on myths, not facts
The good news is that the Senate just passed a bill to declare the Trans Mountain pipeline project to be “for the general advantage of Canada.” But the not so great news is that the record of the debate shows that some myths are still out there which anti-pipeline folks like British Columbia Green Party […]
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Minister Carr tops lobbying list as groups ramp up on environmental assessment, fisheries bills
Energy and environment groups focused their April lobbying efforts on Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, as they pushed the pros and cons of environmental assessment and fisheries bills, and continued to press the government on getting construction started on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. A May 17 search of the lobbyists’ registry showed groups logged […]
‘Quite a few caveats’: Morneau’s vague, B.C.-only ‘indemnity’ arouses questions about a growing federal financial stake, economists say
Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s offer to financially backstop the $7.4-billion Trans Mountain pipeline expansion from delays created by British Columbia Premier John Horgan leaves a big question mark on how far Ottawa is willing to go to financially buoy the project—a move appearing increasingly necessary as costs for the project grow, economists say. Mr. Morneau […]
Oil and gas companies in limbo await decision on Arctic offshore drilling licences
Energy companies with active licences to explore Arctic waters for oil and gas expect an announcement from Ottawa by July that could spell the fate of their future in the North, after a year of consultations with licence holders were held following a December 2016 decision to freeze drilling in Arctic waters for five years […]
Trudeau policies well-meaning but costly to Nunavut, says Independent MP Tootoo
The Trudeau government has taken several steps to ensure an economically prosperous and sustainable Canadian Arctic into the future, including agreeing to the United States-Canada Joint Arctic Leaders’ Statement; receiving Mary Simon’s report, A New Shared Arctic Leadership Model; and putting together a new Arctic Policy Framework. But what does a sustainable and economically prosperous […]
Feds say they’re listening to northerners as they review food subsidies, oil and gas exploration rules, Arctic policy
Despite Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett saying more than a year ago that it was “urgent” that the federal government overhaul the Nutrition North Canada food subsidy program, the government is still looking at a final report reviewing the program and developing options to transform it. “We are currently reviewing the final […]
With eight sitting days before Kinder Morgan’s deadline, no word on pipeline legislation
With only eight sitting days in the House of Commons until Kinder Morgan’s May 31 deadline to gain more certainty on the future of its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, there’s still no word on when or if the federal government is planning to table legislative measures it’s been considering to support the pipeline. In a statement […]
