May slams feds’ environment assessment plan for ignoring expert panel
The government’s outline for changes to environmental assessment laws falls short of Liberal election promises, and doesn’t follow much of the advice from an expert panel the Liberal government assembled, says Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. The government released a “discussion paper” in June that gave a sneak-peek at the outline of a new environmental […]
Natural Resources Minister Carr hires policy adviser with ties to oil industry
Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr has hired a former policy adviser for MEG Energy Corp. and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers as a new regional policy adviser in his ministerial office. Mikaela McQuade was most recently a senior policy analyst with MEG Energy Corp., a Canadian oil sands company based in Calgary. As part of […]
We can make business-First Nations partnerships work
In two important decisions this summer, Canada’s highest court provided long-awaited clarity on the Crown’s duty to consult on energy projects that affect the rights of Indigenous peoples. This clarity is welcome, but it may not last long as the discussion of Indigenous rights now continues in the political arena. Meanwhile, another conversation is developing […]
NAFTA’s benefits have not extended to softwood lumber
TORONTO—Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland insists that “NAFTA has been an extraordinary success story.” That’s a debatable claim, given Canada’s loss of market share in the U.S. since NAFTA came into effect, and the widespread closure by U.S. companies of manufacturing plants in Canada as operations were consolidated into U.S. or Mexican facilities. Moreover, given […]
Shift to low-carbon buildings requires all governments to step up
Eight months ago, Canada’s first ministers set the stage for bold action in the building sector. They committed in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change to pursue some of the lowest-cost, most rapidly achievable ways to reduce carbon emissions. On the heels of the Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference in St. Andrews, […]
What’s NAFTA worth to Canada?
TORONTO—The biggest unknowns in the NAFTA negotiations now underway are the minimum package that U.S. President Donald Trump feels he must have to overhaul what he has called “perhaps the worst trade deal ever negotiated” and whether Canada and Mexico could ever agree to the changes he’s seeking to satisfy his core supporters and win […]
The road to clean growth
The climate change trend is stark. With rising emissions of global greenhouse gases, high-impact climate events will occur more often, and with greater severity. This reality imposes a two-pronged strategy. First, action is required on an urgent basis. Adaptive measures must be taken now, because the costs of inaction are great, both in financial and […]
Feds in serious danger of betraying environmental assessment reform promises
Unless the Trudeau government takes a sharp turn, fixing Canada’s environmental assessment law will be just one more bold commitment it won’t deliver on. The recent discussion paper outlining the federal government’s plans suggests little more than tinkering with the 2012 devastating re-write of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government. The […]
Nuclear safety regulator reviewing small modular reactor technology
OTTAWA—To reduce the effect of greenhouse gases and carbon production, nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs) are becoming of interest to designers. The intent of the designers is to provide this carbon-free emission technology to remote areas in Canada, where diesel or other fossil fuels are currently being used to generate electricity and […]
Canadian energy’s Johnny Cash moment
OTTAWA—Canada is at a crossroads on energy. Its long-term energy future, economy-wide competitiveness, and capacity to capitalize on the market, environmental, and social opportunities of energy hinge on policy and regulatory reforms taken today. Reforms need to balance and bridge imperatives that are pivotal to energy governance in the 21s century. In the words of […]
