No more treading water
Patrick Brown has heard it all before. Assertions that the Ontario Progressive Conservative leader’s most defined personality trait is that he’s not Kathleen Wynne; that he’s flip-flopped on policies as starkly as Donald Trump has on immigration; and even that he’s a dead-eyed, brainwashed robot that runs on talking points uploaded to his hard drive […]
Trudeau government’s plan to implement carbon pricing right, but more action is required
TORONTO—First, the Trudeau government announces conditional approval of the massive LNG project on the coast of northern British Columbia. Next, the Trudeau government announces a mandatory carbon pricing system for Canada as Parliament debates ratification of Canada’s international commitment to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To come soon, the Trudeau government’s conditional approval of an […]
Alberta: the province that is down, but not out
Make no mistake, it is bad for sure.” Mary Moran, president and CEO for Calgary Economic Development (CED), doesn’t bother to sugar coat her city’s current economic situation. As Alberta slogs through its second year of recession following an oil price slump, Moran—who has spent the last seven years working her way up the city-run […]
Indigenous leaders fighting for real power on resource development projects
Indigenous leaders and activists who oppose pipelines and other natural resource development projects, such as the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG project recently approved by the federal government, say they are not being heard by the federal government. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, who is president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said there is a […]
On oil, Saudi Arabia admits defeat
LONDON, U.K.—“God be with the citizens, we are back to the time of poverty,” wrote Saudi Arabian Twitter user Rayan al-Shamri last week. That’s a bit strong, but he and his fellow citizens are certainly no longer living in the time of plenty. Saudi Arabia is cutting back on all fronts. The wages of government […]
Rethinking Canada: is there life beyond the oil patch?
OTTAWA—Twenty-six years after the Exxon Valdez hit a reef and dumped 11 million gallons of crude oil into the clear, cold waters of Prince William Sound, the people of Alaska are still trying to clean up the damage, which befouled more than 1,000 miles of coastline. The event arguably changed the course of the oil […]
Ontario takes step to build $1.35-billion transmission project to connect 17 First Nations communities
FORT ERIE, ONT.—Much has been written lately about the lack of reliable access to safe drinking water in Canada’s remote First Nations communities, but in many of these communities, there is something else that is equally vital to their health and economic prosperity, and that’s reliable access to power. For those of us in southern […]
Growing the forest of tomorrow
Whether it’s reduced ice cover and longer summers in Canada’s Far North, or rising water levels in the tropics, the effects of climate change have progressed from what used to be a more theoretical discussion to what is now our new reality. The effects and the debate that surround this new reality will of course […]
Pipeline pandering and broken promises
OTTAWA—I don’t know about all y’all, but I’m wondering when the social licence shows up. “Social licence” is a term, never too carefully defined, for broad social acceptance of some big change. It came into vogue in the late years of Stephen Harper’s government to explain why he couldn’t get oil pipelines built even though […]
Should the federal government approve the Kinder Morgan pipeline? What about the Energy East and Northern Gateway pipelines? Why or why not?
Kate Purchase Liberal strategist “Energy resources are essential to growing our economy and creating well-paying jobs for the middle class, and those working hard to join it. Also, one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government is to get our resources to market. In the 21st century, getting our resources to market means doing […]
