Final NRTEE report warns of federal inaction in emerging global low-carbon economy
Canada risks falling behind in the emerging worldwide green economy, according to the final report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, but energy policy experts say the feds can play a leadership role by borrowing from innovative provincial policies to foster private investment in Canada’s low carbon energy sector. […]
West to East pipeline no substitute for national energy strategy: critics
Enbridge’s Line 9 reversal could see Alberta crude reach eastern Canadian refineries next year, and while critics of federal energy policy are pleased at the prospect of job creation in the East, they expect regional divisions over energy projects to persist without a national energy strategy. The National Energy Board approved Enbridge’s proposal to […]
Ottawa think tanks highlight necessary considerations in precedent-setting $15.1-billion Nexen bid
Two expert panels convened in Ottawa last week to highlight the challenges posed by the Chinese Offshore Oil Corporation’s bid for Calgary-based oil sands developer Nexen, and if there was agreement on one point, it’s that the stakes are high for the Harper government. The national capital was abuzz with policy chatter last Wednesday, […]
Why does Harper have more ambitious growth targets for the oil sands than those in the oil patch?
Former U.S. President G. W. Bush was caught on camera once referring to the “vision thing.” Some commentators have suggested Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not enunciated a clear vision. If Canadians wonder what Harper’s vision might be, look to the mania for slashing laws that might regulate the pace of fossil fuel development, […]
Canada needs an energy strategy for the 21st century
“…[this] boom … will inevitably turn into bust, taking with it the impetus to design Canadian resource policy for the long term. The result will be that when the next boom arrives, we will be equally unprepared,” The 9 Habits of Highly Effective Resource Economies: Lessons for Canada, Canadian International Council, October 2012 […]
Resources are important but they’re not enough
TORONTO—The Harper government’s economic strategy is to brand Canada as a resource superpower, in the belief that our future depends on increasing our dependence on the resources sector as the critical engine of economic growth. This would be a big mistake. Resources Minister Joe Oliver is busy trying to persuade India to buy our […]
Canada well-positioned to fulfill rapidly increasing need in Asia-Pacific
Canada is fortunate to have a vast wealth of natural resources in the form of oil, gas, metals, minerals, and forestry. Canadians want the responsible development of these resources because it creates jobs, spurs economic growth, and assures long-term prosperity, while protecting the environment. The priority of our government to support economic and job […]
What’s with over-the-top reaction to renaming of Museum of Civilization to the Canadian Museum of History?
While a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, to rename a museum is apparently to launch a scurrilous and underhanded attack on its very nature. That at least is the conclusion one might draw from the over-the-top reaction in some quarters to the renaming of the Museum of Civilization to the […]
U.S. thinks its deficit is a sideshow, it’s not: Brian Lee Crowley
OTTAWA—Having just been in Washington talking about how Canada broke the back of its deficit, balanced its books, and thrived as a result, I can officially say that Americans just don’t get it. And not only do they not get it, they don’t even understand what it is they don’t get. I am used […]
If we demand respect, Quebecers will come around
Is Quebec now « une province comme les autres »? Not if you listen to the usual suspects obsessing about how « dangerous » it is that the federal government has only a handful of seats in Quebec. Horror stories have abounded of late, including one about former prime minister Brian Mulroney expressing his fears about Quebec politics […]
