Quebec’s asbestos industry seeks government assistance to continue operations
Canada is not producing asbestos for the first time in 130 years, but don’t write off the industry just yet. LAB Chrysotile stopped production at their Thetford Mines, Que., operation last month while awaiting permission from the provincial government to allow them to dig under a nearby highway to reach a deposit of the […]
NRCan anticipates $500-billion in new investments in natural resources projects over next 10 years
Natural resources have helped Canada weather the last three years of economic uncertainty, but even with business booming, industry is telling the federal government that the sector can do more with reforms to the regulatory process. Canada has reaped the benefits of high commodity prices in recent years, with energy, mining, and forestry accounting […]
Hard-hit forestry sector sees its future in the bio-economy
The federal government’s failure to have a comprehensive forestry strategy leaves the country unprepared to effectively deal with the forestry sector’s needs, say opposition MPs. “I think we’re lacking behind the rest of the world primarily because we don’t have a strategy for forestry,” said NDP natural resources critic Claude Gravelle (Nickel Belt, Ont.). […]
‘Canada’s a bit like the U.S. right now, the narrative’s not there’
In his latest book, The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World, economist, writer, and activist Jeremy Rifkin, 66, envisions a future where energy is produced at the individual level and shared across an infrastructure modelled after the internet. His vision is so convincing that EU members […]
Energy, environment: we need a national discussion
The Keystone XL pipeline decision splashed across major newspaper and Twitter feeds illustrates an increased appetite by the public to engage with energy issues. As heated debate swirls among pundits, environmental groups and energy stakeholders, it can be difficult for Canadians and policy makers alike to evaluate competing claims and interests. So where does […]
Keytstone Pipeline delay gives Canada change to stop and think
PARLIAMENT HILL—The campaign to prevent the expected rubber-stamp approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline by the Obama Administration was not given good odds of success. The proposed pipeline would bring bitumen crude from northern Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico where it would be processed and either sold in the U.S. or shipped abroad. […]
Keystone XL project fails test of long-term benefit for Canada
OTTAWA—Debate over the Keystone XL project has brought into stark focus the federal government’s lack of long-term development planning for Canada’s resources. This pipeline represents the “grab-and-go” resource exploitation of decades past, and the government’s blind support of it ignores calls from workers and environmentalists alike who want to see clean, green jobs as […]
We need a coordinated national strategy more than any in the world
Canadian energy policy has been stifled since the National Energy Program of the 1980s that divided the country politically. A national energy strategy has recently been proposed by the Winnipeg Consensus, the Banff Dialogue and is demanded by the Canadian Council of Executives and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association. Even Alberta’s Premier Alison […]
Government and industry unfazed by U.S. delay of Keystone XL Pipeline
The Prime Minister says he’s disappointed and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty isn’t sure the project will survive, but Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver remains confident that the Keystone XL pipeline will be approved and Alberta’s oil sands industry will continue to expand. “I do believe that Keystone will in fact be approved,” Natural Resources […]
Oliver slips into hot seat, limelight
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver may be a first-time MP, but he’s become one of the most high-profile ministers in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Cabinet. With natural resources industries doing the heavy lifting in Canada’s economic recovery, the portfolio has never been more important. The U.S.’s slow economic recovery and delay of the Keystone […]
