When the federal environment commissioner reported Canada will not meet its 2020 international commitment on greenhouse gas emission cuts, no one was surprised. The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been saying for years it will not sacrifice economic competitiveness — particularly in the oil and gas sector — for environmental gains. But […]
Investigation called for into Alberta’s toxic tailings ponds
The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has found enough evidence to warrant an investigation into the Harper government’s failure to enforce the federal Fisheries Act, with respect to continuous leaking from Alberta’s toxic oil sands tailings ponds. Since 2010, the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Canada-based Environmental Defence, as well as three […]
Comment: A renewed appeal for Keystone
What’s going on with oil and energy these days? Last week, SNL Financial noted that, “Canada’s crude oil producers are looking to markets other than the U.S. to sell increased output amid delays in pipeline expansions, according to the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. “In terms of growth potential, Keystone is obviously […]
Opposition to pipeline mounts
B.C. Nature (Federation of BC Naturalists), a conservation organization is joining the legal battle against the Harper government’s approval of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline. The group filed a legal challenge this month. The claim is claiming the government does not have the authority to approve the pipeline. “We are strongly of the view that there […]
Comment: Northern Gateway exposes Canada’s fractures
In late June, the federal government announced Enbridge’s $7.9-billion Northern Gateway Pipeline can proceed if it meets the National Energy Board’s 209 conditions. That’s indicative of a multiplicity of concerns around a project that includes a 1,200-kilometre pipeline that would traverse some of the most wild and spectacular terrain in Canada, and the shipping of […]
Comment: Jeff Immelt is the right guy to make changes in the oil sands
General Electric Co. chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Immelt is just what Canada needs to develop its oil sands — an American leader with stature in Washington, on Wall Street, in the oil patch and in Silicon Valley. He said this week that GE will help companies clean up the oil sands so that […]
Comment: Let’s make use of our natural resources
I am appalled by the many frivolous lawsuits filed against the Northern Gateway pipeline project by various interest groups. If these groups had lived in the 1880s, when the Canadian Pacific Railway tunnels were chiseled through the Rocky Mountains, or in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Trans-Canada Highway, the longest in the world today, […]
A public survey suggests the Harper government is out of touch with Canadians
The Federal Finance Department had a public opinion survey done and the results are not something the Harper government can be proud of. The results suggest the Tories key policies are not in sync with what Canadians want. Of particular interest to Alberta’s oil industry would be the results concerning the Northern Gateway pipeline. People […]
Social licence – what does it mean?
One thing about big energy projects is they are bound to attract opposition groups. That is certainly the case for Enbridge’s Northern gateway pipeline. Despite the federal governments approval (pending conditions being met), opposition to the project forges on. In the past investors were able to think of these groups as obstacles that will be […]
Poll: Canadians think oil sands more important to economy than they actually are
A new poll by an environmental group indicates Canadians, may overestimate the economic benefits from the oil sands. Statistics Canada reports that production from oil sands accounts for no more than 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Yet the survey by Environmental Defense said 57 percent of respondents overrated that value, including 41 […]