The federal government may have to get more involved in oil and gas development in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling giving title to aboriginals in B.C. That’s the result of a new study done by the Fraser Institute. The court’s unanimous landmark ruling last month brought an end to a thirty year long […]
Comment: Climate plans amount to ‘wishful thinking’
Alberta’s strategy to address climate change has proven to be little more than “wishful thinking.” When the Alberta government introduced its Climate Change Strategy in 2008, the document was branded with the words “Responsibility, Leadership and Action” but eight years later – with greenhouse gas emissions nowhere close to meeting the provincial target – there’s […]
Comment: Canada is too small for U.S. to worry about
The headlines are ominous. Canada-U.S. relations have hit a “low ebb” and a “new low.” They are “frayed” and “strained.” Really? A longer-term view suggests recent tensions aren’t all that unusual. Strains over the Keystone XL pipeline, Buy American legislation, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge and a U.S. tax crackdown are typical of the ebb and flow […]
Aluetians preparing for more oil tanker traffic
A decision by the Harper government to give conditional approval to the Northern Gateway pipeline is pressuring residents in the Aleutian Islands to prepare for the possibility of more tanker traffic. Enbridge the company behind the Northern Gateway pipeline must meet more than 200 conditions before it can start. While many of the conditions relate […]
Comment: Make Prince Rupert the terminus
The recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling should give pause to Enbridge to consider that Port of Prince Rupert as a viable alternative of its plan to build two pipelines from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton, to Kitimat, B.C. Certainly the ruling strengthens the hand of the many small native bands that fish the tributaries of […]
Editorial: Harper government made wrong choice on Northern Gateway
It was an expected but devastating decision. The Harper government approved the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline — against the wishes of the majority of Canadians. But here’s the thing: there’s still time to stop the pipeline. Enbridge has stated its commitment to renew conversations with First Nations and other communities in the pathway of the pipeline. It […]
Editorial: Game changer
What does it take to stop the Northern Gateway oil pipelines? For Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the answer seemed to be nothing. Scholars alleged a report on the pipeline was replete with errors. Scientists anticipated smog belching up over Asia and across the planet. Just one day before Ottawa endorsed the pipeline, a study revealed […]
Poll shows how Alberta & B.C. residents feel about Northern Gateway
Support for the pipeline that would run from northern Alberta through B.C. to the west coast is split between the two provinces, but it’s slipping in both. According to a poll by Insights West, two-thirds of Albertans support the pipeline. That’s a drop from three out of four in January 2013. In B.C. Enbridge’s project […]
Northern gateway pipeline approval approved in Alberta’s heartland
While environmental groups and First Nations criticized the Harper government for approving the Northern gateway pipeline, the provinces industrial heartland has a different take. Not surprisingly it wants the pipeline to satisfy the 209 conditions and get the go ahead to start building. The Executive Director of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association (AIHA), Neil Shelly, told […]
Northern Gateway approval good for Canada and the world
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford have given their conditional approval to Enbridge Pipelines to construct the Northern Gateway Pipeline. Assuming that Enbridge can meet the 209 very stringent conditions, why wouldn’t they? Given recent events in the Middle East and the United State’s continued delays on granting a permit […]