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: Pipeline east little benefit for Ontario
The Northern Gateway Project, promises to keep British Columbia mired in debate for years to come. Despite the National Energy Board’s recent approval, staunch opposition from First Nations groups and environmentalists looks set to suspend the pipeline in a state of legal limbo. Across the border, meanwhile, the high-stakes world of pipeline politics means U.S. […]
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 […]
First Nations rights vs national interest
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 […]
Cenovus Energy can use all the pipelines it can get
When it comes to pipeline projects, Cenovus Energy says it needs them all to be built. That’s not all, chief executive Brian Ferguson says his company needs every major pipeline project, along with rail, to allow it to transport its growing oil sands production. Ferguson’s comments contradict some analysts predictions who say all the proposed […]
Comment: Are governments looking out after our best interest?
I particularly don’t like when governments work in secret. Governments feed us a lot of malarkey about why secrecy is essential. Here are some government plans developing in secret that everyone should know about. In Ottawa, 400 delegates from Pacific Rim countries spent time this month negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) – the latest […]
Comment: Foreign money working against pipelines
Now Northern Gateway has been approved by the federal government, it’s time to turn the page and wait for U.S. President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama’s supporters come from several interest groups, and the environmentalist movement is one of the largest. It contributed millions of dollars to his campaign, with the […]
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 […]