“If you were a betting man (or woman) what odds would you place on President Obama approving the Keystone XL pipeline before the end of his term and why?” Ms Soapbox posed the question to a panel* discussing the future of Alberta’s energy industry. The panelists, bless their hearts, didn’t
Continue readingTag: Energy & Natural Resources
Susan on the Soapbox: TransAlta and the Court of Public Opinion: A $66 million fine or multimillions in profits?
Last month TransAlta kicked a damaging allegation into the court of public opinion: did it manipulate the electricity market by improperly shutting down six power plants during peak demand hours in order to jack up power prices and make millions in the process? There are only two things the court
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Breakfast with Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton was in Calgary last week to give the keynote address at a breakfast meeting of 2500 Calgarians who paid about $500 to hear her speak. Luckily my friend, the Zen Banker, invited me to attend as her guest. Hillary is like the Chloe Diamond—brilliant, mesmerizing, multifaceted and
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Edelman Trust Barometer: Who do you trust?
The 2014 Edelman Trust Barometer is here and it’s good news—unless you work in government or business in which case you’re facing what Edelman delicately calls “a significant trust deficit”. Edelman is a global public relations company that surveys trust levels across 27 countries by asking the public who they
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Trouble with Ezra Levant…
Mr Ezra Levant Ezra Levant is a Canadian media personality, an ultra-conservative political activist, author and lawyer who has made a brilliant career out of being half right. In a recent episode of The Source, Mr Levant outlined the flaws in Neil Young’s rationale for the Honour the Treaties Tour.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Does Fort Mac Look Like Hiroshima?
Neil Young said many provocative things about the oilsands, but the one that became a lightning rod for criticism was this: “The fact is, Fort McMurray looks like Hiroshima”.* He later explained that the reference to Fort McMurray was meant to symbolize all of the oilsands operations in northern Alberta.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Neil Young is Right
“Take a second to really look at what you hear.” – Neil Young, singer/songwriter Neil Young knows how to rile up a crowd. In a 15 minute press conference* to kick off his Honour the Treaties Tour with Diana Krall he said some things that sent Big Oil and a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: CNRL’s Primrose Problem: A Slow Motion Blow Out
When King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson it was scandalous. When the Alberta government abdicated the regulation of Alberta’s natural resources to an industry-led agency nobody raised an eyebrow. The new Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is 100% funded by industry. It’s chaired by an industry lobbyist,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Redford’s Performance Appraisal: The Building Alberta Plan
Alison Redford’s performance appraisal document landed on my doorstep a week ago. It’s called “The Building Alberta Plan 2013 Edition”. In the real world a CEO undergoes an annual performance appraisal with the Compensation Committee of the board of directors. If a CEO presented Redford’s Plan to the Comp Committee
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: One Dead Fish or More Big Ideas? The Quality of Debate in Redford’s Government
Premier Redford complains bitterly about the quality of debate in the Legislature; apparently we need more “big ideas” and less “parochial debate”.* However her Environmental Minister continues to provide fatuous explanations for why it took nineteen days to issue an Environmental Protection Order in connection with the largest coal mining
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Smith vs Mason Debate: An Enlightening Evening
“Tonight we will witness a debate of Epic Proportions! “In the Right Corner, the Freedom Fighter—Danielle Smith!!! In the Left Corner, the Protector of the People—Brian Mason!!!” Mount Royal University was hosting the ninth and final debate between Wildrose leader, Danielle Smith, and NDP leader, Brian Mason. We expected to
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Redford backtracks on public participation–but only at the federal level
Premier Redford was asked to comment on the actions of environmental activists protesting a National Energy Board (NEB) review of the proposal to reverse Enbridge’s Line 9 oil pipeline. The environmentalists say the NEB’s review process is too narrow and public participation is too limited. Premier Redford said: “I think
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: McQueen’s Damage Control Strategy: The Erosion of Natural Justice Continues
“It is incredibly irresponsible and I think they’re trapped in an extremely ineffective strategy of damage control.” — Rachel Notley NDP MLA* Environment Minister McQueen is back from her European junket. She’s had a few days to consider Justice Marceau’s decision which flayed her department for refusing to allow an
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Does Redford’s “Prerogative” Trump the Law?
When a Queen’s Bench justice compares Redford’s government to the corrupt regime of former Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis you know you’ve hit rock bottom. Justice Marceau made the damning comment in his ruling that the Redford government violated the principles of natural justice by refusing to allow an environmental coalition
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Alberta Energy Board: What the PC Government learned and failed to learn from Machiavelli
On the same day that the Health Minister unceremoniously fired the Alberta Health Services board for refusing to revoke $3.2 million in bonuses, the Energy Minister announced the appointment of the Alberta Energy Board. Hmmm. I wonder whether in a year or two this newly minted board will find themselves
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Will Platts Pop Alberta’s “Bitumen Bubble”?
Platts, a global company with a remarkably flaccid name, finds itself smack in the middle of an international price fixing scandal and I really hope the Alberta government is paying attention! Last week the European Commission storm troopers, sorry, inspectors, raided the offices of BP, Shell and Statoil, three of
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Redford’s Keystone Ad in the New York Times: The St Patrick’s Day Blunder
So it’s come to this has it? Premier Redford has officially abdicated responsibility for the Canadian natural resource strategy to her communications director, Stefan Baranski, who persuaded Ms Redford to place an ad in today’s New York Times. The ad, entitled Keystone XL: The Choice of Reason, was meant
Continue reading