Irritated by a question from an impertinent reporter about the makeup of her “expert panel” on Alberta’s energy future led by former Wildrose Party president David Yager, Premier Danielle Smith snapped back last week. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at Thursday’s Edmonton Chamber of Commerce speech (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). “Look, he
Continue readingTag: energy policy
Alberta Politics: State-supported academic research in Alberta should be about more than Making Oil & Gas Great Again
As Alberta launches its 10-year plan for “transformational change” in post-secondary education, a new study suggests the province’s universities and the government agencies that fund them are helping to prolong the worst aspects of the fossil fuel era. Alas, by trying to make oil and gas great again when there’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney offers medical equipment to Ontario, Quebec and B.C.; pitches national solidarity on resource development
One hates to play the skunk at a tea party, but somebody needs to ask the question a lot of Albertans must be thinking. To wit, if less than a week ago we barely had enough N95 medical masks for Alberta’s hard-pressed nurses, doctors and other front-line health care workers
Continue readingAlberta Politics: This just in! Stable Reliable Liberal Democracy of Alberta suddenly adopts social license strategy for fossil fuel development
We interrupt this blog with an important bulletin from the Stable Reliable Liberal Democracy of Alberta! In an unexpected move, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced he will seek social license for new energy projects in the Canadian province. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). How unexpected was
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Corporate Mapping Project grant was approved on Stephen Harper’s watch, OK?
On a personal note, it was a disappointing shock to learn of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s rage tweet yesterday morning blaming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the $2.5-million Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant to the Corporate Mapping Project that was awarded on former prime minister Stephen Harper’s watch
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Quebec premier vows drive to slash oil use; Alberta premier calls climate worry ‘flavour of the month’
Over the weekend, Quebec Premier François Legault vowed to implement an ambitious electrification drive that would reduce the province’s use of oil by 40 per cent by 2030, which in case you’re not counting happens to be in only 11 years. Quebec will electrify transportation systems, buildings and businesses to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Calculating the winners and losers in yesterday’s Trans Mountain Pipeline debacle
No doubt they were chuckling discreetly at Kinder Morgan headquarters in Houston yesterday as they counted up their additional spare change. They had, after all, just managed to sell off the Trans Mountain Pipeline to the Liberal government led by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, backstopped by Premier Rachel Notley’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The bitumen hits the fan in Alberta and Ottawa as British Columbia moves to restrict pipeline and rail flow
PHOTOS: B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman, foreground, with members of his environment and climate change strategy council last fall (Photo: Province of British Columbia). Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). I’m not going to try to go all
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: In a democracy, quiet is rarely a good sign, and Alberta’s relationship with Big Oil is very quiet indeed
PHOTOS: Part of the Jackpine Oilsands Mine north of Fort McMurray, formerly owned by Shell and now operated by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (Photo: Pembina Institute.) Below: Author Kevin Taft. Guest Post by Kevin Taft Kevin Taft is a best-selling author, well-known speaker, and former provincial politician in Alberta. He
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Thank you, Ralph! While Alberta awaits the Green Apocalypse, Norwegian version of Heritage Fund hits $1-trillion US
PHOTOS: A Norwegian oil rig in the North Sea. (Photo: Norsk Teknisk Museum, Wikimedia Commons.) Below: The late Alberta premier Peter Lougheed, who founded the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund; the late Alberta premier Ralph Klein, who gave every one of us Albertans enough money to buy an iPod and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Documents show B.C. ‘Climate Leadership Plan’ was cooked up in Calgary boardroom of powerful petroleum industry lobby
PHOTOS: British Columbia’s beautiful Legislature Building in Victoria – not, as it turns out, where the province’s climate policy is set! Below: CCPA-BC’s Shannon Daub, former B.C. Liberal premier Christy Clark (Photo: Wikimedia Commons), B.C. NDP Premier John Horgan, and environmentalist Tzeporah Berman. Using documents obtained through a Freedom of
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Approval of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline was based on faulty assumptions
One of the key faulty assumptions underlying Canada’s approval of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline is that Alberta’s bitumen is being unfairly discounted by U.S. buyers and that its price can be maximized by getting it to Asian markets. The post Approval of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline was based
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley’s tough talk on pipelines evokes the Peter Lougheed Era of energy policy confrontation
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley at yesterday’s news conference in Edmonton. (Photo: Chris Schwarz, Government of Alberta) Below: Earth scientist David Hughes (Post Carbon Institute photo), B.C. Premier Christy Clark (B.C. Government photo), and B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan. Using language that, intentionally or not, evoked the Peter Lougheed Era
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s weird to see Alberta’s Wildrose Party paying tribute to (Pierre) Trudeau’s National Energy Program … but what the heck!
PHOTOS: Prime minister Pierre Trudeau, at right, and Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed looking friendly enough in this file shot taken back in the 1980s. Below: Wildrose Economic Development Critic Prasad Panda and former Manitoba (shhhhhh … NDP) premier Gary Doer. VICTORIA, B.C. While we await the results of today’s British
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Research sheds light on dark corner of B.C.’s oil and gas industry
A field study by the David Suzuki Foundation and St. Francis Xavier University found methane pollution from B.C.’s oil and gas industry is at least 2.5 times higher than B.C. government estimates. The post Research sheds light on dark corner of B.C.’s oil and gas industry appeared first on The
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: What will it take to get Canada’s Arctic off diesel?
The planned Innavik Hydro Electric Project will provide clean energy and propel the indigenous Inukjuak community in Northern Quebec off its dependency on dirty diesel energy. But the project faces serious challenges, including lack of adequate funding, and mega hydro projects’ disastrous legacy of wiping out thousands of caribou and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It won’t hurt NDP for centrist voters to understand how close Rachel Notley’s energy policy is to Jim Prentice’s proposals
PHOTOS: Jim Prentice during his time as premier of Alberta. Below: Premier Rachel Notley, Prentice co-author Jean-Sébastian Rioux (Twitter), and journalist Jason Markusoff (Twitter). The revelation that the moderate and thoughtful energy policy proposed by the late Jim Prentice soon after he left politics in 2015 was very similar to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Jason Syndrome: Conservative candidate melts down about Hollywood star turn in bid to derail NDP strategy that’s working
PHOTOS: Conservative carbon-tax foe Jason Kenney in a screen shot taken from his recent Facebook video. Actual best experiences may not result as promised from turning on the sound. Below: Hollywood actress Jane Fonda aboard a helicopter somewhere over Fort McMurray. Just what is the pilot pointing at? Below her:
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Policy is people #nlpoli
Kim Keating is a member of the newly-appointed council to advise the provincial government on oil and gas issues. She’s a professional engineer, a senior official with a local company in the oil and gas business, and in the recent past she was the president of the St. John’s Board
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley’s demand for a pipeline quid pro quo demonstrates the steely side of Alberta’s premier
PHOTOS: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley. Below: Peter Lougheed, Alberta’s first Progressive Conservative premier, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his father, the late prime minister Pierre Trudeau. GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alberta Rachel Notley’s decision yesterday to make support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan put a national price on carbon conditional
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