Norway sets aside proceeds from oil and gas production and now has an investment fund worth 8,140 billion NOK, which is about $1.3 trillion Canadian. Given the present population, that’s more than $250,000 for every man, woman and child.
Continue readingTag: oil and gas
In-Sights: Inevitable change
This weekend, Kinder Morgan Canada Limited (KML) suspended all “non-essential activities and related spending” on its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. They blamed “continued actions in opposition to the project.” That’s only part of the story…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Questions
With which group will Justin Trudeau identify? This one? Or, this one? It was sponsored by subsidized fossil fuel and extractive industries and held on the edge of Vancouver’s inner harbour, one of the places in British Columbia and Washington put at greater risk if dilbit shipments increase. Credit: Bob
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Ten considerations for the next Alberta budget
On November 17, the working group of the Alberta Alternative Budget (AAB) sponsored a one-day workshop at the University of Alberta. The event’s main purpose was to discuss recent developments in Alberta public policy, as well as expectations for the upcoming Alberta budget. Twenty speakers presented in total. In light
Continue readingIn-Sights: Socialized losses, privatized gains
Postmedia’s Michael Smyth came to Gordon Wilson’s defense after the LNG advocate was relieved of vague but costly responsibilities for gas industry promotion. But, did the political commentator make even a small effort to examine BC Liberal ambitions for this “generational opportunity”? Given Postmedia’s partnership with the Canadian Association of Petroleum
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces
I’ve just written a blog post about the fiscal situation of Canada’s ‘oil rich’ provinces (i.e., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador). It consists of a summary of key points raised at a PEF-sponsored panel at this year’s Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association. Points raised in the blog
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Foundations for an Alberta Alternative Budget
An Alberta-based volunteer working group, of which I’m a part, recently released a document titled Foundations for an Alberta Alternative Budget (for media coverage, see this Metro article). Working group members include staff from Alberta’s non-profit sector, labour movement and advocacy sector. While our long-term goal is to emulate the
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Extracted Carbon: Re-examining Canada’s contribution to climate change through fossil fuel exports
We just published a new report, Extracted Carbon: Re-examining Canada’s contribution to climate change through fossil fuel exports, by yours truly. It is part of the Corporate Mapping Project, a new mega research partnership led by CCPA’s Shannon Daub and UVic’s William Carroll. The new report tallies up all of
Continue readingIn-Sights: A reader comments on forestry
Reader Ken Barry today submitted a comment to an article written last July – Log exports update. It reminds of a subject that’s close to my heart and, I think, an illustration of how wrong-headed the Liberals have been in natural resource policy. Here …
Continue readingIn-Sights: Rich lands, poor people
GDP measures income, but not equality, it measures growth, but not destruction, and it ignores values like social cohesion and the environment. – OECDIf a province allows extraction of natural resources and takes back little or no share of produced val…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Mr. Prime Minister, start pushing British Columbia
Trudeau says Indigenous people can teach the world how to care for the planet, APTN National News, November 30, 2015:Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a speech in Paris that Indigenous people can teach the world how to care for the planet….He…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Is your pension in climate denial?
Fossil fuel divestment campaigns have become a focus for climate change organizing, targeting university endowments, churches, foundations and pension funds. While the motivations are primarily moral—if it is wrong to wreck the climate, it is wrong to profit from that wreckage—there are important economic arguments for divestment. If we are
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: For Canada, a commitment to the environment and jobs is possible
Naomi Klein and environmental activists will call for a “long term sustainable strategy that leads to renewable energy” during the March for Jobs, Justice and the Climate in Toronto on July 5. The post For Canada, a commitment to the environment and jobs is possible appeared first on The Canadian
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: BC’s Carbon Emissions on the Rise
It was a good story while it lasted. Over the past few years, the BC government and many in the policy community have spun a tale about the remarkable success of BC’s climate action policies, with a big spotlight on the carbon tax as a driver of lower emissions while
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Will Oil & Potash Put SK Back in Black?
The Sask. Party government pulled out all the stops yesterday to report a balanced budget, quite possibly the last one before next spring’s provincial election. Revenue Assumptions The drop in oil prices is a huge fiscal blow to Saskatchewan, and one of the ways the government projects continued balanced budgets
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Louis-Philippe Rochon’s Top 10 Economic Predictions for 2015
Louis-Philippe Rochon has written a provocative blog post for the CBC titled “Top 10 Economic Predictions for 2015.” The post is available here.
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Talk about Kinder Morgan
The Facts About Kinder Morgan, Sightline Daily, Last week, a financial research firm, Hedgeye, released a scathing report on Kinder Morgan that supports many of Sightline’s conclusions. Aptly titled Is Kinder Morgan Maintaining its Stock Prices Instead of its Assets? (no longer available online), the report is mainly concerned with
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: Special treatment for special friends
Andrew MacLeod of The Tyee is reporting that BC Government officials aim to exempt natural gas producers from requirements they contribute to an industry fund that would pay to clean up toxic spills. “The gas sector would be exempt through a system that redefined what substances would be described as
Continue readingNorthern Insight / Perceptivity: NEB sham exposed
It is been long apparent that the National Energy Board is not an industry regulator. It is an industry facilitator that is staffed by people who serve the fossil fuel industry and work to deflect public concern about whatever projects industry plans. Scroll down through previous Northern Insight articles about
Continue reading