It appears Christmas came a little early for that unending and expensive Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project, with word of another couple of billion dollars in loan guarantees arriving from Ottawa on Tibb’s Eve, the celebration on the day before Christmas Eve that’s marked in Newfoundland – and, by logical
Continue readingTag: Trans Mountain Pipeline
The Daveberta Podcast: Episode 57: A deep dive into oil pipelines and petro-patriotism with Andrew Leach
Andrew Leach joins Dave Cournoyer on the Daveberta Podcast to discuss the state of Alberta’s economy, economic diversification and how the politics of oil and pipelines are developing in 2020. He also shares some thoughts and reflections on climate change policy from his time as chair of Alberta’s Climate Change
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: I’m Becoming an Oil Baron
For those who complain there’s nothing in the news but COVID these days, try the Alberta section. Lots going on. For example, our government just laid off 26,000 school support staff while shelling out $1.5 billion, plus a $6-billion loan guarantee, to buy us a piece of the Keystone XL
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Price Ain’t Right
Back in August of 2018 our federal government bought us a pipeline. Not exactly a bargain, it set us back $4.5-billion. The pipeline, the Trans Mountain, carries oil from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C. The government’s reason, apparently, was to reassure Albertans that it really did want to help them get
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Federal election results show why abandoning ‘social license’ was a dumb idea for Alberta’s oilpatch
Seeking “social license” for Alberta’s fossil fuel industry was said by the NDP government of former premier Rachel Notley to be a way to win approval for more pipeline capacity to Canada’s ocean ports. This was true enough as far as it went, and the idea getting such approval required
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Mr Kenney’s Announcements on TMX and KXL
This just in from the how-to-make-a-good-news-story-sound-bad department: Mr Kenney’s government issued two press releases this week, one about the restart of construction of the TMX pipeline project, the other about the favourable ruling of the Nebraska Supreme Court on Keystone XL. Both of these announcements are about a good result
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Yesterday Man
Those with undying affection for, and advocacy of, fossil fuels are indulging in a venal nostalgia for the way things were. They cling to past truths about price differentials that allegedly make green energy too costly. They continue to claim that green energy, if produced during the day via solar
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Corporate Mapping Project names top fossil-fuel emitters, enablers and legitimators, unlocks online database
“The fossil fuel industry … is the biggest obstacle to real action on climate change today,” says the co-director of the Corporate Mapping Project, which this morning published an eye-opening list of the 50 most influential players in the industry and a publicly accessible database with information on more than
Continue readingMontreal Simon: The Greedy Canadians and the Pipeline Follies
If I was the Prime Minister of Canada I probably definitely would not have done this. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet have again approved the Trans Mountain expansion project, a crucial next step for the much-delayed pipeline project designed to carry nearly a million barrels of oil from Alberta's oilpatch
Continue readingBigCityLib Strikes Back: Trans Mountain Pipeline Approved
…but far from built. I’ve talked about this before. My opinion is that Trudeau did the right thing by approving the pipeline. You can’t really rule this country if the entire middle bit hates your guts because you took away their one salable product. (Well, that’s an exaggeration: Sask has
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Vindication? Board of Internal Economy renders a Scotch verdict on Jason Kenney’s ethical lapse
CALGARY – Jason Kenney’s been in power for less than a week and already his election promises are falling like dominoes.* Yesterday, another wobbled when the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled that the federal government has the power to establish limits on greenhouse gas production that provinces must meet, and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The game’s afoot in Ottawa as the moment nears for Jason Kenney to implement his ‘revenge platform’
Jason Kenney will be sworn in tomorrow as the 18th premier of Alberta, so we should know very soon if he really meant his oft-repeated pledge to make the repeal of the NDP’s carbon levy the first act of his government or if it was just another campaign whopper. Likewise,
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Will Jason Kenney Lose His Pipeline War With Justin Trudeau?
Ever since he became the Premier-elect of Alberta, Jason Kenney has wasted no time giving his enemies the finger, and preparing to declare war on them.From "foreign funded" environmental groups, the government and people of British Columbia and First Nations, to union groups, student activists, the liberal media etc etc.And of course
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: This Is What Gives Them Away
A lot of stupid people in Canada have come to think of Athabasca bitumen as “oil.” That is the single most important victory the petro-state has achieved. It’s not oil. It may be turned into oil at a distant refinery, probably in the States but we’re told even in Asia,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: So, What in Hell Does Justin Do Now?
This is another fine mess he’s created. He tried to help Rachel as much as he could but she’s out, bumped off by the bete noire of Western conservatism, Jason Kenney. The new premier is a truly shrewd bugger who knows to strike when an opponent is vulnerable and, today,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: This Could Be Another Difficult Day for Mr. Trudeau
He panicked and tossed away $4.5 billion on a pipeline project, money we might not (probably won’t) get back. He’s about to pour another seven to nine billion into constructing the Justin Trudeau Memorial Trans-Mountain Pipeline. At the time the prime minister justified this climate wrecking venture as the price
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley, one of the finest political orators of her generation, raises the rafters with optimistic speech in Edmonton
Rachel Notley looked and sounded like a politician on a roll yesterday afternoon as she addressed at least 1,500 people sardined into Edmonton’s Polish Hall – energized, by turns forceful, funny, and inspiring. This runs counter to the media narrative about this 2019 election campaign from the get-go, of course,
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Trudeau’s Dodgy Ten Billion Dollar Bet
Justin Trudeau bet the farm on bitumen when he bought the Trans Mountain pipeline. Cutting a treasury cheque for $4.5 billion to the former owner, Kinder Morgan, and facing another $7 billion to complete the pipeline expansion, the Trans Mountain is a 40-60 year proposition for breaking even. Visions of
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Norway Shines a Light We Don’t Care to See
Little Norway and it’s big sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, are once again leading the way, this time by plunging into alternative clean energy investment. Not for the first time Norway is demonstrating how screwed up Canadian energy policy has become and will continue to be until we get
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Canada Warming at Twice Global Rate
The federal government is scheduled to release a report tomorrow that concludes our Great White North is warming at twice the global rate. Don’t worry, we’ve got a carbon tax to fix that. Entitled Canada’s Changing Climate Report (CCCR), the study was commissioned by the Environment and Climate Change Department,
Continue reading