The North American Institute

Company plans major oil pipeline.

2008-05-12T18:53:00-06:00

Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, May 9, 2008 - “TransCanada Corp. plans to build a 36-inch underground pipeline through eastern Montana and five other states to carry Canadian crude down to U.S. refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The 1,940-mile pipeline project must first obtain land easements and approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. No formal announcement has been made yet, but Gov. Brian Schweitzer said this week that TransCanada wants to finish the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline by the end of next year.” Read more.

Panel releases report on future of Trent-Severn Waterway.

2008-05-12T18:45:00-06:00

Community Press, May 8, 2008 - “Shortly after the report from the panel on the future of the Trent-Severn Waterway was released, Minister of the Environment John Baird announced that the federal government was immediately allocating $63 million over the next five years for the system above current funding levels. The money will be used for infrastructure repairs along the entire waterway and projects are expected to begin in the coming weeks.” Read more.

International Joint Commission Sets Meeting Dates.

2008-05-09T19:25:00-06:00

The Seaway Channel, May 8, 2008 - “The International Joint Commission (IJC), a bi-national commission established under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the United States of America and Canada has announced a number of meetings that may be of interest to those who care about the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and other U.S. Canada boundary waters.” Read more.

The Alberta Perspective: Sustainability through Partnership - Speech By Premier Ed Stelmach.

2008-05-09T19:21:00-06:00

eGov Monitor, May 8, 2008 - “Albertans recognize that a strong economy is not an end in itself. It’s a means to provide the prosperity, quality of life, and public services we want and need. And Albertans understand that economic growth that doesn’t lead to stronger, healthier, more vibrant communities is of no benefit at all. To build those communities, sustainability must be part of everything we do. It’s a ‘need to have,’ not a ‘nice to have.’” Read more.

Border security and threat response discussed at summit.

2008-05-08T17:57:00-06:00

Caledon Enterprise, May 7, 2008 - “In April, Prime Minister Harper participated in the North American Leaders’ Summit in New Orleans. This annual Summit provides three neighbouring countries, Canada, the United States, and Mexico, with an opportunity to discuss how they can continue to work together on issues of mutual importance. This year’s Summit was particularly productive, as Prime Minister Harper reaffirmed Canada’s focus on several key areas.” Read more.

38th Conference on the Americas, Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry, Presentation.

2008-05-08T17:54:00-06:00

Industry Canada, May 7, 2008 - “Today, I want to look at three themes - first, the desire to improve the security and the flow of trade through the U.S.–Canada border; second, the importance of infrastructure; and third, the need to strengthen cooperation in building energy security and protecting the environment.” Read more.

NAFTA will survive, Wilkins insists.

2008-05-08T16:23:00-06:00

National Post, April 24, 2008 - “The U.S. ambassador to Canada predicts the North American Free Trade Agreement will survive the election of a new president, despite promises by the Democratic contenders for the job to pull out of the pact if it isn’t amended to strengthen environmental and labour standards. David Wilkins says such hustings talk should be taken with a grain of salt.” Read more.

Ottawa must reconcile oilsands’ riches, environmental challenges: Expert.

2008-04-29T17:38:00-06:00

Canada.com, April 29, 2008 - “The distinguished Canadian researcher who pioneered the development of the country’s oilsands is warning Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the industry touted to make Canada an energy superpower will “hit a wall” unless the Conservative government urgently injects funding into projects aimed at solving the huge environment problems associated with the resource.” Read more.

Three Amigos meetings ‘thin’ on results.

2008-04-21T21:45:00-06:00

Globe and Mail Canada, April 21, 2008 - “Ottawa gets little out of meetings like this week’s Three Amigos summit in New Orleans and should instead develop a more direct relationship with the United States to get things done, says the influential head of a panel reviewing the Canada-U.S. relationship. The review is being done in an effort to come up with a new agenda for Canadian-American relations as the U.S. elects a new president in November.” Read more.

Doctors warn of climate change, health.

2008-04-07T20:30:00-06:00

The Star/Canadian Press, April 7, 2008 - “Too many people only consider the environmental impacts of global warming and don’t realize public health is at serious risk as well, the Ontario College of Family Physicians said today as it added its voice to the chorus of climate change concern. The effects of climate change could bring on a new onslaught of health problems nationwide and even small incremental rises in temperatures could have a ‘profound effect’ on public health, the review suggests.” Read more.

Looming water wars foreshadow big problems.

2008-03-11T22:08:01-06:00

EarthNews, March 10, 2008 - “Adaptation, or the matter of adjusting to climate change, is sometimes called a cheaper, easier way to deal with some of the consequences of a warming world. But consider the battle between the United States, Mexico and Canada that was triggered here amid the vegetable farms near the California border. For more than 60 years the family of Geronimo Hernandez has raised watermelons, peppers and other crops in the rich, irrigated soil of Mexicali Valley, but within the next five years it could begin to dry up.” Read more.

The Border and the Ballot Box.

2008-03-02T19:01:00-06:00

The New York Times, Week in Review, March 2, 2008 - “Immigration has a fantastically complicated political history in the United States. It has produced enough populist anger to elect Know Nothing mayors of Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington and San Francisco, all in the 1850s and, more recently, to help Lou Dobbs reinvent his television career and become a best-selling author. But when national politicians have tried to seize on such anger, they have usually failed — and failed quickly.” Read more.

Human Shadows on the Seas.

2008-02-26T18:54:00-06:00

The New York Times, February 26, 2008 - “A paper in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Science is the first effort to map 17 kinds of human ocean impacts like organic pollution, including agricultural runoff and sewage; damage from bottom-scraping trawls; and intensive traditional fishing along coral reefs. About 40 percent of ocean areas are strongly affected, and just 4 percent pristine, according to the review.” Read more.

One more step in the climate debate.

2008-02-20T17:22:00-06:00

Toronto Star, February 18, 2008 - “Last week, the United Nations General Assembly held its first debate on climate change after the historic Bali conference. Another step forward, but the complexity of the issues involved was also evident. [snip] It was the first major UN meeting on climate change since the eventful Bali climate conference last December at which governments pledged to take more serious action to tackle this most serious survival problem.” Read more.

Business leaders tackle emissions.

2008-02-15T19:35:01-06:00

Washington Times, February 15, 2008 - “Tim Wirth, president of the U.N. Foundation and former Democratic senator from Colorado, said the next 50 years would bring a unique chance to adopt energy sources that emit less carbon dioxide and other global-warming gases. He said that shift would prove to be ‘as important as the computer revolution in generating new wealth and jobs.’” Read more.

All world’s seas show damage.

2008-02-15T19:32:00-06:00

The Star [Canada], February 14, 2008 - “Researchers studying 17 different activities ranging from fishing to pollution compiled a new map showing how and where people have impacted the seas. The map was released at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston and published in today’s edition of the journal Science. {snip] ‘Our results show that when these and other individual impacts are summed up, the big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected. It was certainly a surprise to me,’ said lead author Ben Halpern, an assistant research scientist at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California, Santa Barbara.” Read more.

U.N. Gathering to address climate change.

2008-02-11T18:33:01-06:00

Associated Press, February 11, 2008 - “The U.N. General Assembly is bringing together business leaders, activists and government officials for a debate on climate change starting Monday — an effort to keep up the momentum for a new treaty by 2009 to fight global warming. The two-day session is a follow-up to the international climate conference in December on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where delegates from nearly 190 nations agreed to adopt a blueprint to control global warming gases before the end of next year.” Read more.

Fourteen Years of NAFTA and the Tortilla Crisis

2008-01-17T20:23:00-06:00

IRC Americas Program, January 17, 2008 - “In January 2008, agricultural trade between Mexico, the United States, and Canada will become completely free, with the end of the implementation period of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). [snip] NAFTA is the first treaty to treat two developed countries and an underdeveloped one as equals. But compared to U.S. and Canadian agricultural sectors, Mexico’s presents huge asymmetries in terms of economics, technology, production factors, and agricultural policies and supports.” Read more, here.

New ‘rigidity of mindset’ hurting cross-border trade between Canada and the U.S.

2007-12-03T21:21:00-06:00

Canadian Business Online, December 3, 2007 - “Heightened security concerns and ‘escalating protectionist rhetoric’ in the United States is damaging cross-border trade with Canada, International Trade Minister David Emerson says. ‘We see more and more border measures, such as fees for product inspections and new regulatory requirements, and a new rigidity of mindset that is thickening our historically open border’ Emerson said in the prepared text of a speech given at a Miami conference Monday night.” Read more.

Bali climate summit: a test of the world’s resolve

2007-11-29T18:58:01-06:00

Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2007 - “Next week is seen as crunch time in the fight against global warming. Representatives from some 130 nations will gather in Bali, Indonesia, beginning a two-year effort to agree on a new pact to cut greenhouse-gas emissions – one that goes well beyond the goals of the current Kyoto Protocol.” Read more.