Canadian News
The latest news from and about Canadian issues.Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Our True North
The New York Times, July 1, 2009 - “Today, on Canada Day, 11 Canadians living in the United States share what they miss most about home. UNTIL 1982, Canada Day was known as Dominion Day. I always thought that had more of a ring to it. Beyond the zippy alliteration, it reminded us citizens that our domain of orderly domesticity was graced by the dominant power of our “Dominus.” And the rights granted therein to us by the glorious English crown through her colonial appointee, the right honourable governor general.There was another problem with Dominion Day. Dominion was the name of a national grocery store chain. It would be like calling the Fourth of July D’Agostino’s Day. Independence (now there’s a great name for a day!) came slowly to our country. In 1965, we dumped the old, staid British ensign for our own new flag. in lIt’s the one with the big red maple leaf in the middle. A simple, sweet leaf! We also have moose and beavers on our coins. And we call our dollars loonies because the coin has an image of a loon. Another old bird, the Queen of England, is on the other side of the coin. Read More.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Oil sands to take hit from U.S. bill
Globe and Mail, June 30, 2009 - “Producers and their U.S. refiners face sharply higher costs - Alberta’s oil sands producers and their U.S. refiners face sharply higher costs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and championed by U.S. President Barack Obama. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, if passed by the U.S. Senate, could also result in new tariffs on Canadian exporters of energy-intensive goods from cement to chemicals if Washington deems Ottawa’s climate-change regulations to be lacking. Under the cap-and-trade plan, U.S. refiners will have to buy permits for each tonne of carbon dioxide that they send into the air. While utilities will be provided free allocation of those permits to reduce the impact on power users, the oil industry will have to purchase virtually all of its permits. Such a system would heavily penalize oil companies that ship oil sands bitumen to the United States because refining the raw bitumen into petroleum products such as gasoline and heating oil is more energy-intensive and higher in emissions than is the processing of conventional oil. U.S. refiners processing the heavier oil sands crude will face higher permit costs, cutting into profit margins for producers and refiners. Both producers and refiners would likely share that cost. A resulting drop in demand would in turn drive down the price of bitumen. Many U.S. refiners have been moving to retool their refineries in recent years to accommodate the heavy crude from Alberta’s oil sands. But the proposed legislation could put all of that at risk.” Read More.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Proximity, reality, strategy, destiny
Globe and Mail, June 27, 2009 - “The forces of history are challenging Canada’s relationship with the U.S. – it’s time to make some choices - South of the border, Barack Obama is bringing a strategic focus to American foreign policy. An emphasis on multilateralism, a determined effort to refurbish the image of the United States, the pursuit of dialogue with Iran, a reaching out to the Islamic world, reinvigorating negotiations in the Middle East, a renewal of nuclear disarmament with Russia, leadership on climate change – these are all part of the President’s new global agenda. One item that seems to be missing is any strategic focus in Washington on its northern neighbour. Aside from Mr. Obama’s campaign proposal to renegotiate NAFTA (since abandoned), the new initiatives coming out of Washington seem directed to the hardening of our common border, the unleashing of a flood of Buy American laws and the badmouthing of our oil sands. Unlike Ronald Reagan, who had a vision of a deep trilateral relationship in North America and free trade throughout the Western Hemisphere, Mr. Obama and his advisers, notwithstanding his choice of Ottawa for his first official visit, show little interest in the relationship with Canada. If there is no sign in the U.S. government of a strategic vision toward Canada, our own government has reciprocated by showing no sign of interest in a strategic review of our relations with the United States. But now the forces of history and economic change are challenging the dominant characteristic of our foreign policy for more than half a century: our privileged relationship with the United States.” Read More.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Oilsands operations change, evolve to silence detractors
Calgary Herald, June 25, 2009 - “With myriad challenges facing the oilsands--economic, political, social, environmental or regulatory --it’s astonishing that any company, let alone investor, has the stomach for dealing with all the hurdles. On Wednesday, there was yet another missive lobbed, by U. S. environmental group ForestEthics, asking U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not to sign permits that would allow Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper 450,000-barrel-a-day pipeline to ship bitumen to refineries in the United States. The argument, as usual, is about the carbon footprint of the oilsands, though when looked at in terms of global emissions or relative to other sources of imported oil, or even California Thermal, the impact in either context doesn’t amount to a “hill of beans.”
But the oilsands producers are taking note of what’s happening around the world and how it is bound to affect their business. They’ve seen everything from the comments made Wednesday by U. S. President Barack Obama on the need to proceed with the clean energy legislation to investor protests at annual meetings of European companies involved in the oilsands.The reality is that these companies are setting aggressive environmental goals on their own. In Shell’s case, it is doing research and development that will put it beyond basic compliance of the new Energy Resources and Conservation Board Regulation 74 governing tailings ponds reclamation. After years of being a footnote in presentations and annual reports, the environment is garnering an increasingly larger share of the limelight.
Shell is hard at work --both in the Calgary Research Centre Lab and at its Muskeg River Mine-- looking for the solution to tailings ponds; the stuff that is part of the mining process that serves as a vehicle for the recycling of water but also contains higher concentrations of naturally occurring elements. But Shell’s not the only one. All the oilsands players are engaged in a race to find the answer to this issue, which will expedite the reclamation of the land associated with the mining process. Darrell Martindale, manager of environmental and regulatory compliance for Shell’s Albian operations and who previously worked in Indonesian copper mines, believes the solution to the tailings issue is not far off. Clearly, there seems to be a school of thought that if this issue is solved, it will take away some of the controversy over the oilsands. Still, it’s the collective size of an oilsands mining operation that remains arresting --and such an easy target. Read More.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Alberta’s oil sands show signs of life
Globe and Mail, June 22, 2009 - “Run-up in oil prices contributing to guarded optimism, as trades begin to rebound - Unlimited overtime pay was just one of the many perks John Halbauer enjoyed as a welder during Alberta’s super-sized energy boom. That’s disappeared, along with 11 of the 25-year-old’s 13 co-workers who got laid-off in January. “I was worried. I didn’t know if I was going to have to move back home or what,” the Kimberley, B.C., native said.His employer, Harley’s Welding Inc., is located in Nisku, an industrial park south of Edmonton that caters to the province’s notoriously unpredictable oil and gas industry. Most companies were hit hard when the global economic crisis and plummeting energy prices side-swiped Alberta late last year.But in recent weeks, Mr. Halbauer and many others in the province have noticed that the economy is slowly improving, especially in the northern half of Alberta.“We are almost really busy. Work is rolling in,” Mr. Halbauer said. Indeed, a run-up in oil prices and recent news that two oil sands projects, including Imperial Oil Ltd.’s $8-billion Kearl mine outside Fort McMurray, are going ahead has buoyed many. But the optimism is guarded, and no one is predicting another unprecedented boom for Alberta, once the country’s hottest economy. Read More.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Canadian premiers and US governors attending the Western Governors’ Association Conference.
AHN, June 15, 2009 - “Canadian premiers and United States governors attending the Western Governors’ Association yearly conference are pushing for a cross-border Western Energy Corridor. If the plan pushes through, it would be the largest in the globe to develop both non-renewable and green energy options. The corridor, planned by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, could open new markets to Wall’s province and two other Canadian provinces. These are Alberta and Manitoba.
Schweitzer pointed out, quoted by the CanWest News Service, “The most important energy corridor on the planet is no longer the Persian Gulf. It runs from the oilsands, Fort Mc-Murray to Port Arthur, Texas.... A large part of energy independence is going to be dependent upon developing the oilsands.” Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said the western region of both nations is uniquely positioned to join efforts on energy issues. Doer said in a statement, “Manitoba supports necessary security measures that protect Canadians and Americans alike. At the same time, we will continue to work with our American neighbors to ensure that our integrated economies are open to each other. North America’s strength as a region lies in working with our top trading partner to increase trade and build of economies.” Read More.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
ERCB rejects new hearing on Alberta oilsands mines
Calgary Herald, June 12, 2009 - “Alberta’s energy regulator has turned down a request from environmentalists to order a new public hearing into Royal Dutch Shell’s Jackpine mine and Muskeg River mine expansion projects north of Fort McMurray.The groups said Shell failed to live up to voluntary pollution reduction agreements signed with them that earned their support in 2004 and 2006 for the bitumen expansion projects. The Oilsands Environmental Coalition (OSEC), which includes the Pembina Institute, asked the Energy Resources Conservation Board in April to order new hearings into the two projects, which were put on hold late last year as oil prices fell. “In the decision, the ERCB agrees that Shell has broken its commitment for greenhouse gas pollution, but the ERCB is refusing to do anything about it,” said Simon Dyer, Pembina’s oilsands program director. “We think the ERCB has an obligation to reopen the public hearing, and we are evaluating our legal options. This sets a very bad precedent for the ERCB, and is giving companies a licence to break commitments to Albertans with no consequences.” Read More.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Influenza Q & A
Globe and Mail, June 12, 2009 - “The flu and Canada -The WHO declared that there is a pandemic. That implies things are much worse. What does the move to phase 6 mean to me as an individual? Is the risk greater today than yesterday? For a Canadian, the risk posed by pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (also known as swine flu) is exactly the same today as yesterday – and that risk is pretty minimal. The pandemic alert phases refer strictly to geographic spread of the flu. Influenza started spreading slowly in North America in March. Now it is making its way around the world. Australia is currently seeing the rapid spread of flu – and related panic – that we saw in Canada a month ago. Practically, the move to phase 6 means nothing to Canadians. We have been in pandemic mode for a number of weeks. As David Butler-Jones, Canada’s chief public health officer, has said repeatedly: The real worry for Canada is what will happen in the fall, when flu season returns to the northern hemisphere. The fear is that A/H1N1 could return with a vengeance then. How long will phase 6 last? In other words, when will the pandemic be over?” Read More.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Alberta Tories take aim at Ottawa brethren
Globe and Mail, June 9, 2009 - “The Harper Conservatives are being taken to task by their provincial Alberta cousins, who say Ottawa is failing to inform them of key government policies, treats the unemployed unfairly and falls short in boosting the oil sands.The concerns are expressed in a list of talking points prepared last month for Alberta MLAs to raise with their federal Tory brethren in their home ridings. At one point, the talking points give kudos to Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff for backing the oil sands in response to a recent article in Canadian Geographic magazine."Why is the federal Liberal Leader giving more ringing endorsements about the importance of the Alberta oil sands than our Prime Minister from Calgary,” asks the document, obtained by The Globe and Mail. It also says the federal government does not consult the province on environmental policy. Environment Minister Jim Prentice, who is from Calgary, said he saw the talking points two weeks ago but was not concerned. He said he met with Premier Ed Stelmach last Friday and the document had not affected relations between the two sides. “I would say it is inaccurate and it doesn’t affect our relationship at all.” He added that, as Environment Minister, he consults with provinces before conferences. “In terms of our working relationship, it’s great.” He also said he regularly meets with his counterpart, Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner” Read More.
Friday, June 05, 2009
U.S., Canadian groups gear up to halt oil sands development
The New York Times, June 5, 2009 - “The Sierra Club, Greenpeace and 28 other North American environmental groups are calling on the United States and Canada to boost investments in clean energy, halt industrial fishing in the Arctic and freeze expansion of the Alberta’s oil sands—a key source of U.S. petroleum imports and greenhouse gas emissions. The groups’ joint declaration, signed in Washington on Tuesday, comes as Democratic leaders in Congress attempt to pass legislation that would cap U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases at 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 while boosting renewable energy production. The eastern Canadian province of Ontario, meanwhile, is considering legislation that calls for 10,000 megawatts of new renewable energy and 6,000 MW of conservation by 2015, among other things. The environmental groups hope to use the North American action as a catalyst as U.N. countries broker a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Canada and the United States will be among nations gathering in Copenhagen in December for the next round of U.N. climate negotiations.” Read More.
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