Canadian News
The latest news from and about Canadian issues.Monday, February 22, 2010
Premiers, govs say meet fruitful
Winnipeg Sun, February 22, 2010 - “Provincial leaders wrapped up three days of meetings with U.S. governors in Washington, D.C., on Sunday and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger said the unprecedented get-together paves the way for improved relations between Canada and the U.S. “It’s the first time the governors and premiers as a group have met together,” he said. “It was a very positive tone and a welcoming tone.” Selinger joined the premiers of Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan for the three-day visit to the U.S. capital, where they met with 20 governors and several top-level figures of President Barack Obama’s administration.” Read More.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Premiers meet two key members of Obama team before governors’ gathering
The Canadian Press, February 19, 2010 - “Seven Canadian premiers arrived in the U.S. capital on Friday to sit down for discussions with two key White House power brokers in advance of their attendance at an influential conference of American governors.
The leaders of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island were slated to meet with President Barack Obama’s economic czar, Larry Summers, and Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
They arrived to a city still digging out from under an uncharacteristic blanket of snow after a series of mammoth winter storms in recent weeks. “I think they could lend a bit of the snow to the Olympics in British Columbia,” New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham joked shortly after his arrival.Graham called the premiers’ invitation to the National Governors Association meeting “historic,” while adding their conversations with key members of Obama’s team were crucial. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to reach out to two figures in the Obama administration to discuss a number of areas of mutual concern,” Graham saidTrade issues, he said, and the need to ensure the Canada-U.S. border doesn’t get any thicker, were going to be the top items of discussion with Summers. “New Brunswick is Canada’s most trade-dependent province, so these trade corridors are critical to us,” Graham said. “We’re going to express the importance of trade between our two countries.” The meeting with Jackson comes as the EPA warns it will begin to regulate carbon emissions standards in the absence of greenhouse gas legislation from Congress. That legislation is stalled after the Democrats recently lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate with the election of a Republican to the late Ted Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat. Canadian manufacturers could suffer due to the EPA’s involvement if Washington opts to impose protectionist barriers on oil and other goods made from carbon-intensive industries north of the border.” Read More.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Good and Boring
The New York Times, February 1, 2010 - “In times of crisis, good news is no news. Iceland’s meltdown made headlines; the remarkable stability of Canada’s banks, not so much. Yet as the world’s attention shifts from financial rescue to financial reform, the quiet success stories deserve at least as much attention as the spectacular failures. We need to learn from those countries that evidently did it right. And leading that list is our neighbor to the north. Right now, Canada is a very important role model. Yes, I know, Canada is supposed to be dull. The New Republic famously pronounced “Worthwhile Canadian Initiative” (from a Times Op-Ed column in the ’80s) the world’s most boring headline. But I’ve always considered Canada fascinating, precisely because it’s similar to the United States in many but not all ways. The point is that when Canadian and U.S. experience diverge, it’s a very good bet that policy differences, rather than differences in culture or economic structure, are responsible for that divergence. And anyway, when it comes to banking, boring is good. Read More.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Governator’s fuel plan could cause ‘collateral damage’ to U.S.Governator’s fuel plan could cause ‘co
Calgary Herald, January 23, 2010 - “Jeff Rubin, writing in a blog post this week, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his gubernatorial colleagues in other U.S. states should think twice before banning dirty oil from Alberta. “If they don’t like the fuel Canada has to offer, their only other choice is to get off the road entirely,” said Rubin. American domestic production is half what it used to be. Mexico’s reserves are drying up. Venezuela’s only additional production source is its Orinoco tarsands, similar to Alberta’s and owned by a state controlled Hugo Chavez, who isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy about America. As for the Middle East, OPEC member states are gobbling up 10 million barrels of cheap subsidized oil every day, Rubin notes. “The reason the United States will be so dependent on Canadian tarsands is that there ain’t a whole lot else left,” says the author of Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalization. Despite this reality, Arnold and governors in 11 other states are bent on bringing in a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) for vehicles—a solution more simplistic than the script for Commando. Low-carbon fuel legislation will do nothing to prevent global warming and will only jeopardize America’s fuel security, according to Shantel Beach, a researcher with the Washington, D.C.,-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA). Read More.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Premiers, governors, promote Canada-U.S. energy corridor
canada.com - “Western premiers and U.S. governors on Sunday hailed their push to develop a cross-border Western Energy Corridor that will be the largest on the planet and one that develops both non-renewable and clean-energy options. Spearheaded by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, the initiative could open new markets to the three Prairie provinces, which are all major energy producers in both renewables and fossil fuels. Wall, Alberta’s Ed Stelmach and Manitoba’s Gary Doer — all in Park City, Utah for the Western Governors’ Association annual conference — met Sunday with state political leaders to explore the potential for a broader energy relationship. “The western part of North America has this great swath of both renewables and non-renewables in terms of energy sources and huge opportunities around sustainable energy development, but we need to be co-operating,” Wall told the Calgary Herald in Park City, a mountain resort community located about 50 kilometres east of Salt Lake City.“We know that there’s an interest in the part of the consuming states perhaps on the West Coast for more renewables.” Read More.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
High-speed rail plans gain traction in Canada, U.S.
Canada.com, January 12, 2010 - “The rail industry is anticipating a busy winter in North America, propelled by billions of dollars in stimulus money for faster passenger trains from the Obama administration and a major government-sponsored report about high-speed trains in Canada’s most heavily populated region. “It is high noon for high-speed rail,” said Paul Langan, the founder of High Speed Rail Canada, a group that promotes faster and more efficient passenger rail service. “It’s decision time. It’s time to make a decision about the future.”
In the U.S., the government has announced at least $13 billion in new funding that is scheduled to be awarded in the coming weeks to regions or rail corridors for upgrading their infrastructure and speeding up their trains in nearly a dozen regions, including routes that link to Windsor, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. While some passenger lobby groups say better rail service can reduce the headaches of airport security and pollution from vehicles and planes, a Canadian industry association says that the anticipated investments would also create opportunities for other sectors such as construction, manufacturing and steel.” Read More.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Canadian Board Approves Western Gas Pipeline
The New York Times, January 1, 2010 - “A long-delayed natural gas pipeline in Western Canada, which has the potential to provide significant amounts of energy to North America, has cleared a crucial hurdle by receiving the endorsement of a Canadian government review panel.
The $15.4 billion Mackenzie Valley project, which involves Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, would connect natural gas fields in the Arctic with the rest of Canada and potentially with the United States. Some Indian communities and environmental groups have called the 750-mile pipeline a threat to local species and native cultures and have expressed concern about the greenhouse emissions created if the gas is used to heat and upgrade oil sands into usable fuels. Greenhouse emissions from oil sands are substantially higher than from conventional oil and gas production. But the joint review panel, after five years of study, concluded late Wednesday that the project “would deliver valuable and lasting overall benefits and avoid significant adverse environmental impacts.” It continued, “The project itself, as long-term infrastructure, provides a key basis for future economic development.” The National Energy Board and federal cabinet still need to approve the project, but they are expected to follow the recommendations of the review panel. The board is scheduled to hold hearings in April.” Read More.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Canada still America’s BFF despite rising isolationism
Toronto Star, December 4, 2009 - “We’re in their good books, but 49% say U.S. should `mind its own business internationally,’ study shows. Hard times have hardened attitudes in the United States, according to a trove of new research that suggests a record number of Americans see their country as a waning superpower that should mind its own business and let the world fend for itself. Yet Canada remains overwhelmingly popular in the eyes of Americans, topping the list of all foreign countries with an 84 per cent favourability rating in the U.S. Together with surprising new data that points to rising U.S. support for free trade even in a time of recession, analysts in Washington say Canadians should not be jarred by the developments: If Americans are in a mood to hibernate, they say, Canada has a special place in their den. “Canada is the country Americans hold in the highest esteem. There is not any pent-up American animosity toward Canada,” said James Lindsay, director of studies with the Council on Foreign Relations, which partnered with the Pew Research Center on the study titled, America’s Place In The World.” Read More.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Blue Summit tackles key water issues
Canada News, November 28, 2009 -"The opening day of the Blue Summit highlighted major challenges to public water systems and resources, and drew lessons from winning campaigns. The two-day conference has drawn more than 300 participants from across the country and internationally, including a group of more than 80 CUPE delegates from every province.CUPE and the Council of Canadians organized the summit, being held in Ottawa, to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of Water Watch.
CUPE national president Paul Moist’s opening speech celebrated how the water movement has grown over the last decade. He stressed the importance of working in coalition at the community level, as well as nationally and internationally. Key to that work is strengthening solidarity with First Nations communities, to support their struggles for safe drinking water and proper sanitation services. The economic crisis creates a moment for change, says Moist. “We don’t accept a society built on greed and private profit, we want a country and a world built on public services and community values, and we won’t rest until that happens,” he told the plenary. Read More.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Harper, other world leaders press U.S. on Asia-Pacific tradeHarper, other world leaders press U.S. o
Vancouver Sun, November 14, 2009 - “Canada, China, Mexico and others are using a weekend meeting of Pacific Rim leaders to press the United States to reduce trade barriers it has thrown up in the wake of the global recession. Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is rivalling U.S. President Barack Obama as the most influential political leader in the region, said protectionism could threaten a fragile economic recovery. “We must continue to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and oppose protectionism in all its manifestations, particularly the unreasonable trade and investment restrictions imposed on developing countries,” Hu said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been pushing that message at various international leaders summits for more than a year."There are obviously things with China on which we don’t agree, but when it comes to economics, China is a strong voice for opening up trade internationally,” Harper said Saturday. “That’s a strong position of the government of Canada to promote free trade and oppose protectionism.” In speech after speech on the first day of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, one leader after another took to the podium to hammer the U.S. for its rising protectionist sentiment. Mexican President Felipe Calderon criticized the United States for “going in the opposite sense of free trade” and singled out the U.S. Congress for championing “the old wrong idea of protectionism."Calderon said U.S. protectionism was “killing North American companies.” Read More.
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