Canadian News
The latest news from and about Canadian issues.Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Made in America energy policy.
The Star, July 15, 2008 - “When Americans want something that lies in another country, the consequences for that other country can be severe. Even if they don’t actually invade, they put a lot of pressure on lesser countries to behave as they want. Canada, for instance, hasn’t been invaded by the United States since 1812, but Ottawa has proved highly co-operative with Washington’s desire to have access to our oil. We are America’s Number 1 supplier.” Read more.
Stupid Oilsands Schemes.
Edmonton Sun, July 15, 2008 - “ Premier Ed Stelmach was spreading the good news last week in hopes of deflecting any bad news he might get later this week when he meets his provincial counterparts in Quebec City. ‘We need to spread the word,’ the premier told oil industry execs a day after unleashing $2 billion in oilpatch welfare, which had haunting echoes of the pump-priming Don Getty years. ‘Our province is a reliable supplier of abundant energy produced in a responsible manner.’ He didn’t define ‘responsible’ for obvious reasons.” Read more.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Ontario sets boreal forest protection plans.
Reuters Canada, July 14, 2008 - “The government of the Canadian province of Ontario said on Monday it will conserve a huge swath of the province’s northern wilderness in a bid to protect the region’s vast boreal forest, as well as polar bears and other wildlife, and to help fight climate change. The plan to protect permanently at least 225,000 square kilometers (87,000 square miles) of the northern forest—an area nearly the size of the United Kingdom—won praise from environmental groups, which said it should serve as an example for other governments.” Read more.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Industry cautious over carbon capture.
National Post, July 10, 2008 - “The Alberta government answered one of the demands from oil sands producers when it set aside about $2-billion to help fund carbon-capture and sequestration projects, but a second crucial piece of the puzzle is still missing. Without details on the provincial and federal rules governing CCS and CO2 emissions, the industry remains in limbo, reluctant to plunge into any massive projects.” Read more.
Premier Urges Action on National Energy Issues.
TheEnergyNews, July 10, 2008 - “Premier Rodney MacDonald is urging his colleagues from across Canada to join him in addressing rising energy prices when the Council of the Federation meets in Quebec City next week. Premier MacDonald said the number one issue facing Canadians today is the high cost of gasoline, diesel and home-heating fuel. [snip] Premier MacDonald said the problem isn’t unique to one province, and is urging the federal government to work with the provinces to ease the burden.” Read more.
Oil boomtown awash in oil money, and problems.
CNN Money, July 10, 2008 - “Alberta supplies about ten percent of America’s imported oil - some of it from conventional wells, but a growing amount from Oil Sands. And the fast-growing industry has turned the town of Ft. McMurray into a bonafide ‘boomtown’ with folks here juggling new riches - and new problems. Money pouring into the town allows residents to enjoy the highest per capita income in Canada.” Read more.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Alberta pumps $4-billion into green plans.
Financial Post, July 9, 2008 - “Vowing not to let others determine Alberta’s future, Premier Ed Stelmach committed on Tuesday $4-billion from this year’s expected budget surplus to fight climate change – including setting up a $2-billion fund to kick start carbon capture and storage projects that will help the image-challenged oil sands industry. With the move, which Mr. Stelmach said is unprecedented in scope and scale, Alberta is taking a ‘responsible’ and ‘practical’ approach to climate change that doesn’t involve increasing taxes, feeding inflation or ratcheting back development of the oilsands. The investment, he said, will help keep energy affordable.” Read more.
Richest Nations Pledge to Halve Greenhouse Gas.
NY Times, July 9, 2008 - “President Bush and leaders of the world’s richest nations pledged Tuesday to ‘move toward a low-carbon society’ by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, the latest step in a long evolution by a president who for years played down the threat of global warming. The declaration by the Group of 8 — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — was the first time that the Bush White House had publicly backed an explicit long-term target for eliminating the gases that scientists have said are warming the planet. But it failed to set a goal for cutting emissions over the next decade, and drew sharp criticism from environmentalists, who called it a missed opportunity.” Read more.
Canada-U.S. border defines space, emphasizes ties.
The Chronicle Herald.CA, Letters, July 8, 2008 - “THE CANADA-U.S. border stretches for 8,891 kilometres, or 5,525 miles, from the St. Croix River on the Atlantic Ocean to the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Pacific, and from Dixon Entrance on the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean. It forms the boundary of 10 states, seven provinces and one territory, and it traverses four of the Great Lakes. From Lake of the Woods in Ontario all the way to the Pacific, the Canada-U.S. border is the world’s longest continuous straight international boundary.” Read more.
Illicit guns fuel Mexican drug wars.
The Chronicle Herald.CA, July 6, 2008 - “Illicit guns that make their way across the U.S. border into Canada are a serious problem but a relative nuisance compared with the desperate battle being fought on the U.S.-Mexico border, say officials. More than 4,000 people — including hundreds of police officers — have died in the last 18 months as the Mexican government battles the country’s powerful drug cartels. Border cities such as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez have become virtual free-fire zones.” Read more.
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