Threatened caribou further endangered: Suppressed audit shows Oil and Gas Commission undermining provincial efforts to save species
On an April morning in 2014, members of the Fort Nelson First Nation tucked into a helicopter to begin a day of flying to fossil fuel company operations in their territory. The Nation’s lands are part of the expansive Treaty 8 territory that includes northeast British Columbia. A professional biologist from Fort St. John was …
A Prairie Patchwork: Reliance on oil industry philanthropy in Saskatchewan boom towns
When we think of a “boom town,” we often imagine a formerly sleepy rural town suddenly awash in wealth and economic expansion. It might surprise some to learn that for many municipalities in oil-producing regions in Saskatchewan, the costs of servicing the oil boom can outweigh the benefits. Instead, as Simon Enoch and Emily Eaton …
Canada’s Energy Outlook
Current realities and implications for a carbon-constrained future Canada faces some very difficult choices in maintaining energy security while meeting emissions reduction targets. This study analyses Canada’s energy system, and provides an objective assessment of future options to maintain energy security and meet climate commitments. Canadians need a viable and sustainable long-term energy strategy, based …
Kinder Morgan: Costs and benefits unbalanced, not in the national interest
The Alberta and federal governments claim that Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) is in the national interest due to its economic benefits. But a closer look at TMX’s full range of benefits and costs shows the project to be extremely lopsided in its distribution. First, the economic gains accrue almost entirely to Alberta …
What’s Kinder Morgan’s real end game?
Here’s a different take on Kinder Morgan’s ultimatum and the so-called “constitutional crisis” it has sparked. I’m speculating, of course, as we all seek to understand what Kinder Morgan is really up to. But allow me to posit a minority theory: We’re getting played! It is entirely possible that Kinder Morgan has already decided to …
Not all Albertans are in favour of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: A letter to BC Coast Protectors
Dear Coast Protectors, I’m writing you from Edmonton, the other end of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Like most Albertans, I’ve followed your mobilization in opposition to the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) with great interest. Unlike many Albertans, I am opposed to the building of more pipelines to transport increasing amounts of our oil to …
Damming the information flow: BC government officials button lipped on potentially dangerous dams
Early last spring, provincial civil servants cut off virtually all communication about what the government knew about a sprawling network of potentially dangerous and unregulated dams in northeast BC on the pretext they could not comment because of the impending election. The coordinated effort meant there was virtually no comment until months after voting day …
Easy Water: Time bombs, fracking dams and the rush for H2O on private farmlands
The number of unlicensed and potentially dangerous dams built in recent years in northeast British Columbia is nearly double what has been reported, according to one of the province’s top water officials. At least 92 unauthorized dams have been built in the region where natural gas industry fracking operations consume more water than just about …
Western Canada needs real climate action, not disingenuous arguments
In Western Canada’s slow lurch towards sane climate and energy policy, two prominent arguments have been advanced for the continuation of business-as-usual for the fossil fuel industry in BC and Alberta. Both are interesting because they invoke the need for climate action to justify the further growth of fossil fuel production. The first argument comes …
Let’s share actual facts about the Trans Mountain pipeline
At the core of the current battle between the governments of Alberta and British Columbia is the assertion by Premier Notley and Prime Minister Trudeau that the economic benefits of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project are sufficient to justify the increased risk of environmentally disastrous spills on the BC coastline and the additional contribution to …
Revealed: Trudeau government welcomed oil lobby help for US pipeline push
The Trudeau government treated Donald Trump’s election as “positive news” for Canada’s energy industry and welcomed the help of Canada’s main corporate oil group in lobbying the US administration, documents show. Meetings conducted by senior government officials with TransCanada and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) reveal an one-sided approach more reminiscent of former …
What the Paris Agreement Means for Alberta’s Oil Sands Majors
This report evaluates what the Paris Agreement on climate change means for the “Big Five” oil sands producers—Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL), Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, and Husky Energy—by estimating the social cost of carbon (SCC) of the oil and gas reserves of these firms and by assessing the emissions-reduction disclosures and targets, …