Media Releases
UCP appointments expand corporate power over post-secondary institutions
New report reveals increased corporate governance of higher education in Alberta Edmonton – The UCP government is on a mission to change the landscape of higher education in Alberta. Cutting to the bone the operating budgets of universities and colleges is the most visible strategy used to advance their privatization agenda. But another front in …
Canada’s biggest public pension plans still banking on fossil fuels
VANCOUVER — The world’s leading authority on climate change says we are headed for catastrophe unless emissions are slashed quickly. Yet, two of Canada’s biggest public pension plans are still banking on fossil fuels, a new Corporate Mapping Project report shows. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du …
Federal COVID-19 Funding to Alberta’s Oil Patch “Not Well Spent”
EDMONTON and OTTAWA –– A new report by the Parkland Institute and Oxfam Canada exposes how $1 billion in federal COVID-19 emergency funding transferred to the Alberta government is failing to achieve its intended social and environmental objectives. When funding to clean up orphaned and abandoned oil wells in Western Canada was announced in April …
Net zero emissions: muddying the waters or real solutions?
VANCOUVER – Increasingly, government and industry talk about “net zero” when it comes to emissions reduction targets. But what does this really mean? Reducing emissions to zero is a clear concept, but “net zero” muddies the waters in that some greenhouse gas or carbon emissions are permitted as long as they are balanced by “negative …
Canada’s emissions increase greatest in G7 since Paris: New report shows jobs and royalties declining with emissions rise
VANCOUVER – A stark change in direction is needed if Canada is to meet its emissions-reduction targets, says a new report by veteran earth scientist David Hughes. Going into the G7 Summit later this month, Canada and the US are the only G7 countries that have not reduced emissions since signing the 2016 Paris Accord. …
Canada’s big banks hindering progress on climate change
VANCOUVER – Despite Canada’s climate change commitments, the country’s “big five” banks continue to finance and support expansion of fossil fuel industries, says a new Corporate Mapping Project report released today. The extent of the banks’ support since the oil price collapse in 2014 shows how that this backing hinders Canada’s progress on reducing emissions, …
Economic benefits from coal mines overstated while vulnerable species rarely protected, new research shows
VANCOUVER—The promised economic benefits from coal mines in northeastern British Columbia (BC) are wildly overstated, while mining company pledges to protect vulnerable wildlife species are rarely met, a team of researchers concludes in a new report that has implications for natural resource management across Canada. The research, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy …
Trans Mountain pipeline expansion no longer needed: new expert report
VANCOUVER – The assumptions underlying the federal government’s $12.6 billion commitment to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project (TMX) no longer stand up in 2020, according to a new report from veteran earth scientist David Hughes. Reassessment of Need for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC …
Thousands of earthquakes near Site C dam and mounting “geotechnical problems” at project warrant public inquiry, CCPA says
VANCOUVER—The BC government should immediately appoint an independent panel of geologists and engineers to assess the ongoing geotechnical problems at Site C and whether the unstable ground at the dam construction site could be further compromised by the thousands of fracking-induced earthquakes occurring nearby, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “It is absolutely essential …
Exporting BC LNG to Asia will not reduce global climate emissions as industry claims
VANCOUVER—A new study by veteran earth scientist David Hughes finds that the industry and government narrative that BC liquified natural gas (LNG) will contribute to a global emissions reduction by displacing coal-fired electricity in Asia is not accurate, and in fact the reverse is actually true. “As my analysis shows, LNG exports would in fact …
New report looks at the influence of the fossil fuel sector on university research funding and priorities
As the Alberta government launches its Alberta 2030 review of the post-secondary education system, a new report from the Corporate Mapping Project and the Parkland Institute raises big questions related to universities’ fulfillment of their public interest mandate. Authored by Laurie Adkin, a political economist at the University of Alberta, Knowledge for an Ecologically Sustainable Future? …
Oil sands spending and productivity figures indicate majority of lost jobs not likely to return – new report
As debate continues to rage over pipelines for Alberta’s oil, a new Corporate Mapping Project report analyzes how the oil sands industry, in the early years of the mature phase of its business lifecycle, is producing more bitumen with less capital and fewer jobs. “Since the 2014 oil price crash, advancements in extractive technologies and …