Major issues remain unresolved four years after catastrophic Mount Polley dam failure VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Mount Polley mining disaster bears remarkable similarities to a catastrophe at a Brazilian mine the next year and points to the strong possibility of more environmental calamities ahead, warns a new report that examines both events. The tailings pond …

REGINA — 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. A Prairie Patchwork: Reliance on …

Canada’s long-term energy security needs and climate commitments cannot be met without major changes: study VANCOUVER — A new study by veteran earth scientist David Hughes anchors the heated debate about pipelines and energy infrastructure within the realm of science and evidence. The study, which offers a comprehensive review of Canada’s energy systems, reveals that Canada’s …

Edmonton — The five largest producers in the Alberta oil sands are failing to take meaningful action in line with the targets Canada has agreed to under the Paris Agreement on climate change, creating billions of dollars in economic and environmental risk in a world increasingly recognizing the need to transition away from fossil fuels. …

VANCOUVER – A promised “review” of natural gas industry fracking operations should be broadened to a full Public Inquiry that examines all aspects of the dangerous gas extraction technique, says a coalition of community, First Nation and environmental organizations. The call on the new BC government is to broaden a promise first made by the …

Regina — In the wake of “The Price of Oil” investigation into oil industry impacts in Saskatchewan by the Toronto Star, National Observer and Global News, the realities of living with the health and environmental effects of oil are beginning to receive public attention. Despite these impacts, oil-producing regions in Saskatchewan are still characterized by …

(Edmonton) A new report analyzing the oil sands policies of previous Alberta governments reveals the critical role of government involvement and funding in ensuring more than narrow corporate interests were served in the development of the province’s bitumen resources. In Betting on Bitumen: Alberta’s Energy Policies from Lougheed to Klein, Calgary-based journalist and researcher Gillian …

(Vancouver) As Kinder Morgan Canada turned to the stock market to finance its Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMEP), a new report by veteran earth scientist David Hughes finds that Alberta oil sold on international markets would likely command a lower price than if sold in North America. Both the federal and Alberta governments and the …

Study reveals scale of influence by fossil fuel industry on BC government, public officials (Vancouver) A new study finds the policy alignment between BC’s provincial government and the fossil fuel industry may be explained, at least in part, by extensive donations to political parties combined with intense, sustained lobbying pressure on public officials. The study …

OTTAWA—The amount of fossil fuel removed from Canadian soil that ends up in the atmosphere as harmful carbon dioxide has risen dramatically, almost exclusively because of our country’s growing fossil fuel exports, finds a new Corporate Mapping Project study published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Parkland Institute. Extracted carbon from Canada …

(OTTAWA) A new study by veteran earth scientist David Hughes finds that Canada cannot meet its global climate commitments while at the same time ramping up oil and gas extraction and building new export pipelines. Hughes calculates that if oil sands production grows to the 100 megatonne (Mt) per year level allowed under Alberta’s climate …

Who is steering fossil fuel extraction in Western Canada and what influence do they wield? These central questions are driving a six-year research and public engagement initiative,Mapping the Power of the Carbon-Extractive Corporate Resource Sector, with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The project brings together researchers, civil society organizations and …