A Prairie Patchwork: Reliance on oil industry philanthropy in Saskatchewan boom towns
by Simon Enoch and Emily Eaton | May 28, 2018
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 …
Why would a boom town need charity? Report examines inequities in Saskatchewan’s oil boom
by Simon Enoch and Emily Eaton | May 28, 2018
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 …
Death of the Oil Weapon
by Yonatan Strauch | May 7, 2018
Alberta’s threat last month to cut oil supplies to British Columbia and thereby cause gasoline prices to spike is not an original idea. It is called the oil weapon: holding a supply of critical oil over your customer’s head. As detailed in Daniel Yergin’s tome on the oil industry, The Prize, it was most famously …
Politics versus the future: Canada’s Orwellian energy standoff
by David Hughes | May 5, 2018
There is no denying the utility of fossil fuels, which meet 85% of the world’s energy needs. And consumption is rising along with emissions. Even in Canada, the second largest hydropower producer in the world, 76% of end use energy is provided by fossil fuels. We are told by the federal government that increasing oil …
Pipeline feud underscores need for evidence-based energy strategy
by Corporate Mapping Project | May 1, 2018
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 …
Canada’s Energy Outlook
by David Hughes | May 1, 2018
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
by Marc Lee | April 23, 2018
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?
by Seth Klein | April 16, 2018
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
by Ian Hussey | April 11, 2018
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
by Ben Parfitt | March 29, 2018
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
by Ben Parfitt | March 29, 2018
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
by Marc Lee | February 26, 2018
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 …