Clean energy also needs political focus
By Tim Weis, Financial Post, February 9, 2012
Whether it is the Keystone XL pipeline, the Northern Gateway pipeline or securing an export market in China, the oil sands have dominated much of the recent energy discussions in Canada.
Harper relaxes accountability rules for China’s use of uranium
Campbell Clark & Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Feb. 09, 2012
OTTAWA - Stephen Harper has chosen to override the qualms of the government’s non-proliferation experts to permit a multibillion-dollar business in exports of Saskatchewan uranium to China’s nuclear industry.
At What Cost? Government Support for Upstream Oil Activities in Three Canadian Provinces
Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI), 01 Nov 2010
The GSI’s second report in the series Fossil Fuels – At What Cost? identifies and determines the value and impact of oil production subsidies in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador. This detailed analysis is the first of its kind in Canada and allows appropriate comparisons of subsidies with other countries. It finds 63 subsidies at the federal and provincial level, amounting to C$ 2.84 billion in 2008. It also sets out the financial, economic and environmental trade-offs implied by the subsidies.
The Expert's Report that Damns the Northern Gateway Pipeline
By Andrew Nikiforuk, TheTyee.ca, 12 Jan 2012
Veteran energy analyst David Hughes calculates three reasons the project is bad for Canada.
The Northern Gateway Pipeline will explosively increase the scale of oil sands production at a level not in the national interest, says David Hughes, one of Canada's foremost energy analysts.
Northern Gateway Project - what you need to know
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1. Northern Gateway Project |
Letter of Comment Deadline 13 Mar 2012 Click here for more info |
Slow pace of project approval forces Chinese companies into waiting game
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, January 5, 2012
Chinese energy companies, at one time eager to see the Northern Gateway project completed quickly so they could access production from the Alberta oilsands, are now taking a longer, more patient view, according to a China expert.
Hundreds pack Northern Gateway pipeline hearing
CBC News, Jan 10, 2012
$5.5B Enbridge project would send oilsands crude to Kitimat, B.C.
Hundreds of people attended the opening day of public hearings that may determine the fate of a controversial plan to build the Northern Gateway pipeline to the West Coast from Alberta's oilsands in the First Nations community of Kitamaat Village, B.C.
Feds play risky game with pro-pipeline talk
By Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver Sun, January 10, 2012
Remarks about 'radical' groups hijacking regulatory process raises thorny questions about impartiality of Northern Gateway Project review
9:9 Kitimat torn by risks, rewards
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, January 10, 2012
Indecision reigns as hearings to open
A big part of Tracey John Hittel wants to support Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion Northern Gateway twin oil and condensate pipelines.
But as public hearings on the project begin in his community today, he is torn.
8:9 Cultural divide: a tale of two provinces
By Peter O'Neil & Trish Audette, Vancouver Sun, January 9, 2012
Alberta champions project, while B.C. weighs economic reward with environmental risks
7:9 What if a supertanker tanks?
By Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun, January 8, 2012
Seventh in a series
Two-tug escorts. Double-hulled tankers. Radar at critical stretches of coastline. A spill-response capability more than three times greater than now required by Transport Canada.
6:9 Oil spills costly to companies and environment, yet seem inevitable despite technology
By LARRY PYNN, Vancouver Sun, January 6, 2012
Sixth in a series
The transport of oil is big money. But so is a pipeline spill — something Enbridge Inc., proponent of the $5.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline project, knows painfully well.
4:9 Environmental groups line up star power against Northern Gateway pipeline
By GORDON HOEKSTRA, Vancouver Sun, January 3, 2012
Fourth in a series: Opponents run gamut from well-funded U.S. advocates to small-budget local operations
3:9 First nations fiercely opposed to Northern Gateway
By GORDON HOEKSTRA, Vancouver Sun, January 3, 2012
Third in a series: While bands support projects involving natural gas and mines, oil spill threats raise red flags
The Gitga’at First Nation has been saying no to the Northern Gateway pipeline project since 2006.
2:9 Enbridge is a Canadian success story
By Gordon Hoekstra, Vancouver Sun, January 3, 2012
Energy company with a long history in Alberta prides itself on environmental stewardship
1:9 Northern gateway pipeline
By Compiled By Dave Cooper and Edmonton Journal, Vancouver Sun, December 31, 2011
1) The line would start near Bruderheim in the Alberta Industrial Heartland region northwest of Edmonton, an area that contains Canada's largest collection of petrochemical plants and upgraders, as well as other industries ranging from fertilizer to industrial gas production.
0:9 Pipelines will fuel plenty of talk
By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, December 31, 2011
Final call on proposal expected at end of 2013, following multitude of hearings and reviews
Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway pipeline project began life nearly a decade ago as a market study on how to open up Alberta's oilsands resources to ocean trade with Asia.
Energy revival fuelling boom
By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald, December 27, 2011
Province set to regain status as national leader
Albertans know all about the B-word: boom.
Shipping oil to Asia? The route's east, not west
Derek Burney & Eddie Goldenberg, Globe and Mail, Dec. 13, 2011
The handling of the Keystone XL pipeline process by the Obama administration serves as a loud wake-up call for Canada. While America remains our most important market, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that Canada should not be a “captive supplier” of energy for the United States. In light of global demand growth, it’s also in Canada’s national interest for Ottawa to act decisively to enable our oil and gas industry to diversify its customer base.
Ottawa wants to streamline environmental reviews
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Nov. 28, 2011
OTTAWA — Ottawa is planning to overhaul the country’s environmental assessment process to ensure major energy and mining projects aren’t jeopardized by unnecessary delays, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says.
Canada adds its objections to $100-billion climate fund
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Nov. 28, 2011
OTTAWA—The Harper government is joining the United States in raising objections to a planned $100-billion (U.S.) a year climate fund that is designed to bridge differences between rich countries and the developing world.
Lust for fossil fuels brings the world to Canada’s oil sands
Bloomberg, November 27 2011
The helicopter swooping over once-pristine spruce forests provides a close-up view of why the province of Alberta in Canada is among the planet’s most coveted – and contested – petroleum hot spots.
House Environment Committee winds down review of Environmental Assessment Act
By CHRIS PLECASH, Hill Times, Nov. 28, 2011
NDP Environment Critic calls exercise a ‘farce,’ accuses government of already drafting legislative overhaul of EA process.
Environmental think-tank calls on Alberta regulators to check up on old pipelines
Canadian Press, 25 Nov 2011
EDMONTON – An environmental think-tank says recent spills in Alberta show it’s time for regulators to review how aging oil pipelines are monitored and maintained.
Nathan Lemphers of the Pembina Institute says there’s a greater chance of more spills because more oil is flowing through older lines.
Shine a light on loopholes in the electricity market
By Stephen Ewart, Calgary Herald, November 12, 2011
In a letter TransAlta president Steve Snyder wrote for today's Herald to explain how his company didn't "intentionally breach any rules or regulations" when it manipulated Alberta's electricity market last fall, he was adamant they simply "misinterpreted" the rules.
