EDMONTON - Details of who pays what when Alberta brings in a new $3-billion a year carbon tax are to be released in the upcoming legislature session, says government house leader Brian Mason.Mason said the session, which begins Tuesday, is to see the government bring forward legislation as the next step toward implementing the carbon tax.The tax is set to begin next Jan. 1."It will enact the (carbon) levy. It will provide for rebates to individuals and to small business. It will create a new [Read more]
Pipe breaks off, falls to ocean floor as rig moved during storm off Nova Scotia
HALIFAX - Two kilometres of pipe that connects an offshore drilling rig to a wellhead deep under the ocean broke off and sank in a storm off Nova Scotia's coast Saturday, prompting concerns from an advocacy group over the risks of deepwater accidents caused by harsh ocean conditions.Shell Canada (TSX:SHC) says there was no drilling fluid or hydrocarbons leak because the pipe had already been drained of fluids and a blowout protector remained in place over the well.The Scotian Shelf includes some [Read more]
Quebec environmental hearings on Energy East Pipeline begin today
MONTREAL - Quebec's environmental hearings into the Energy East Pipeline project got off to a difficult start Monday evening, as protesters chanted and disrupted proceedings seconds after the company's vice-president began speaking.Joseph Zayed, with Quebec's environmental regulation agency, was forced to temporarily suspend the hearings as protesters snuck into the audience room, unfurled a banner denouncing the pipeline and sang songs to try and silence the presenter.The room was brought under [Read more]
TransCanada to terminate coal power contracts due to higher emissions costs
CALGARY - TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) plans to end its agreements to buy power from three coal-fired plants in Alberta, saying the contracts are continuing to hurt their bottom line.The Calgary-based company said Monday costs associated with carbon-dioxide emissions from the plants have risen and are forecast to increase further over the remaining term of the agreements.The power purchase contracts can be terminated under a provision where a change in provincial law makes them unprofitable, [Read more]
Quiet settles over oilpatch work camps, putting squeeze on operators
CALGARY - A slowdown in oilpatch activity means fewer tradespeople on site, putting a squeeze on businesses that house and feed workers in remote locations.Before the downturn, when the oil and gas sector was chugging along, it was a challenge to entice enough skilled labourers to work for weeks on end far from home. Fat paycheques were one draw, but quality lodging was also key.Many camps more closely resemble hotels or resorts, complete with Wi-Fi, fitness centres, ice rinks and meals prepared [Read more]
Alberta legislature to begin session under shadow of looming $10 billion deficit
EDMONTON - Alberta's NDP launches a new session of the legislature Tuesday in the long shadow of a looming $10-billion budget deficit.Finance Minister Joe Ceci has already announced that with no end in sight to bargain basement oil prices, the budget he unveils in early April will be about double the original deficit estimate of $5.4 billion.But the plan, he says, is to expand efforts to diversify the economy beyond initiatives already announced such as an extra $1.5 billion for ATB Financial to [Read more]
Bank watch lists early warning sign of trouble for oil and gas industry
CALGARY - They are the early warning signs that a company may struggle to repay its debts: watch lists.In releasing their latest quarterly earnings, Royal Bank, CIBC and Scotiabank each added nine oil and gas firms to their loan watch lists, the latest sign of trouble in the oilpatch. The names of those companies are kept confidential.Gordon Sick, a finance professor at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, said many energy companies are struggling and likely behind in [Read more]
Quebec court rejects bid to have hearings into Energy East suspended
MONTREAL - A Quebec court has rejected a request by an environmental coalition to have hearings into the Energy East pipeline project suspended.The coalition was seeking the injunction because it believes the hearings will not be complete without impact studies from TransCanada PipeLines Ltd., which is behind the $15.7-billion project.Friday's court decision paves the way for Quebec's environmental regulation agency to begin the hearings Monday.Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel announced [Read more]
First ministers’ climate deal easy to mock, harder to dismiss
VANCOUVER - If 80 per cent of life is just showing up, in politics the total is probably closer to 90.Canada's first ministers emerged from two days of talks this week with an agreement on a plan to develop a framework for climate policy action.It would be easy to mock.But serious observers who study the difficult politics and policy of climate change believe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the provincial and territorial leaders did more than just show up at the Vancouver Convention [Read more]
Go East, Young Man: Opportunities abroad a rare bright spot for oilpatch players
CALGARY - The past year hasn't been kind to Western Canada's oilpatch, but some smaller energy outfits say their international presence has been a rare bright spot.Shortly after Blue Spark Energy started out in Calgary in 2011, CEO Todd Parker said he wondered whether to "put all our eggs in one basket here in Canada" or diversify into other markets.The second option turned out to be a good move, said Parker.The year after its inception, Blue Spark expanded into the U.S. It has since established [Read more]
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