Increasingly harsh and ever-shifting resource-related government policies are killing jobs and making Canadians poorer. With the cancellation of TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline – after the company spent $1 billion trying to jump through ever-changing regulatory and political hoops – Canadians should remind themselves where much of our country’s recent economic uptick originated: in resource exploration and extraction. This was illustrated again, just before the TransCanada … [Read more...]
Alberta is the engine that drives Canadian growth
VANCOUVER, B.C./Troy Media/ – During his Canada Day speech, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accidentally caused a stir by forgetting to mention Alberta when listing all of Canada’s provinces and territories. It was surely an oversight rather than intentional and the prime minister immediately apologized. Nevertheless, his slip provokes an interesting thought experiment: What would Canada’s economy and public finances look like without Alberta? It’s not a pretty picture. Up until the … [Read more...]
Oil price instability a wakeup call for Alberta
The province's undercapitalized and underperforming technology sector could, if adequately supported, deliver above-average returns for 20 or more years EDMONTON, Alta. /Troy Media/ – There’s an old saying in the strategy game: “Nothing fails like success.” A company (or a provincial economy) that has been very successful in the past will cling desperately to that formula long after its breakdown is obvious. That’s true in spades for the oil-and-gas-driven Alberta economy. Albertans need … [Read more...]
Reality bites carbon pricing in Canada and beyond
Mar. 9, 2017/ Troy Media/ - There’s a general, indeed a strong consensus, within the economic community that a properly designed carbon tax can both reduce emissions and improve the economy. We broadly agree with this academic analysis. The problem is that carbon taxes in the real world have to be implemented through a political system that deviates substantially from the academic ideal. Economists tend to agree that the most efficient way to manage emissions is by placing a price on them … [Read more...]
B.C.’s carbon tax not the ‘gold standard’ it’s made out to be
By Charles Lammam and Taylor Jackson VANCOUVER, B.C. / Troy Media/ - In a major announcement last year, the Trudeau government imposed a policy that will require all provinces to put a price on carbon emissions by 2018. As governments in Canada and elsewhere pursue carbon pricing, British Columbia’s carbon tax has received global praise as the gold standard. Both the United Nations and the World Bank have declared B.C.’s “revenue neutral” carbon tax the model to follow. The OECD called it … [Read more...]
Trudeau’s challenges: Trump, taxes and energy
FREDERICTON, N.B. /Troy Media/ – When Justin Trudeau shuffled his federal cabinet last week, it signalled he’s taking the next United States president seriously. Finding the right mix of people to work with White House officials is important. But government policies also matter. Our prime minister will need to do more to keep Canada competitive and protect Canadian jobs. Donald Trump is ready to upend U.S. policy on everything from trade to defence treaties to immigration. But the … [Read more...]
Without pipelines, Canada’s prosperity is on the line
Will lead to a loss of full-time, well-paying jobs, shrunken energy industry supply chains across the country, and diminished revenues for governments VANCOUVER, B.C. / Troy Media/ – When it comes to reaching new energy markets, Canada lags dangerously behind the Americans, who have aggressively expanded their oil and gas industry and built the infrastructure necessary to support it. There are approximately 840,000 km of pipelines in Canada – 25,000 km of feeder lines, 250,000 km of … [Read more...]
It’s time to rally behind Canada’s oil and gas sector
CALGARY, Alta. / Troy Media/ – Was Ontario’s auto sector in worse shape during the global financial meltdown of 2009 than Alberta’s energy patch was during the global oil glut of 2015? An internal federal government memo recently uncovered by the Canadian Press suggests it was. But which sector faced more pain (keeping in mind the price slump continues to cripple Canada’s oil and gas sector) is the wrong question. The right question is: What can we do to help Canada’s oil and gas companies … [Read more...]
Green energy future is still a long way off
VANCOUVER, B.C. / Troy Media/ – Some Canadian environmental groups claim the world is making a dramatic move toward carbon-free energy sources. The implication is that Canada – one of the world’s largest producers of oil and natural gas – should quickly abandon the fossil fuel economy and embrace renewable energy as the only pathway to a prosperous future. Important shifts in energy production and consumption patterns are undoubtedly underway. However, the timing of any global energy … [Read more...]
Killing energy projects only hurts First Nations
HALIFAX, N.S. / Troy Media/ – The right of First Nations to question resource development is not the same as a right to veto much-needed projects. Ron Tremblay, Grand Chief of the Wolastoq Grand Council in New Brunswick, said he believes Canada’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) gives First Nation communities veto power over natural resource projects – including TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline, which would transport oil from Alberta to … [Read more...]
