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Horgan Seems Fine with Muzzling the True Site C Watchdog

November 23, 2020

Horgan Seems Fine with Muzzling the True Site C Watchdog

The independent BC Utilities Commission demanded answers on risks and was brushed off.

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The independent BC Utilities Commission posed tough but ignored questions to BC Hydro about constructing Site C on unstable ground. Photo: BC Hydro.

BC Hydro has, in a Trumpian gesture, brushed off the last independent oversight of the out-of-control Site C project, with the apparent support of the newly elected NDP government.

The BC Utilities Commission is supposed to make sure BC Hydro is acting responsibly in the interests of its customers. It’s the only check on the monopoly $6-billion Crown corporation.

But BC Hydro just gave the finger to the regulator, and to British Columbians. And Premier John Horgan seems to be fine with that.

The utilities commission is mandated to ensure BC Hydro makes good decisions in the public interest. It scrutinizes the corporation’s budgets, plans and projections. It approves — or rejects — rate increases, and reports on whether projects like Site C are needed and based on a sound business case.

In doing that, it relies on BC Hydro to accept the oversight and provide needed information.

And BC Hydro has simply dismissed its obligation to accept independent oversight.

On July 31, BC Hydro filed updates on Site C with the utilities commission.

They were alarming. BC Hydro revealed there was “uncertainty with the dam’s schedule and in-service date” and “significant financial pressures.” So significant the corporation said it was coming up with a new budget and schedule for the megaproject.

And BC Hydro said that in late December a “project risk” had “materialized.”

The dam’s main structures — spillways and the giant power generating hall — are being built on unstable ground. The corporation is trying to figure out a solution and it has no idea how much this will cost.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Canada vs. Venezuela: Have the Koch Brothers Captured Canada’s Left?

February 16, 2018

Canada vs. Venezuela: Have the Koch Brothers Captured Canada’s Left?

Photo by Eden, Janine and Jim | CC BY 2.0

With a U.S.-backed military coup or invasion in Venezuela looking ever more likely, Canada’s progressive leftists are pushing for the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) to abandon its “reactionary” foreign policy position on that country. As well, at the annual NDP convention (February 15 – 18), the NDP Socialist Caucus will present a motion requesting the removal of NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Helene Laverdiere from that role.

In December, the Canadian Dimension published a lengthy Open Letter from Dr. John Ryan, a retired University of Winnipeg professor, documenting the “reactionary foreign policy positions” on a variety of issues that the NDP has adopted in recent years, especially through Laverdiere’s role.

Regarding Venezuela, Dr. Ryan wrote, “One would think that Canada’s NDP, as a social democratic party, would be supportive of the progressive policies that have been enacted in Venezuela. Surely the bulk of the people who vote NDP would be far more supportive of Venezuela than they would be of U.S. policies to undermine that country. So how is it that the NDP’s maverick foreign affairs critic is capable of aligning herself with American imperialist reactionary policies? There wasn’t a word from her when President Trump threatened to invade Venezuela and she has yet to criticize the recently announced Canadian sanctions” by the federal Liberal government. [1]

On February 12, Canadian writer Yves Engler extensively documented Helene Laverdiere’s stance toward Venezuela in recent years, and he noted: “In what may be the first ever resolution to an NDP convention calling for the removal of a party critic, the NDP Socialist Caucus has submitted a motion to next weekend’s convention titled ‘Hands Off Venezuela, Remove Helene Laverdiere as NDP Foreign Affairs Critic.’

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Why Are People Cheering Alberta’s Climate Plan?

December 16, 2015

Why Are People Cheering Alberta’s Climate Plan?

Notley didn’t slay province’s CO2 dragon. She blinked, aiding pipelines and bitumen.

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Albert Premier Rachel Notley: on close inspection, her NDP government’s plan is geared to warming public to new pipelines. Photo: Dave Cournoyer via Flickr. Creative Commons licensed.

I had to do a bit of a personal check in as I watched Alberta’s new climate plan being paraded before the public earlier this month. I found some aspects of the plan downright disturbing, but a lot of the quick-out-the-gate commentary talked up how great it was. Not sure if I was just nitpicking, I held my tongue.

But now, after seeing how the plan was debuted in Paris and framed in the media, I think there’s need for an honest talk about what just happened in Alberta. I’m afraid that once you strip off the accessories, Alberta’s plan is just a naked grasp at social license for new pipelines — and those pipelines remain as big a threat to our future as ever.

When the Orange Wave broke over Alberta, I felt a surge of optimism. However, just as President Obama failed to bring transformative change to the banking sector in the U.S. during a time of economic crisis and opportunity, NDP Premier Rachel Notley has failed to seize her opportunity for transformative change in the Alberta energy sector. In fact, her government seems to have dug in to support the status quo.

Below, my take on some of the highlights of the Alberta climate plan, and why it doesn’t justify a stand down in the fossil fuel export fight.

Ending coal fired power by 2030

Alberta’s climate plan calls for an end to coal fired power, a great move with widespread public support. Two thirds of the province’s coal plants would have shut down by 2030 under rules put in place by Stephen Harper, and by closing the rest Notley has hastened the end of the dirtiest form of electricity production in the province.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Let Me Be Clear: Fact Checking Leaders on Foreign Policy

September 30, 2015

Let Me Be Clear: Fact Checking Leaders on Foreign Policy

A civil debate, sure. But civility, it seems, doesn’t always encourage truthfulness.

The fourth debate in this election “season” — a campaign as long as some places in Canada go without snow — was rather polite compared to the first two English debates.

It was clear host Munk Debates wanted a civil conversation among gentlemen, where the moderator held court and didn’t let the leaders shout over one another. The audience laughed and clapped as though there was a flashing sign telling them to do so, and even booed Liberal leader Justin Trudeau for speaking over Conservative leader Stephen Harper. Apparently they’re sticklers for manners, too.

Civility doesn’t equal truthiness, however, and it turns out there were some whopper-sized statements in last night’s foreign policy debate. As per form, we picked one statement per leader to debunk.

Thomas Mulcair: “It’s very difficult to see how Canada’s superior interests were being served when Prime Minister Harper said to President Obama that it was ‘a complete no brainer’ — those were his exact words — that the Americans had to approve Keystone XL. I know that Keystone XL represents the export of 40,000 Canadian jobs because Mr. Harper told the Americans so.”

The NDP leader’s first sentence is misleading. Speaking to reporters in New York at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly in 2011, Harper told an American reporter that approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship raw bitumen from Alberta to Nebraska, would be a “no brainer.” He could have said this to Obama in a private conversation, but in public he said it to a reporter.

The second sentence is false, with a caveat. Keystone won’t “export” jobs to the United States. Mulcair could be referring to the fact that exporting raw bitumen means American refineries get to refine the product, rather than a Canadian facility. But the 40,000 jobs number comes from a U.S. state department report, and the majority are either temporary positions or they already exist.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Alberta climate-change panel to consult before taking action

August 14, 2015

Alberta climate-change panel to consult before taking action

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips takes step toward ‘made in Alberta’ plan

Alberta’s NDP government took a first step toward a new climate change strategy Friday, but made it clear that new emissions targets and the policies to implement them will have to wait until the end of a consultation process.

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips has appointed a five-member panel that will spend the next few weeks gathering information and seeking public input as the province moves toward a “made in Alberta” climate change plan.

“It is my goal to have a new proposal prepared in advance of the United Nations Conference of the Parties in Paris this December,” Phillips said. “To get this right, we need to hear from Albertans.”

Phillips said previous Alberta governments have set greenhouse gas targets but pursued virtually no new policies to help meet them. Asked repeatedly when her government will set its own targets, Phillips said hard numbers will have to wait until the panel delivers its report, expected by the end of October or in early November.

“I expect that the panel will have a tremendous amount to say on the topic of targets, and they will be offering us their best advice and options on how to move forward on that,” she said.

Public consultation

Over the next several weeks, Albertans will be invited to go online or attend public sessions to share their ideas to address climate change.

The panel, chaired by Andrew Leach, academic director of energy programs at the University of Alberta school of business, will hold one-day public sessions in Edmonton and Calgary this September.

The report compiled by the panel will try to answer four key questions, Phillips said.

  • How to put a price on carbon.
  • How to transition to more a sustainable electricity system.
  • How to grow the renewable energy sector.
  • How to increase energy efficiency across the province.

 

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

How Leadnow Will Push Strategic Voting to Defeat Tories

August 11, 2015

How Leadnow Will Push Strategic Voting to Defeat Tories

To avoid splits, organization asks supporters: ‘Vote with your head, not just your heart.’

On the opening afternoon of the Vancouver Folk Festival, a young woman wearing a purple Leadnow T-shirt approached folkies at the event’s main gate and asked them to sign The Pledge.

As the melancholic voice of folk legend Richard Thompson drifted through Jericho Park from a nearby workshop, Rachel Tetrault invited festival arrivals to join Leadnow’s “Vote Together” campaign to defeat Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.

Leadnow, which is modelled on the American liberal-left activist group MoveOn.org, is promoting the idea of strategic voting to defeat the Tories. Leadnow’s pledge asks people to vote for the local candidate — New Democrat, Liberal, even Green — who has the best chance to defeat the Tory candidate in their riding.

Later that night at Jericho Park, a roar of approval erupted when an emcee suggested that this could be the last Vancouver Folk Festival with Harper as prime minister. About 200 “folkies” signed the Leadnow pledge that late July weekend, joining the approximately 40,000 people who have committed to the group’s strategic voting strategy across Canada.

“I do feel that people we talked to at the festival — traditional NDP’ers and some Liberal supporters — are willing to consider voting for another party if that candidate could beat the Conservatives,” said Tetrault, who was hired by Leadnow to help organize its voting campaign.

The 27-year-old activist said that non-Conservative voters she’s met want to “make their vote count” and are frustrated that division on the liberal-left has handed victory to the Tories over the past three elections.

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Spin Cycle: Will all of the oilsands be developed?

August 11, 2015

Spin Cycle: Will all of the oilsands be developed?

Toronto Centre NDP candidate not the only one to suggest some oilsands ‘may have to be left in the ground’

“A lot of the oilsands oil may have to stay in the ground.”

— NDP candidate Linda McQuaig on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics

Alberta’s oilsands seem to always be a contentious issue both nationally and internationally. It was likely only a matter of time before it became a hot topic on the federal campaign trail. Comments by an NDP candidate for the riding of Toronto Centre are causing a stir and putting the spotlight on Alberta’s bitumen.

Linda McQuaig, a well-known author and journalist, told a panel discussion on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics Friday that for Canada to meet its climate change targets much of the oilsands may have to be left in the ground.

The Spin

McQuaig didn’t mention any specific climate change targets that Canada has pledged to achieve, but instead spoke about reaching Canada’s future environmental goals.

“We’ll know that better once we properly put in place a climate change accountability system of some kind,” she told host Rosemary Barton. “And… once we have a proper review process for our environmental projects like pipelines.”

McQuaig later tweeted that “NDP policy is sustainable development, overseen by strong (environmental) review process,” a policy NDP Leader Tom Mulcair expanded upon in response to questions Monday.

The counter-spin

The Conservatives wasted no time in jumping on the NDP and claiming the party wants to shut down the oil industry and introduce new taxes. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper accused the NDP of having a “not-so hidden agenda,” saying it “is consistently against the development of our resources and our economy.”

McQuaig’s comments spurred Michelle Rempel, Conservative candidate for Calgary Nose Hill, to accuse the NDP of proposing a moratorium on the oilsands, which would kill jobs at a time of instability in the oil sector.

Stranded assets?

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Harper Is Right: This Election Is about Security Versus Risk

July 26, 2015

Harper Is Right: This Election Is about Security Versus Risk

It’s our nation’s ruthless economic insecurity that Canadians must weigh.

Stephen Harper chose the Calgary Stampede (now Rachel Notley country) to launch the theme of the now full-blown election campaign. Harper proclaimed he was confident that “this October Canadians will choose security over risk.” Let’s hope so. The question is, of course, what kind of security and risk are we talking about? Political language is never simple or straightforward. It is subject to sophisticated manipulation by professional word-smiths and public relations experts. The choice of what language to use is subject to hundreds of hours of deliberation and enormous resources, because if you get it right, you usually win. If you get it wrong, well, it’s a lot harder. Getting it right means no one even suspects you of manipulating them.

Experts in the art of issue framing will tell you that those who frame an issue first have a huge advantage, because they force their opponents to reframe it — in other words get you to take the time to reconsider what the words actually mean. Maybe that is why neither the Liberals nor the NDP have taken the trouble to challenge Harper’s framing of the security issue as exclusively a foreign policy and military issue: security against terrorism.

That’s unfortunate, because not only is Harper vulnerable on his own limited anti-terror grounds, he is extremely vulnerable when it comes to the kind of security that actually affects millions of Canadians. When it comes to economic and social security, the vast majority of Canadians haven’t been this insecure since the Great Depression.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 

 

Climate Change: Notley’s unexpected ally in growth

May 31, 2015

Climate Change: Notley’s unexpected ally in growth

If Alberta premier-designate Rachel Notley is looking to wean her province’s economy from its oil addiction, she may find that climate change, ironically enough, turns into an unexpected ally. The Prairies, once hailed as the breadbasket of the world, could find that description gain renewed currency in the years to come. With climate change set to bring about profound changes to global food production, Canada may come to find itself in something of an unforeseen sweet spot.

While the Prairies are a major grain producer, crop production is nevertheless limited by the short growing season that comes with Canada’s northern latitude. Turn the thermostat up, however, and the region’s agricultural potential begins to look different. And make no mistake—the temperature is going up. Scientists at NASA, for one, identify the Prairies as a climate change hot spot where temperatures will rise by more than the global average.

Indeed, the predicted warming has already started. Average temperatures are up 1.6 degrees since monitoring began on the Prairies in 1895. What’s more, the warming trend is accelerating. By mid-century, average temperatures in southern Alberta are expected to rise by 2 degrees compared to readings in the period between 1961 and 1990. On the northern margins of agriculture, in the Peace River region, the temperature increase is expected to increase even more dramatically.

In northern countries like Canada such temperature increases can be a game changer for the agricultural industry. Historically, crop-killing frost is the greatest constraint on production. Compared to southern latitudes, the growing season, defined by the number of frost-free days, can be cut in half. Change the dial on the thermostat, though, and farming in this country starts to look much different.

 

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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