Benjamin Dachis – Seven Ways to Really Reduce the Cost of Electricity
From: Benjamin Dachis To: Ontario electricity consumers Re: Seven ways to really reduce the cost of electricity Date: June 4, 2018 There’s been lots of talk about cutting electricity costs for Ontario consumers this election, without a lot of specific ideas. Here are seven tangible ways that a new or re-elected government can cut the […] Move over, Waterloo and Ottawa: Calgary is now out-innovating you – CBC’s The Road Ahead
Which is the most innovative city in Canada?
You might be surprised to know that Calgary has now taken the lead on that front, as measured by one of the most common ways of gauging innovation — patents.
Calgary has now surpassed the likes of Ottawa and Waterloo in terms of patents per capita. And yet, the Alberta city’s rise has happened without the fanfare that accompanied the ascent of the country’s previous tech hubs in Ontario.
This is the untold story of how Calgary quietly rose to become Canada’s innovation leader. It’s a story that doesn’t have a central character. Unlike the tech booms of the past, there’s no Blackberry or Nortel dominating the scene. Rather, it’s a multitude of players in the oil and…
Hilber, Palmer, Pinchbeck – Does Historic Designation Induce Higher Energy Costs?
From: Christian Hilber, Charles Palmer and Ted Pinchbeck To: Heritage preservation policymakers Date: May 23, 2018 Re: Does Historic Designation Induce Higher Energy Costs? Policies to preserve buildings, including privately-owned homes, for historical, cultural or architectural reasons are widespread across Europe and North America. In Canada, a designation under the Ontario Heritage Act, for instance, […] Benjamin Dachis – Backstopping Kinder Morgan Makes Sense
To: The Hon. Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance From: Benjamin Dachis Date: May 17, 2018 Re: Backstopping Kinder Morgan Makes Sense The federal government is wise to indemnify Kinder Morgan from any losses it may suffer in its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project due to political obstruction in British Columbia —as announced yesterday. The Trans Mountain saga is well […] Trans Mountain Pipeline Should Be Project No. 1 for the Canada Infrastructure Bank: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
We all know the Trans Mountain saga by now. Kinder Morgan wants certainty by May 31 on being able to proceed with its proposed pipeline expansion from Alberta to the B.C. coast. If not, it threatens to walk away, stranding Alberta’s oil. The federal government has committed to making the project happen, and has just the shiny new tool to help: the Canada Infrastructure Bank.
Ottawa, which approved construction, said it will use “all tools” available to get the pipeline built. The Alberta government has even mused about buying the project from Kinder Morgan. Both governments want to see it completed, for good reason. A new pipeline to tidewater will increase the price Canadian oil fetches because of the Alberta supply…
Andrew Roman – Are Old Polluters Better Than New Polluters?
From: Andrew Roman To: Concerned Canadians Date: April 30, 2018 Re: Are Old Polluters Better Than New Polluters? One of the environmental arguments against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is that it will induce an increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the Alberta oilsands. This increase would prevent Canada from achieving its climate change CO2 emission reduction commitments. […] Resource Jobs Are Sustaining Canada’s Middle Class. Period – Globe And Mail Op-ed
Opinions on pipelines are flowing around Canada more quickly than the oil. The ultimate decisions on natural resource projects, however, ought to derive from facts. As an economist studying income inequality over the last 15 years, I can offer a key fact to the debate. In my view, nothing has contributed more than natural resources to buttressing the Canadian middle class against the rapidly changing global economy of the 21st century.
The importance of resources to middle-class incomes is most clearly seen by looking at a simple measure: the earnings of the middle worker in the economy (the median). Between 2000 and 2015, Canadian median earnings rose by just 6 per cent after inflation, or less than half a per cent a…
Bernard and Kichian – The Effects of the B.C. Carbon Tax on Diesel Demand
From: Jean-Thomas Bernard and Maral Kichian To: Canada’s Energy Policymakers Date: March 7, 2018 Re: The Effects of the B.C. Carbon Tax on Diesel Demand By signing the Paris agreement on climate change three years ago, Canada committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission to 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. To reach this target, the pricing of […] Blake Shaffer – To Change Or Not To Change? The Daylight Savings Debate Won’t Die
From: Blake Shaffer To: Clock-Switching Canadians Date: March 6, 2018 Re: To Change or not to Change? The Daylight Savings Debate Won’t Die Like clockwork, twice a year most of Canada — except for Saskatchewan and other enlightened and independent-minded locales — shift the clocks forward and back one hour. Also like clockwork, Canadians revisit the debate over the […] Branko Bošković – Bold Steps To Save Alberta’s Caribou
To: Shannon Phillips, Alberta Minister of Environment and Parks From: Branko Bošković Date: February 27, 2018 Re: Bold Steps to Save Alberta’s Caribou Woodland caribou have been listed as threatened or endangered in Alberta for more than 30 years. During this time, the provincial caribou population has fallen from nearly 8,000 to perhaps 2,000 today and is at serious […] David Popp – Clean Technology Investment Begins with a Price on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
To: Governments looking to scrap prices on greenhouse gas emissions Re: Clean Technology Investment Begins with a Price on Greenhouse Gas Emissions From: David Popp Date: February 20, 2018 Governments across Canada are making support for low-greenhouse gas energy technology a top priority. Canada is among the group of 23 nations participating in Mission Innovation: […] Getting to the heart of the Western energy debate – Globe and Mail Op-Ed
The federal government announced sweeping new legislation on Thursday that will govern how it will consider major energy projects. Exactly how the new legislation will affect the sector will become apparent as parliamentarians, energy companies and the public dissect and debate it. No matter what, the legislation is a step forward in the long-simmering debate over how to review a major interprovincial pipeline application. The announcement addresses the problem that has had the largest cost on the competitiveness of Canada’s energy sector.
One after another, government policies are piling on to affect the competitiveness of energy producers in Western Canada. Much attention has been paid to carbon taxes, but a lack of market…