Charles DeLand – Alberta Needs a Stable Policy Approach to Power
From: Charles DeLand To: The Hon. Nathan Neudorf, Alberta Minister of Affordability and Utilities Date: December 19, 2023 Re: Alberta Needs a Stable Policy Approach to Power Background It’s all electricity all the time in Canada these days as we come to grips with the green transition and its electric vehicles, its electric heat pumps […] Putting Together a Holiday Dinner Basket
We at the C.D. Howe Institute wish you a happy holiday season. We also wish we could wish you an affordable one. We asked how big a bite a holiday dinner for ten would take out of the average weekly wage of a worker in Canada, Australia, the UK and the United States. The painful answer is […] Leonard Waverman – Why Government Electric Vehicle Mandates Won’t Work
From: Leonard Waverman To: Canadian automotive observers Date: December 18, 2023 Re: Why Government Electric Vehicle Mandates Won’t Work On Dec 31 2022, the federal Liberal government mandated that in 2035, 12 years from now, no internal combustion engine cars and light trucks can be sold in Canada. This ban takes place gradually, beginning at 20 percent of electric […] Has Ottawa destroyed its own carbon tax? Canada needs a climate Plan B – Globe and Mail
Suggestions that carbon pricing is not working because Canada’s emissions have kept rising miss the mark, as a large chunk of the increase is due to rapid population growth. The country’s energy efficiency has, in fact, improved considerably under the carbon tax introduced by the federal government.
But unfortunately for carbon price supporters, Ottawa has directly contradicted the principle underlying the tax. In late October, it decided to selectively pause its application to heating oil, a fuel used primarily in homes in Atlantic Canada, ostensibly on affordability grounds, but largely viewed as a cynically political move. Quite logically, provincial leaders immediately asked for exemptions covering fuels used in their regions…
Grant Sprague – Frameworks and Emission Caps: Another No-Consultation Ottawa Initiative
To: Canadians Concerned about Climate Change From: Grant Sprague Date: December 14, 2023 Re: Frameworks and Emission Caps: Another No-Consultation Ottawa Initiative Our federal environment minister went to Dubai for COP and all we got was a framework on an oil and gas emissions cap. No matter how the details of this “cap” and framework end up, there are […] Duncan T. Munn – Nuclear Energy and LNG are Keys to Low-Carbon Canada
From: Duncan T. Munn To: Energy observers Date: December 4, 2023 Re: Nuclear Energy and LNG are Keys to Low-Carbon Canada The national conversation about net-zero has tended to focus on renewable energy, such as wind and solar, both of which have important roles to play. But nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have also emerged as pragmatic […] Nuclear power and LNG are key to a low-carbon future – Financial Post Op-Ed
The national conversation about net-zero has tended to focus on renewable forms of energy, such as wind and solar, both of which have important roles to play in future. But nuclear energy and liquefied natural gas (LNG) have also emerged as pragmatic drivers on the road toward a low-carbon future. Each has its own unique advantages.
Nuclear stands out as a reliable source of base-load electricity. Unlike wind and solar installations, which produce much less energy than their rated capacities when, respectively, the wind isn’t blowing or the sun shining, nuclear reactors can operate more or less indefinitely at close to capacity output. That ensures a stable energy supply, offsetting the intermittency associated…
Grant Bishop – Ottawa Needs to Get Back to Carbon Pricing Basics
From: Grant Bishop To: Climate policy observers Date: November 14, 2023 Re: Ottawa Needs to Get Back to Carbon Pricing Basics Last month, a Supreme Court majority held that the core of the federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA) is unconstitutional – a “Trojan horse” of federal overreach into provincial jurisdiction. Amid much criticism, this legislation was enacted […] Grant Sprague – The Supreme Court Was Clear: Governments Need to Align on Green Agenda
From: Grant Sprague To: Canada’s governments Date: November 6, 2023 Re: The Supreme Court Was Clear: Governments Need to Align on Green Agenda Four years ago, the federal government enacted the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), also known as Bill C-69. The reception was not good. In some circles, the legislation became known as the “no-more […] Charles DeLand – Some Easy Fixes for the New Carbon Capture Tax Credit
From: Charles DeLand To: The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance of Canada Date: November 2, 2023 Re: Some Easy Fixes for the New Carbon Capture Tax Credit Canada’s federal government has proposed a range of policies over the past few years designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among them, refundable investment tax credits […] Jon Johnson – NAFTA/CUSMA Investor/State Disputes – Fading Away or Out with a Bang
From: Jon Johnson To: Keystone Saga Watchers Date: October 27, 2023 Re: NAFTA/CUSMA Investor/State Disputes – Fading Away or Out with a Bang The claim brought by TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Pipelines) under the CUSMA procedures for NAFTA investor/state claims is massive: US$15 billion plus interest. The claim, relating to TC Energy’s construction of the […] Feds shouldn’t amend the pipeline act without real input from the provinces – Financial Post
Four years ago, the federal government enacted the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), also known as Bill C-69. The reception was not good. In some circles, the legislation became known as the “no-more pipelines bill.” Industry associations, scholars and governments expressed their misgivings with the act and the effects it was likely to have on resource development. This month the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed the act is unconstitutional. Whoops!
The door is not shut on a better approach, however. But Ottawa and the provinces need to work together to achieve it, starting now. In the decision’s conclusion, Chief Justice Wagner wrote: “This scheme plainly overstepped the mark.” What are the key elements that federal policy-makers…