Guest essay by Pat Reilly
Canada is a vast and rich country that has among its bounties the third largest known oil reserves in the world. The exploitation of these resources should be paying for our socialist leaning Liberal and Nation Democratic Party agendas with money left over much like Norway. Instead our governments are running massive deficits and spending money we do not have to try and maintain the façade that we can give away free social programs without worry. At the same time these governments are virtual signaling that Canadians are to blame for the Climate changing and we must have a price for carbon to pay for our sins.
The history of failed energy projects in the last 10 years is becoming a text book case of what is in store for any country that is trying to appease the IPPC and the Green environmental movement. Canada is pushing the climate change narrative through the use of government policies that include carbon pricing through a tax and restrictions on development through emissions reduction.
Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline was one of the first to fail. Northern Gateway was first proposed in 2006 but the final project application was submitted to the Nation Energy Board for review in May of 2010. This 8.0 billion pipeline project would have carried oil from Edmonton Alberta to Kitimat BC to be loaded onto tankers for the sale to the Pacific Rim and beyond. Many foreign environmental groups pumped millions of dollars into the fight against this project through Canadian nonprofit environmental organizations. Vivian Krause exposed the worst offenders in a number of articles she did for the Vancouver Sun. Vivian had to use the US tax records to track these donations from the US based environmental groups. Canadian Non-profit charities do not have to make the same type of disclosures as they do in the US so the funding sources are not reported to the Canadian government. In spite of all the protests the final permit from the Federal Government came in June of 2014 with over 209 conditions to be met before construction would begin. Some of these conditions were the agreement from First Nations in the area of the pipeline and the tanker route from Kitimat BC. Some of the First Nations groups were receiving this foreign influence money and advice from a number of self serving environmental groups to fight the pipeline. The final nail in the coffin for Gateway was the election of Justin Trudeau. Not one month into Trudeau’s term as prime minister he issued a moratorium on any new oil tanker traffic on the BC coast from North of Port Hardy to the Alaskan panhandle. The approval process for this pipeline was over three and half years of hearings and addressing requests for information and clarification of design and operation aspects. In the end Enbridge could not get the approval of all the parties involved so they closed the project down after Justin Trudeau’s tanker ban.
Keystone XL Pipeline was the next to hit a bump in the road. The pipeline was first proposed in 2008. It was to carry oil from Hardisty Alberta to the Texas Gulf coast refineries. After 2 years of hearings and design changes in Canada the Pipeline was approved by the Canadian government. The project then handed over to the US law makers for the southern leg connection to Texas from the Canadian border . Under the Obama administration this project had to pass the EPA’s assessment and the State Department’s approval. After that it had to be passed in the Congress and the Senate which it did after much political fallout. All of these hurdles were passed after 6 years deliberations. It was vetoed by President Obama who stated “Frankly approving this project would have undercut the United States global leadership on climate change”. One of the first things that Donald Trump did was to write an executive order to approve this pipeline but due to the length of the process and the ongoing rising costs involved TransCanada pipelines is still evaluating whether they will proceed with the total project or not. Some of the southern sections of the pipeline have been built but the main connection to the Canadian market is still in limbo. Now with the Liberal government’s new environmental legislation that were passed this spring things are looking grim for this project to be completed. The new legislation states that a carbon levee will be applied to the pipeline operator that takes into account the carbon total for the product shipped and also when it is consumed by the end users.
TransCanada Energy East was a 12 Billion dollar proposal for a conversion of 3000 KM of existing Natural gas pipeline and the installation of 1600 KM of new line to supply oil from Edmonton to eastern Canada with the final destination of St. John New Brunswick. The refineries in eastern Canada would have used this ethical oil to reduce the amount of the imports from oil producers who can be considered unethical. It was also stated that the replacement of this foreign oil would be more environmentally friendly as some of the foreign countries have no formal climate change policies in place. The first set of environmental hearings for approval was interrupted by a small number of environmental protesters in Montreal. The review panel members were shocked by this behavior because the protesters would not leave the venue and the local Montreal Police would not arrest them for the disruption. The mayors in the Montreal district were outspoken against this project and the police were told to stand down for their protection of these hearings. The review board quit in mass because they did not feel safe in this type of hostile environment. Unfortunately there was a Canadian Federal election before a new board could be ratified and the Liberal Government under Justin Trudeau pushed off the hearings till a “New” environmental approval process could be mapped out. The new approval process was taken away from the National Energy Board and given to a new review group the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) reporting to the Environmental Department under Minister Catherine McKenna. McKenna has been quoted a number of times that fossil fuel usage is a direct cause of climate change. The new environmental rules launched by McKenna and Justin Trudeau’s close adviser Gerald Butts (former head of the Canadian branch of the World Wildlife Fund) state that there will be carbon pricing to any new energy projects built in Canada. Not only will this pipeline be charged for the carbon pricing on the oil moved in the line but there is also a clause that states that the end use carbon will also be charged to the pipeline moving the oil. TransCanada cancelled Energy East in October 2017.
Kinder Morgan Trans-Mountain pipeline upgrade is a 7.4 Billion dollar expansion of the existing pipeline that was installed in 1953. It goes from Edmonton to Burnaby BC to supply oil to the Vancouver district and allow for oil sales to the Pacific Rim and beyond. After another lengthy review process that was a total of 29 months the project was approved by the federal National Energy Board with 157 conditions attached. The project was one of the first to come under scrutiny by the new liberal government under Justin Trudeau but because the review process was followed and the 157 conditions were been met by Trans-Mountain Justin begrudgingly gave his approval for this project. The problem was that the provincial BC government changed to a New Democrats from Liberal last year. Along with the new election the NDP ended up with a minority government so they formed an alliance with the three Green Party members to stay in power. The new premier John Horgan has been putting up road blocks against this project by issuing court challenges to the federal government’s right to approve this project when there is a strong local resistance to upgrading this line. As it stands today Kinder Morgan issued a statement that if they cannot proceed with construction this year they will cancel the project. Kinder Morgan gave the ultimatum of May 31 2018 for a decision. Justin Trudeau is cutting a visit to the America’s conference for a meeting with the parties involved to try and come to a resolution for Kinder Morgan to proceed with construction. Why Justin Trudeau even went to this conference is a mystery in its self because the total trade with the America’s outside of the US is just 3.0 billion dollars. This trade number is only half of the total cost of this pipeline upgrade. The ongoing revenue from the extra oil production is slated to be the same as the America’s trade for every year of operation. The meeting held in Ottawa on Sunday 15 2018 did not change BC’s John Horgan’s position and as of today the clock is ticking. Some have said that Canada’s confederation is in jeopardy if this project fails.
Justin Trudeau has been virtue signaling since the day he attained the prime minister’s office on climate change and how we as Canadian’s need to do more. Justin has spoken out against oil and gas production with a special distaste for Oil sands projects and when Justin is talking about any pipeline it is mostly in the negative. Not long after Justin became Prime Minister he passed another moratorium on all oil and gas development and drilling in the Canadian Arctic. This moratorium was news to the people of this region and there was a large outcry from them about this policy. The Canadian Arctic has proven reserves of oil and gas as large as the original findings of the Alaskan North Slope. Justin’s father Pierre Elliot Trudeau and the government of Canada put the first restrictions on the development of these oil and gas resources in the 1970’s. Renewed interest in this area was stopped because of Justin’s new moratorium.
Gerald Butts has said in a number of interviews that he supports the total reduction in the use of fossil fuels. Gerald had been an environmental adviser to the Ontario Liberal government before he became the head of the World Wildlife Fund in Canada. The Ontario renewable energy policies and carbon pricing have reduced that provinces economy to the point where normal citizens are losing their jobs due to high electricity prices and factories are closing due to high energy costs. Gerald’s views on energy projects are greatly affecting the total economy of Canada now that he is a close adviser to Justin Trudeau.
Catherine McKenna shares the same climate change views as Gerald Butts and has been quoted a number of times that Canadians need to pay a carbon tax to reduce the amount of consumption of fossil fuels. For each of last three COPE environmental conferences throughout the world McKenna has led the Canadian contingent which has been in excess of 200 delegates in attendance. Under Stephen Harper the former Prime Minister this climate conference contingent was less than 40 delegates sent. Some have pointed out that Canada is only .1% of the total carbon emissions for the world but we now have had the third largest delegation at these three conferences. The carbon foot print of McKenna and her traveling entourage is so large it matches some of the smaller industries that are going out of business in Ontario due to high electricity prices and the new carbon pricing.
The Royal Bank of Canada released a statement last month that investment in Canada had dried up and was fleeing from Canada. They stated that due to the unfair costs been forced onto the Canadian businesses by the Liberal Government’s climate policies Canadian companies were becoming uncompetitive on the world markets. The CEO of Suncor Energy the largest combined oil company in Canada stated that Suncor would not be making any new investments in Canada in the near future and they were going to spend 35 Billion dollars of development and exploration money somewhere other than Canada. The amount of major oil and gas projects stalled or shelved since the Liberal government under Justin Trudeau came into power has been estimated to be in the range of the 150 to 180 Billion dollar mark. The oil sands development has been hardest hit through the lack of pipeline capacity. The job losses in the engineering, design and manufacturing sectors that supported the oil and gas market are devastating. The job losses in the operation of these new projects have had a long term effect on the economy and the financial well been of the Canadian Economy. The newer oil sands plants that had been built before the new pipelines were cancelled have been making do with reduced production and shipping their products in rail tank cars.
The oil shipments by rail are now causing the disruption of the yearly grain shipments due to a lack of locomotives and staff to run them. This type of work around for the lack of pipelines is causing more emissions to be produced for transportation of this oil and the safety of the public is more at risk from rail accidents.
Vivian Krause article: http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/vivian-krause-new-u-s-funding-for-the-war-on-canadian-oil.
Justin Trudeau’s Tanker Ban: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/crude-oil-tanker-traffic-moratorium-bc-north-coast-1.3318086
Montreal mayors oppose Energy East Pipeline: http://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/greater-montreal-mayors-come-out-against-transcanadas-energy-east-pipeline
Trudeau and California’s Governor Brown are partners in this debacle. Each trying to outdo the other to prove their commitment to CC mitigation. Two more perfect useful idiots would be hard to find. I submit that Brown knows exactly what he’s doing and Trudeau doesn’t have a clue. If Trudeau is successful in retaining his position the negative affect on Canada’s economy, social programs, and the welfare of the people will be staggering.
I believe the introduction should refer to the New Democratic Party, not the Nation Democratic Party
Australia is about to embark on developing 3 Trillion barrels of trapped oil in coal. I loved Trudeau. I love Brown. Long may they rule.
Because of Trudeau we will end up buying oil from Australia. I today am ashamed to say I am Canadian. We dont have enough hydro power to heat all of the homes in Canada so I guess the greenies want us to build more nukes. Since less than 1% of our cars are all electric where will we get our oil. The oil sands are expensive oil they cant compete with shale oil. The greenies are against natural gas too so unless they live in Quebec or Manitoba how will they heat their homes?
Probably with electricity generated by Chinese Coal
Even electric cars still need lubricating oil.
What did Canadians expect?
We elected the Liberals,this is what they do.
Free dope for all(Legalize Dope).
A history of theft by climate deception, “It doesn’t matter if the science of Global Warming is wrong,we will still be doing the right thing redistributing wealth..”
The Minister of the Environment under Jean the Cretin.
Seems the fools and bandits inhabiting Ottawa really do not know where wealth comes from.
Any chance the USA is looking for a 51st State that links Alaska to the lower 48?
Going cheap,bankruptcy sale coming soon.
We bought Alaska for something like 7 cents an acre. Let Canadian libs keep it up and Canada won’t be worth that much.
CPPIB
Sustainable Investing
‘Policy on Responsible Investing’, August 10, 2010, about 6 pages
Section 4.0: Engagement
Includes the CDP/Carbon Disclosure Project
http://cppib.com/content/dam/cppib/Who%20We%20Are/Governance/Policies/Responsible_Investing_Policy_August2010.pdf
And:
CPPIB
‘Statement of Investment Objectives, Policies, Return Expectations, Risk Management …’, June 22, 2017, about 15 pages
Section 11.2, ESG Factors
http://www.cppib.com/documents/1651/Statement_of_Investment_Objectives_2017.pdf
Gov. UK
CDP Worldwide, London, UK
Registered Charity
Use Start: Enter No.: 1122330 or Charity Name
Menu Left Sidebar: Click on any item for more information.
http://www.gov.uk/find-charity-information
Perhaps the ongoing snow and sub-zero weather in the grain growing areas of Canada will impact production enough to make folk to ask the question: what happened to global warming?
It has become “climate change”…and snow and cold weather will be twisted to fit the narrative, just as people in the US have done.
I still cringe when reading about those who consistently believe they can engineer the behavior of and exert some degree of control over civilization and humanity with taxes (in this case carbon taxes) on that which they consider sinful or evil. Many politicians no doubt love it when something new is branded evil or sinful by some activist group because the politicians then have a reason to tax it.
With the govt in place in Ottawa and in some of its provinces now, Canada appears to have a particularly severe case of this type of thinking with carbon taxes. How successful so-called sin taxes are at engineering human behavior is certainly a matter for debate, and its supporters probably care little or nothing about the negative consequences. And when science and the media are on board with this mode of thinking, its can get quite difficult to counter it. That is the case now with fossil fuels and the climate alarmist narrative.
Whatever Canada’s economic future holds, it largely will have only itself to blame if things go bad. Of course, that goes for the U.S. too as well and every other country in the world. The worst part of it is when they deny that they did it to themselves. Like being in a doomsday religious cult and not realizing it until it’s too late.
….and BTW Mr. Reilly, it would be nice with future pieces like this if you would make better use of the concept of paragraphs. Kind of hard to read with the lack of them. Still are very well done piece. Thanks.
Hopefully these collective brain farts by the voters will be rectified next year with elections in Alberta and federally. Justin gets most of his climate delusion from his chief advisor, Gerald Butts, his BFF and former head of the World Wildlife Fund in Canada. Gerry is a true eco-Marxist and was previously advisor on the environment to the current Ontario government which is now pretty much on its last legs economically due to his climate advice.
If Obama had a son…. he’d look like Trudeau.
Same smug elitist smirk.
Same PC virtue signalling traits.
Same socialist wealth redistribution larceny-at-heart!
Before you say that J Mac take a look at a picture of a young former Cuban president and one of Justin and see whos son he appears to be. I didn’t believe it until I looked. Maybe that explains his speech on Fidel’s passing.
Both Trudeau and Obama were partially funded and influenced by the radical globalist billionaire with a God complex – George Soros. Trudeau’s government is actually in partnership with Soros to export Canada’s “open borders” immigration policies to other countries. Soros helps fund Canadian ENGOs through the Tides Foundation which cause political discord and harm the Western Canadian economy.
Title change:- Canada’s Climate Change Policies Are BANKRUPTING Its Economy When it Comes to Resource Development
Report today that Kinder Morgan is likely going to decide to cancel their planned Alberta-British Columbia pipeline expansion, due to continuing opposition from governments and protesters.
So the protesters can use their fossil-fueled vehicles to go home to their homes warmed by fossil-fuels…
Should they pull up to a local gas station that doesn’t have any gas to sell, they would completely fail to see the connection.
Trudeau, by the sheer mass of leaden ignorance, propelled by the shady Caper Gerald Butts, funded on a Soros-controlled budget, and fronted by Climate Barbie, colluding with Ms.Shrug, Rachel Notley, the kindergarten-level virtue-signaller, and here new-found opponents, the Two-headed Democrat from Sewerville, BC, one head of which holds the entire show hostage by the simple fact that he was an IPCC lead author back in the day. The problem is that Mr. Weaver, as much as he holds the trump card, will cause the entire circus to collapse if he chooses to play it. Nothing like guaranteeing a short career. Instead, he waves his ace, the other head flails on its pivot in disarray, while Notley expertly plays the Alberta Electorate for the fools they will be when they elect her into a second term of economic destruction. Just in Time to hurl Canada into a tailspin and a federal election at the same time.
Meanwhile Gerald’s Puppet galumphs around groping the Mayor of Lunnin and taking selfies of diversity.
We are so screwed.
Mike, most Albertans know that shady Rachel is giving lip service to the pipeline in a desperate bid for votes, her popularity is in the low 30’s and Albertans are fed up. She imposed a carbon tax that is really dinging the consumer and business alike and had so many anti oilfield activists on the payroll I’m sure she lost count. She got in on a protest vote that left many of us saying WTF happened and she’ll hopefully exit on the same protest vote back to their normal obscurity.
+10 Mike
Notley and her NDP comrades are trailing badly in the polls with an election about a year away. A Mainstreet Jan 2018 poll found 55.9% of Albertans would vote UCP, if an election were held today, compared to only 27.3% for the NDP. The greenie Liberal government in Ontario is also trailing badly before a June vote and the Trudeau government is now behind in the polls. There could be a sea change in Canadian politics within the next 18 months.
I have been trying to deal with Environmentalists all my Professional career. I won more battles than I lost, but I lost some spectacular ones along the way. These Environmentalists take up the latest craze and champion it, like ozone/cfc, plastics, mining (ouch! those are my toes you’re stepping on!), oil spills, etc. And then along comes Global Warming, a gift made in heaven for those seeking a cause, because it’s many enemies rolled into one and they are trying to kill Mother Earth. Have you ever negotiated with a leader from an environmentalist cause? They are rabidly committed to stopping you and will go to any lengths to do so, such is their belief in what they are doing. Science is settled? Then Science is not important, the seriousness of the charge is important.
They are trying to become the next Venezuela.
“Canada’s Climate Change Policies Are Affecting Its Economy When it Comes to Resource Development”
Surprise surprise!
In spite of Lord Stern’s incredibly twisted and dishonest writings on the economy and climate change, any spending on resources, by private or governments, that are more expensive than current resources especially including energy as in this case, will deflate and eventually break any economy.
Anyone with a good knowledge of economics can see that at a glance.
Cheers
Roger
http://www.thedemiseofchristchurch.com
Our fearless leaders,being too stupid to know fear,are very certain of their wisdom.
This is the socially destructive face of Gang Green.
Canada will fall on hard times,before the voting public bother to assess their responsibilities.
Currently our public wisdom is truly amazing.
Money comes from the government,water from the tap,electricity from the wall outlet and food from the supermarket.
Increasing welfare spending is “Investment in Infrastructure”
“Diversity is our strength.”
“Budgets will balance themselves”.
The sad part of the pipeline prevention, is that our progressive comrades appear to plan state ownership of this infrastructure and the oil fields,Petro-Canada reborn.
Except it may be the state that winds up owning these assets will be China.
Environment Canada
Re: Radar wind turbine interference.
Information:
https//www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/weather-general-tools-resources/radar-overview/wind-turbine-interference.html
I wouldn’t be surprised if Russia is also funding the opposition to these energy projects. It’s a cheap way to engage in espionage to protect their revenue through oil and gas. The Canadian government should demand transparency about charitable donations to organized opposition to these projects.
Good point, DeLoss. I would be surprised if Russia wasn’t involved in trying to influence these pipeline decisions.
Poor Canada: led by a bunch of fools. It must be really disheartening to realize your leadership is living in a delusional world and their delusional decisions are destroying your country.
And unfortunately, Canada is not alone. The majority of Western nations have fools for leaders. The U.S. almost had another fool leading it, but then out of the blue, Trump was elected and the U.S. was saved.
Maybe Trump’s example and success will open the eyes of others. Let’s hope the nations with fools leading them don’t have to crash and burn before they do something about changing their leadership.
“Poor Canada: led by a bunch of fools. It must be really disheartening to realize your leadership is living in a delusional world and their delusional decisions are destroying your country.”
It is indeed disheartening, especially when efforts to try to stop this from happening have been met with stone-walling politicians who say over and over again that they “listen” and “care” for all citizens. They are utterly disingenuous. …
We could learn something from the Russians though; Non-Russian NGO’s have to register as agents promoting a foreign influence in Russia, here in the West they are all considered white unselfish knights by the vast majority, independent of their agenda.
Very good article….as a resident of Alberta…i’m sick of Liberals in Ottawa running this province down.
As an Ontario resident living in Ottawa I’m sick of, and was as soon as they were elected, the Trudeau Liberals holier than thou attitude.
Alberta has bailed out the provinces of Canada with money produced from oil revenues for years.
Ontario, because of it’s manufacturing base, used to be one of the main engines of the country. Not any more – we are now a have not province and it’s only getting worse what with the Ontario Liberals ‘green energy’ fiasco.
I’m hoping Alberta does put severe limits on oil/gas shipped to BC – another ‘green energy’ basket case – and the ROC if that what it takes to shake these idiots out of their dreamy eyed complacency.
What a total disaster the great country we once had has become.
“Justin Trudeau is cutting a visit to the America’s conference for a meeting with the parties involved to try and come to a resolution for Kinder Morgan to proceed with construction. Why Justin Trudeau even went to this conference is a mystery in its self because the total trade with the America’s outside of the US is just 3.0 billion dollars. This trade number is only half of the total cost of this pipeline upgrade. The ongoing revenue from the extra oil production is slated to be the same as the America’s trade for every year of operation. The meeting held in Ottawa on Sunday 15 2018 did not change”
I am a Canadian and I don’t understand the quoted paragraph above. Also Who do you mean by “America’s conference”
“total trade with the America’s outside of the US is just 3.0 billion dollars.”
I have no clue what the above means.
The America’s conference was the conference that Justin Trudeau went to in Peru last weekend. The conference included all of the countries in the North and South America continents. Out side of the USA the total amount that Canada trades with countries in the America’s like Peru, Argentina and the rest has been quoted to be around 3 Billion dollars.The trade between the USA and Canada is close to 600 billion dollars for 2017.
Yes, Canada and Mexico are the two biggest trading partners of the U.S.
There is a common thought in Western Canada and the Canadian oil/gas industry that the anti-fossil fuel development policies are a cover for an American government policy of keeping Canadian resources for later American needs at a price controlled, by lack of choice, by American purchasers.
President Bush came to Alberta, viewed the oilsands and spoke of Canada (and Mexico) as being integral to “North American” energy security. We Canadians laughed: he meant “American” energy security. We also laughed when Alberta junior politicians said we should refine our own oil and sell the refined product to the States: not when Texan refineries and workers could do it ! (As we worked for Texaco/Chevron/Imperial/Murphy, we understood explicitly this reality.)
The pipeline for raw product from the Arctic, the East-West pipeline, Kinder-Morgan west pipeline, the LNG pipeline – three pipelines for export and competitive prices- plus the XL Keystone – all die with help from American money like Tidewater, while internal US American pipelines sail through. Step back and you see the pattern.
Canadian politicians are weak. Trudeau and others play their parts as as been explained to them by Washington. When America wants our recources, the pipelines will be full. Until then, the Greens will wallow in their nobel causes. That is THEIR part to play.
Good points. But you forget the systematic disarming of Canada, which started under Trudeau Sr., when he moved essentially all of the combat troops stationed in Western Canada to the East. There’s no military presence anymore anywhere near the three main highways through the Canadian Rockies, and nothing but the navy on the coast.
It continued under Kim Campbell, Mulroney’s unelected successor to lead the Conservative government in Ottawa. She mused in the memoir of her brief stay in power that she had no idea who conceived her government’s plan to prohibit and confiscate without compensation thousands of legally owned firearms. And this despite having been Minister of Justice (where the plan was hatched) before becoming Prime Minister.
I wonder if she finally got a clue after being appointed High Commissioner to New York?
“Many foreign environmental groups pumped millions of dollars into the fight against this project through Canadian nonprofit environmental organizations. ”
Any mention or suggestion that Russia is also supporting the Canadian Environuts like they did in the US?
Will Rogers once said “I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.“. Regrettably, that statement could not be made today – the left are now very highly organised in their push to destroy western democratic societies. The ultimate(?) irony is that the Democrats are not democrats.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/03/09/apparently-ive-irritated-the-fruit-fly/
bk says: March 9, 2012 at 5:39 pm
Suzuki is gradually realizing that the CAGW fight is lost as he is now moving on to advocating more control over energy for reasons other than AGW.
___________________
The fact that almost all governments and major corporations in the developed world were fooled by (or simply acquiesced to) CAGW fraud, and squandered a trillion dollars trying to “fight global warming” , says much about the proper role of governments in society.
To be fooled by an obvious fraud such as global warming is clear evidence that the collective intellect of governments is indeed that of a fruit fly.
To knowingly acquiesce to such fraud is evidence that the collective ethics of governments are lower than those of a maggot.
In either case, it is evident that the role of governments should be minimized, not expanded. Governments are clearly not intellectually or ethically competent to provide guidance on complex matters of serious importance to humanity.
Similarly, our once-respected intellectual institutions have lost their credibility. The Royal Society, the National Academy of Sciences and many others have embraced and promoted CAGW mania.
As Lord Monckton indicated in his recent NY college speech, governments throughout history have embraced truly foolish ideas, with disastrous consequences.
“ The Versailles consensus of 1918 imposed reparations on the defeated Germany, so that the conference that ended the First World War (15 million dead) sowed the seeds of the Second. The eugenics consensus of the 1920s that led directly to the dismal rail-yards of Oswiecim and Treblinka (6 million dead). The appeasement consensus of the 1930s that provoked Hitler to start World War II (60 million dead). The Lysenko consensus of the 1940s that wrecked 20 successive harvests in the then Soviet Union (20 million dead). The ban-DDT consensus of the 1960s that led to a fatal resurgence of malaria worldwide (40 million children dead and counting, 1.25 million of them last year alone).”
The difference today is that we have the internet, a system of global communication that , in time, will perhaps mitigate the proliferation of popular delusions such as CAGW mania, and enable our society to make more rational decisions.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/01/09/its-about-time-exxon-launches-counterattack-against-california-based-climate-conspiracy-lawsuits/comment-page-1/#comment-2713297
[excerpt]
I liked Exxon much better under Lee Raymond – he was reportedly impolite and tough, but he had the courage to face down blatant falsehoods like global warming alarmism and not acquiesce to them.
The current crop of oil industry executives don’t seem to “own a pair” among the lot of them, and they are now reaping the reward of their cowardly surrender to green extortionists. They have cost their shareholders a fortune.
This is particularly true in Canada, where the energy industry has been hamstrung by lack of oil pipeline capacity, such that price differentials between US and Canadian crude’s have cost Canadians many billions of dollars.
A responsible Canadian oil exec would lead a lawsuit against these green extortionists and drive them into the ground.
However, that is not the nature of the modern CEO. Clearly, his “politically-correct” approach is not working. He should have taken Arnie’s advice of years ago: “Don’t be a girly man!”
Big oil died a long time ago. Today oil companies are just Big Bank run by politician types. All the work is done by contractors and engineering firms.
Possibly true James D – especially in Canada. The current crop of Canadian CEO’s seem incapable of doing anything except hiding from the enviro-radicals, burning up shareholder value, and hoping someone else will do their job for them and solve the pipeline problem.
In comparison, my experience working for Texaco in the USA is they had very few contractors, and did almost all work with full-time employees. I was hired on contract for my experience in the FSU, and was (to my colleagues knowledge) the only contractor working in international headquarters in Westchester County, NY.
The situation in Canada is even worse than the article lets on. Because BC has blocked the oil pipeline that the federal government approved there is now a trade war between BC and Alberta. Alberta is introducing legislation that will prevent oil from being shipped to BC either by pipeline or rail car. Saskatchewan another province that has lesser oil shipments has said they will follow Alberta’s lead. Justin “Nero” Trudeau, our PM is letting the country disintegrate under his watch.
Fiddling while Rome burns.
But Justin is such a charming young man!
I very briefly met Steven Harper on three occasions, all related to bringing new industry to Canada. He certainly was not “nice” in the way that you clearly understood that this was a person taking no b******t, and sending a clear signal that he was not prepared to accept you wasting his time.
Most politicians I have met had two things in common; they were much more interested in the image they projected, and much less interested in results, than was my impression of Harper.
“Alberta is introducing legislation that will prevent oil from being shipped to BC either by pipeline or rail car.”
Yes and the sooner the better. I live in BC and say TURN OFF THE TAPS.!!
That’s the only way the populace here will realize what we’re in for before it is too late, if it isn’t already.
Australia is not much better placed than Canada.
Tomorrow our Treasurer meets with our State premiers to seek resolution on a National Energy Guarantee Agreement .
That NEG tries to ensure affordable,secure and despatchable National Energy distribution while meeting Australia’s Paris Agreement target of 26-28% réduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
Despite regular warnings that the trio are not compatible, the major political parties are in the grip of the green religion and will blunder on.
When I see the young people in our country that have been fed lies about global warming their whole school life, they are like zombies, so scared of global warming that they will follow Trudeau over the cliff. The conservatives will have to pick up the pieces in 3 years when the next election arrives . There might not be a country left to patch up.
The Trudeau governments 4 year term expires in Nov 2019 which is 18 months away – not 3 years!
Meanwhile, CBC continues with the propaganda/brainwashing. Local media provides misinformation and alarmism.
Students risk lowered grades if they challenge the material they’re being fed.
I constantly hear support for Carbon taxes from people. Support for taxes which will have ZERO effect. We could eliminate all our GHGs and it would be less than pissing in the ocean. The one thing that is bountiful up here is ignorance. Too bad we can’t export that.
It has been said that if all Canadians committed suicide tomorrow there would be no effect on the world climate.
Correction: … taxes which will have ZERO effect on climate. The taxes certainly will affect the people.
It is sad but Canadians have become the most stupid people in the world. Squandered resource wealth. Look at Norway for an example of smart people. As a Canadian I am extremely embarrassed. It is media like the CBC and a propaganda laden education system which is largely responsible. There is hope but it could take years to turn it around.
Norwegian Taxes – How much do Norwegians pay in taxes?
https://youtu.be/yUSLlXJ96AY
This fight that Alberta is having with BC over an oil pipeline could very well lead to Alberta and Saskatchewan independence from Canada.
Them and whose army? We had a separatist movement with support in both B.C. and Alberta back in the last years of Trudeau’s Ottawa. There wasn’t enough support to keep it alive. Who even remembers The Western Canada Conference now? Some of the remnants joined Reform and eventually allied themselves with the Ontario Tories they’d been trying to separate from…
Take a look at Catalonia. Even when your population supports you vocally, on the streets, and at the polls, it’s all futile without the means to defend yourself.
Right now the only province in Canada that has the means to separate (Washington willing, of course), is Quebec. But why should they? Their elite can continue to bleed all Canadians, as well as their own people, until it’s time to abandon ship and head for warmer climes with the loot
When thinking of BC do not lump all into one. As California could possibly split into two or three parts so should BC. South Western BC and Vancouver Island live in a rather ignorant mystical Utopia. Its the rural vs Urban emerging battle, the deplorables versus the elites. Best way to settle is split the province, let the south cast about on mystical winds.
Yup, Vancouver and the gulf islands are the problem. It’s funny how they killed the gateway pipe up north of, and far away from Vancouver, only to get the Kinder Morgan pipeline right in Vancouver, and now they’re really really upset.
Alberta has carried Canada economically for the past ~60 years, with transfer payments totaling about $1 million per Alberta family-of-four over this period. The resource wealth of Alberta has been squandered by corrupt politicians and used to finance wasteful and dysfunctional governments in other provinces and in Ottawa,
Canada had a brief period of competence and prosperity under the leadership of Stephen Harper, but then reverted to the incompetent and corrupt Liberal government regimes of the Trudeau’s (fils et père) and Chretien.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/09/30/what-happened-to-the-armchair-environmentalists-and-climate-alarmists-when-the-hurricanes-hit/comment-page-1/#comment-2624888
[excerpt]
The political reality is that most people are far too stupid to vote, as evidenced by the energy debacle in Ontario under Doltan McGuinty and Kathleen Wynn, and the election of Justin Trudeau in Ottawa and Rachel Notley in Alberta. Global warming alarmism is promoted by scoundrels and supported by imbeciles – there is no real global warming crisis.
Cheap, abundant, reliable energy is the lifeblood of society – it IS that simple. Most politicians are too uneducated to even opine on energy, let alone set energy policy.
As you may know, Alberta has carried Canada economically for the past ~60 years, with transfer payments totaling about $1 million per Alberta family-of-four over this period (includes nominal interest, See Mansell and Schlenker*). This has enabled other regions of Canada to adopt economically destructive policies, because Alberta’s money has made them affordable.
So the reality is that it will take time for truth about the Global Warming $cam to sink in, and further economic destruction will occur before the system corrects itself.
Watch for push-back in the form of civil RICO lawsuits in the USA and class-action lawsuits elsewhere, targeted against warmist organizations.
Regards, Allan
* Reference:
Mansell, Robert L. and Schlenker, Ronald. “The Provincial Distribution of Federal Fiscal Balances” Canadian Business Economics 3.2 (1995): 3-22
Robert Mansell has updated his tables from time to time, and I have them.
And our federal Minister of Environment is trained in public relations and as a human rights/social justice lawyer, knows nothing about the environment or supposed climate change.
I agree with you Davis.
That is why Climate Barbie is so certain that “the science is settled”and says she “has no time for climate deniers” – because she is unschooled in the Scientific Method and she is as technically ignorant as a fruit fly on the subjects of global warming and climate change.
We are governed by scoundrels and imbeciles.
The Ugly Truth About Justin Trudeau | Ezra Levant and Stefan Molyneux
CANADA, we are the stupidest country in the world when it comes to using our own resources. We have the vast amount of oil in Alberta but continue to buy oil from foreign countries. But then the foreign countries couldn’t/wouldn’t buy Canadian made military vehicles. No wonder the rest of the world laughs at us.
The main thing to understand is that the oil/energy issue in Canada is just one part of a larger strategy. It is all being driven by Soros and the end goal is the destruction of Canada as a strong nation. They are running the playbook perfectly, and the country is unlikely to survive a 2nd Trudeau term in office. Strong nations, with robust economies and a strong democracy are a major impediment to globalist goals. It is death by 1000 cuts, jobs are disappearing, investment is dwindling, health care is a joke, dependency on government welfare is increasing, free speech no longer exists, there is rapid immigration to key ridings to ensure Trudeau re-election and the media is pure propaganda.
Vivian Krause traced a lot of the funding back to Warren Buffet, who owns the trains carrying the crude oil. He wanted the pipelines canceled for obvious reasons. DAPL, out of the Bakken, is costing Buffet billions.
Most of the competent doctors left Canada for the USA. Now a lot of oil workers are down here. What’s more a lot of your oil service firms are down here (ND, Montana, Wyoming). We used a lot of Canadian products also. I think with the Trump business tax cuts you may see Canadian firms relocate to the USA and become USA firms.
The men from your oil fields tend to be hard workers and do a good job. Too bad you all are losing them, but it will benefit the USA.
Honestly not sure of the laws in play here but it would seem like the companies and citizens affected by these policies would have some right to sue the government for loss of jobs/income due to these intentional efforts.
It’s more than ironic that Trudeau and BC should be so concerned about oil spills from products shipped through the Trans-mountain pipeline onto tankers at Vancouver. Evidently they’ve forgotten that every year since the early 70s over 500 tankers carrying Alaska oil to Washington state refineries have passed through the Juan de Fuca Strait just south of Vancouver Island without serious incidents. Somehow those ships have made it safely, but the unrealistic environmentalists have concluded that any ships in Canadian waters are guaranteed to experience accidents. Another example of their hypocrisy is shown by the fact that Vancouver is the largest coal shipping port in North America, moving 36.8 million metric tons last year alone. Yet coal is much dirtier than oil , but the phonies that oppose pipelines don’t mind that either. If they were really so concerned about global emissions, they would be demanding that the coal, like the oil, should be kept in the ground.
Texas has a larger economy than Canad & even South Korea.