Environment Archives - Page 5 of 6

12May

By Bob Ascah2 Comments

Mark Carney’s magnum opus: A Book Review

Mark Carney, the much-celebrated central banker from Canada has a new book entitled Value(s). This 600-page (with endnotes) book represents a much-awaited synthesis of his ideas from his days as bank governor, senior Finance official and Goldman Sachs investment banker. His return to Ottawa, appointment at Brookfield and earlier appointment as the U.N. Special Envoy for the Environment might seem like a crowning achievement but Dr. Carney’s career has probably not peaked yet. Naturally there is much speculation about his future relationship with the Liberal Party of Canada but it strikes me that his ambitions (and talents) are more global in nature. Carney is not what I would consider a conventional economist. His D.Phil at Oxford was entitled "The dynamic advantage of competition,”...

18Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Environment, Health, Opinion/Research

Exploring a regulatory maze

This post, the first of a series of articles dealing with the nature of regulation-making authority in Alberta endeavours to understand the breadth and complexity of regulation in various forms. This post was tweaked by a news release concerning a violation of the Environment Protection Enhancement Act. The series will investigate the complex nature of legislation and delegated regulation-making powers, the nature of enforcement, and the possible implications for society and the economy at large. Suncor pleads guilty On Friday 16 April the Alberta Department of Environment and Parks issued a press release stating Suncor Energy Products Partnership Product s Suncor Energie, S.E.M.E pleaded guilty to breaching legislation “relating to the release of hydrogen sulphide.” The event happened on...

25Nov

By Bob Ascah1 Comment

Capital Spending, Economic Data, Energy, Environment, Fiscal History, Government Finances, Politics

Presentation to EQUS directors- 23 November

EQUS is a small, co-operative distributor of electricity to 12,000, mostly rural, customers. The organization is the product of a series of mergers of rural electrification co-operatives over the past two decades. EQUS employs about 100 staff with its head office in Innisfail. The presentation, provocatively entitled "Alberta's Crumbling Economic and Fiscal Foundation" builds on concerns about the future health of Alberta's economy in a world where international financial capital places more emphasis on renewable energy solutions. The presentation highlights the pivotal role of capital expenditures of the oil and gas sector which have driven the Alberta economy since 1947. Alberta's gross fixed capital formation (oil and gas, institutional, industrial, residential and non-residential bu...

10Oct

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Employment, Energy, Environment

Knowing a future?

An indirect effect of the “cashing-in” on virgin natural resources by the introduction of the new industrial technique with government support has been an indeterminate relationship between government expenditures and government revenue. Expenditures made on the assumption that revenue will return from various directions has been responsible for the incurable and dangerous optimism which characterizes government effort. On the whole, public enterprises to which government contributes have introduced an element of uncertainty in the financial position of the government and a degree of unwholesome inelasticity. Harold A.Innis, Problems of Staple Production in Canada. 1933, 64-65-emphasis added On Tuesday, 6 October Premier Kenney, Associate Minister of Natural Gas Dave Nally, and a phala...

9May

By Bob Ascah1 Comment

Bankruptcies, Energy, Environment, Loan Losses

Follow the Money- if you can

Updated 13 May 2020 and 4 August 2020 In this post, I return to the receivership of Trident Exploration and the various "legal fictions" used including: Trident Limited Partnership, Trident Exploration (Alberta) Corp., Trident Exploration (Aurora) Limited Partnership I, Trident Exploration (2006) Limited Partnership I, and Fenergy Corp. Trident was a debtor to two provincial agencies: ATB Financial (ATB) and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo). The Creditors Trident was placed into receivership in May of 2019 and attracted considerable attention because of the large number of unproductive wells and its vast reclamation obligations. The 177 page affidavit of Yvette Kennedy, Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Stettler initiated the receivership process. AIMCo and ...

Federal Energy Program Finally Announced- Analysis/Opinion

20Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Bankruptcies, Banks, Energy, Energy, Environment, Opinion/Research, Politics

Federal Energy Program Finally Announced- Analysis/Opinion

Belated Announcement On Friday, 17 April, the anxiously awaited federal program to support the oil and gas industry was announced by Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan (pictured). Details were minimal despite weeks of waiting. As anticipated, much of the money was directed at orphan well clean up in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The amount- $1.75 billion was substantial and included $75 million for the offshore sector. In addition, $750 million was allocated to “create a new Emissions Reduction Fund to support workers and reduce emissions in Canada's oil and gas sector, with a focus on methane.” The announcement noted that the measure will maintain about 5,200 jobs in Alberta alone. In addition, loans would be provided through the Business Development Bank to qualifyi...

1Mar

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Energy, Energy, Environment, Investment, Politics

Teck withdraws from Frontier

Teck's withdrawal signifies a major turning point in the struggle between forces opposing a fundamental shift in the use of fossil fuels and governments and industries resisting a transition. The company's signalling that Teck would have to write off $1.l billion of its spending on the Frontier project, foreshadowed the difficult corporate decision. The immediate political fallout: in Ottawa a sigh of relief. In Alberta: instant anger but also a slow realization, a coming to terms that the "last boom" was indeed the last boom. It is now time for the adults in the room to come to terms with a new tomorrow. It will be especially painful for the Kenney government which had placed so much attention on the project, demanding "Ottawa" approve the project. But the tone was irreleva...

Environmental liabilities… will not go away

26Apr

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Environment, Financial Institutions, Politics

Environmental liabilities… will not go away

Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project (ALDP) On 5 April, the ALDP held a news conference to raise awareness about the scope and scale of the orphan well issue in the Province of Alberta. According to its website, the ALDP "is an independent and non-partisan initiative pushing for accurate and transparent government level data pertaining to Alberta's oil and gas liabilities." This initiative, of which I am a participant, is aimed at making oil and gas environmental liabilities an issue during the recent provincial election. While media outlets such as The Globe and Mail, National Observer and Postmedia shared information about the initiative, political parties -other than the Alberta party's David Khan and Dr. David Swann, did not click on the bait. Regan BoychukSource: Nation...

Supreme Court of Canada: AER 5, ATB 2 – Redwater Decision

3Feb

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Bankruptcies, Environment

Supreme Court of Canada: AER 5, ATB 2 – Redwater Decision

Originally posted 4 February 2019 On 31 January 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in the Redwater Resources (Redwater Energy Corporation) case. SCC Decision The decision, by a 5-2 majority, was written by Chief Justice Richard Wagner (concurring Abella, Brown, Gascon, Karakatsanis). The 183 page judgment included a 70- page dissent by Madame Justice Suzanne Côté (concurred in by Justice Michael Moldaver). The majority opinion relied heavily upon the earlier dissent from former Alberta Court of Appeal Justice, Madame Sheilah Martin (who joined the High Court last year). ACA Decision Madame Justice Suzanne Côté The decision affirmed the right (and strategy) of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to deny a Receiver, acting for a creditor, the ability to "di...

Environmental Liabilities-Part 2 AER Bombshell

6Nov

By Bob AscahNo Comments

Energy, Environment, Opinion/Research

Environmental Liabilities-Part 2 AER Bombshell

Originally posted on 5 November 2018 On Thursday, 2 November 2018 a startling Power Point presentation made by the Vice-President, Liabilities of the Alberta Energy Regulator [Go to National Observer] was released under Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The path-breaking investigation was undertaken by staff at the National Observer, Toronto Star, StarMetro Calgary, and Global News. Find the full Powerpoint presentation here. AER-FEB 28-wadsworth-liability-260 BILLION (1) Mr. Wadworth (pictured) worked at the Bruce Nuclear power plant in Ontario prior to his taking the VP's job at the AER. Mr. Wadsworth is a graduate of Royal Military College. In 2017, according to AER's disclosure under the Public Sector Compensation Transparency A...