The importance of unleashing Canada’s enormous oil resources has never been clearer
Oil prices have risen to a staggering $US120 per barrel in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But that’s not a record in real-dollar terms. Inflation-adjusted oil prices reached the same level in 2013, driving a supply response that temporarily lowered prices. World oil demand steadily increased, reaching a record 100 million barrels per…
The unrealistic goal to achieve net-zero led to impractical, hypocritical and simply bizarre actions
Last year saw an intensification of the great march to “net zero” emissions, aimed at replacing the 84 per cent of global energy currently supplied by fossil fuels. This unrealistic objective saw actions ranging from the impractical to the hypocritical to the simply bizarre. Here’s my list of what I’ll call the fossil fuel follies.…
Evidence that vaccinated people can and do contract and spread the virus undermines the rationale of vaccine passports
The creation of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in an astonishingly short period was a stunning achievement by the biotech industry. The vaccines were approved for “emergency use” in just a few months, rather than the eight to 10 years normally required of previous vaccines. Most Canadians were more than willing to accept that risk. According to…
Canada ranks dead last in timely care, with the longest waitlists
The coronavirus hit Canada in March 2020. By the time that first wave had subsided in the summer, hundreds of thousands of scheduled surgeries had been postponed. But before that huge backlog could be reduced, a second and then a third wave of the virus struck, increasing the backlog by thousands more. Adding to the…
Wind and solar farms replacing the 84% of global energy from fossil fuels is technically impossible
In a previous column I pointed out that since switching coal-fuelled power plants to natural gas cuts CO2 emissions in half, exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to displace coal benefits our economy and reduces global emissions. And that since converting gasoline and diesel-fuelled vehicles and ships to natural gas cuts emissions by 25 per cent,…
G7 countries will further cripple their economies by pursuing their green energy fantasies
At their meeting in June, G7 leaders agreed to a greenhouse gas emissions target of “net zero” by 2050. That would require phasing out fossil fuels that currently supply 84 per cent of global energy. But how? The common reply is “putting a price on carbon,” i.e., carbon taxes. But unless there’s a viable alternative,…
It’s time Canada had a prime minister who won’t fall for China’s lies. Build jobs at home, not in China
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole’s speech at the party’s convention was an opportunity to attract Canadians wanting change. Unfortunately, as John Ivison reported in his March 24 National Post column, six in 10 Canadian voters remain politically homeless after the speech. Here’s my version of a speech that would have resonated with many of those politically…
Has a history of attempting to deflect responsibility when he gets himself in trouble
The essence of good journalism is diversity of opinion. This was demonstrated by two columns in last the National Post after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that international air travellers arriving in Canada would be confined to a government-designated hotel room while awaiting COVID-19 test results. John Ivison’s column, headlined “A good idea poorly carried…
Ill-considered responses by governments left highly damaging long-term legacies
History will record that multiple vaccine breakthroughs ended the COVID-19 pandemic. But it will also show that ill-considered responses by our federal and provincial governments left highly damaging long-term legacies. Here’s a list of what I call the COVID follies: Destruction of the Canadian aviation industry Canada’s airlines have been burning through their dwindling cash…
What can Canada do to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions while creating substantial economic benefits? My October column explained why attempting to replace fossil-fuel-generated electricity with wind and solar energy is technically impossible and economically disastrous. Here’s another solution: Export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace coal-fuelled electricity generation. This will cut coal plant…