We need a new National Policy for the 21st century that plots a course to a better society and a more resourceful economy
The spat between Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and Alberta Wildrose Leader Brian Jean demonstrates again that Canada’s fragmented political culture is unequal to the task of preserving our prosperity and national unity. Last week, Coderre made various claims in support of the decision by the mayors of his region to oppose the Energy East pipeline on environmental grounds. “We…
Rejection of the pipeline was never about climate change
By Kenneth P. Green and Taylor Jackson The Fraser Institute The Keystone XL saga has taken a new twist. On Jan. 6, TransCanada (the company that would have built and operated the Alberta to Texas pipeline) launched two lawsuits over U.S. President Barack Obama’s November rejection of the pipeline. One of the lawsuits will challenge…
Rail is more than 4.5 times more likely to experience a spill
By Kenneth P. Green and Taylor Jackson The Fraser Institute Tragic accidents, such as the recent rupture of a Nexen oilsands pipeline southeast of Fort McMurray, should not detract from the fact that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas. Such accidents are unfortunate and regrettable. This recent accident has stoked concerns,…
A focus on worst-case scenarios loses sight of what’s vastly more likely to happen
By Kenneth P. Green and Taylor Jackson The Fraser Institute It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. The Santa Barbara oil spill has irritated already-sensitive public concern about oil pipelines. And as the pipeline’s review before the National Energy Board continues, several new reports commissioned…
Crude oil exports by rail have increased from 42,000 bbl a year in 2010 to almost 42 million bbl per year in 2014
By Kenneth P. Green and Taylor Jackson The Fraser Institute On May 1, 2015, an interesting thing happened. The United States and Canada came to agreement about transporting oil and other flammable liquids. No, they did not agree to build more pipelines – rather, they agreed to implement just under 400 pages worth of new…
Opposition to pipelines flies in the face of safety data
Four recent oil-train derailments – two in the United States and two in Canada accompanied by yet another drive-by rhetorical smear of the Keystone XL pipeline by U.S. President Barack Obama – have re-invigorated the debate over how Canadians and Americans transport oil. The most recent spills and explosions in Illinois, West Virginia and Ontario…
The only meaningful decision pits one U.S. agency – the EPA – against another – the State Department
U.S. President Barack Obama veto of Senate Bill 1, a.k.a. “The Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act,” this week was not only predictable, it was virtually inevitable given a) the political polarization in the United States; b) unrelenting environmental opposition to the pipeline; and c) a certain amount of congressional overreach. But the presidential veto, and…
The spat between Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and Alberta Wildrose Leader Brian Jean demonstrates again that Canada’s fragmented political culture is unequal to the task of preserving our prosperity and national unity. Last week, Coderre made various claims in support of the decision by the mayors of his region to oppose the Energy East pipeline on environmental grounds. “We…
