Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks “ Albertans want jobs, not an ‘aid package’ from Ottawa ”, Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon stated early this afternoon. “ Teck is not a political gift – it deserves to be approved on its merits. If the federal government takes seriously its commitment to science-driven, evidence-based decision-making, then it will accept the recommendation of the regulatory agencies and approve it. In our view, the federal cabinet’s pending decision on the independent joint review panel’s recommendation to approve Teck Frontier is in no way linked to Alberta’s ask regarding an equalization rebate (or other unrelated requests). “ The project has undergone a rigorous 10-year review, including a recommendation for approval from the independent federal regulator. Teck has played by the rules endorsed by Ottawa – including by the current federal government. To arbitrarily reject the project at the eleventh hour f...

While John Horgan’s BC NDP government, and the federal Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, continue to put a ‘price on pollution’, Alberta’s Conservative government, under the leadership of Jason Kenney, is actively at work to dramatically reduce greenhouse gases. On April 1 st of this year, the provincial carbon tax in BC rose from $35 to $40 per tonne of C02. This tax will continue to rise, as it has now for over a decade, as it sees $5 increase each year until it reaches $50 per tonne in 2021. Minister Nixon, joined by Steve MacDonald of Emissions Reduction Alberta, Joerg Nixdorf of Lehigh Hanson, and Beth Hardy of the International CCS Knowledge Centre, announces a carbon capture and storage feasibility study at Lehigh Cement’s Edmonton plant Meantime across the border in neighbouring Alberta, Emissions Reduction Alberta is making $1.4 million in funding available to support the $3-million feasibility study, which will look at capturing and storin...