XPost: can.politics, ab.politics, edm.general
XPost: calgary.general
From: doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca
On 2014-12-12, Barry Bruyea wrote:
> On Thu, 11 Dec 2014 21:20:29 +0000 (UTC), doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca
> (The Doctor) wrote:
>
>>In article <3apj8apdf6k6ntd84763n4r0ohill4ss8b@4ax.com>,
>>Barry Bruyea wrote:
>>>On Thu, 11 Dec 2014 13:49:42 +0000 (UTC), doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca
>>>(The Doctor) wrote:
>>>
>>>>In article ,
>>>>Barry Bruyea wrote:
>>>>>On Wed, 10 Dec 2014 23:46:11 +0000 (UTC), doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca
>>>>>(The Doctor) wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>In article ,
>>>>>>Barry Bruyea wrote:
>>>>>>>On Wed, 10 Dec 2014 17:26:01 +0000 (UTC), doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca
>>>>>>>(The Doctor) wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>In article ,
>>>>>>>>Barry Bruyea wrote:
>>>>>>>>>On Wed, 10 Dec 2014 13:41:38 +0000 (UTC), doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca
>>>>>>>>>(The Doctor) wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>In article ,
>>>>>>>>>>=?UTF-8?B?IijgsqBf4LKgKSAi?= wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>December 9, 2014 - Macleans
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Harper and the oil patch: Honesty is the only policy
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>The prime minister explains crazy policy to us
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Prime Minister Stephen Harper, today in the House of Commons:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> ???Frankly, Mr. Speaker, under the current circumstances of
the oil and gas
>>>>>>>>>>>sector, it would be crazy, it would be crazy economic policy to do
unilateral
>>>>>>>>>>>penalties on that sector. We???re clearly not going to do that,???
Harper told the
>>>>>>>>>>>House as Conservative MPs roared their approval.
>>>>>>>>>>> ???In fact, nobody in the world is regulating their oil and
gas sector. I???d
>>>>>>>>>>>be delighted if they did. Canada will be there with them.???
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Jim Prentice, then federal minister of the environment, not quite
five years ago:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> ???For those of you who doubt that the government of Canada
lacks either the
>>>>>>>>>>>willingness or the authority to protect our national interests as a
???clean
>>>>>>>>>>>energy superpower,??? think again,??? he warned darkly. ???We do
and we will. And, in
>>>>>>>>>>>our efforts, we will expect and we will secure the co-operation of
those
>>>>>>>>>>>private interests which are developing the oil sands. Consider it a
>>>>>>>>>>>responsibility that accompanies the right to develop these valuable
Canadian
>>>>>>>>>>>resources.???
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Back then, it was possible to believe the federal government would
impose
>>>>>>>>>>>regulations on the oil and gas industries. The government certainly
said it
>>>>>>>>>>>would, often enough. (Peter Kent in February, 2013: ???We are now
well into, and
>>>>>>>>>>>very close to finalizing, regulations for the oil and gas
sector.???) But, as
>>>>>>>>>>>Chris Turner reminds us in his book The War on Science, Prentice
quit as
>>>>>>>>>>>environment minister in November 2010, and the Harper
government???s periodic
>>>>>>>>>>>attempts to demonstrate environmental virtue, even at some
hypothetical cost to
>>>>>>>>>>>the resource sector, pretty much came to an end.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Of course, it can be hard to tell where the notion of oil and gas
regulations
>>>>>>>>>>>ended. Prentice himself has been sounding much like Harper since he
became
>>>>>>>>>>>premier of Alberta:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> ???Environmental performance is important, but so, too, is our
industrial
>>>>>>>>>>>competitiveness . . . I think this low-price environment is a
reminder . . .
>>>>>>>>>>>that we have to be careful laying on costs, including regulatory
costs, on our
>>>>>>>>>>>industry, because we need to remain competitive.???
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>But is even that new? From my 2010 article, linked above:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> ???We will only adopt a cap-and-trade regime if the United
States signals
>>>>>>>>>>>that it wants to do the same. Our position on harmonization applies
equally to
>>>>>>>>>>>regulation. Canada can go down either road???cap and trade or
regulation???but we
>>>>>>>>>>>will go down neither road alone.???
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>So the paper trail on the government???s oil and gas policy is a
bit of a mess.
>>>>>>>>>>>The feds will only impose regulations in concert with the
Americans? Well,
>>>>>>>>>>>there are two problems with that story. First, as Bruce Cheadle
points out:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> An Environment Canada briefing memo revealed last month by the
Globe and
>>>>>>>>>>>Mail shows that the United States, in fact, placed what were called
>>>>>>>>>>>???significant??? limits on its oil and gas sector in 2012.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> ???For oil and gas, recent air pollution regulations are
expected to result
>>>>>>>>>>>in significant greenhouse-gas reduction co-benefits, comparable to
the
>>>>>>>>>>>reductions that would result from the approach being developed for
this sector
>>>>>>>>>>>in Canada,??? states the June 2013 memo obtained by Greenpeace
under an Access to
>>>>>>>>>>>Information request.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>Second, there is simply no record of a concerted Canadian effort to
work with
>>>>>>>>>>>the Americans on joint regulations. Foreign Affairs Minister John
Baird
>>>>>>>>>>>mentions the Keystone pipeline to U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry in every
>>>>>>>>>>>meeting and at every phone call. There is literally no record of
any public
>>>>>>>>>>>proposal from Harper to U.S. President Barack Obama to work on the
joint
>>>>>>>>>>>regulations that are now, the PM says, the necessary condition of
any Canadian
>>>>>>>>>>>regulations.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>In this light, I note with genuine surprise that the ???U.S.-Canada
clean energy
>>>>>>>>>>>dialogue??? that was created when Obama visited Ottawa in 2009 is
actually still
>>>>>>>>>>>a thing. I also note with no surprise at all that the latest joint
report,
>>>>>>>>>>>barely a month old, does not mention joint regulations on oil and
gas
>>>>>>>>>>>industries anywhere in its 10 pages.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>So. The feds have been promising oil and gas regulations for seven
years, while
>>>>>>>>>>>periodically insisting they could produce no such regulations
without U.S.
>>>>>>>>>>>co-operation. They have also refused to seek such co-operation,
while refusing
>>>>>>>>>>>to follow up on helpful U.S. unilateral action. (By ???helpful,???
of course, I
>>>>>>>>>>>mean ???action that would seem helpful if anyone felt like
constraining the
>>>>>>>>>>>carbon emissions of the oil and gas sector. Like, hyp
thetically.???)
>>>>>>>>>>>
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