Emergency crews ran for cover when they heard the noise, as they fought blasts of burning oil during the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster. The kettle-boil scream meant one thing: Oil vapours were shooting out of a derailed tank car and another fireball was about to rip from the broken train. It wasn’t until four days after the July 6 derailment that the fires finally subsided.
Press Release: VANCOUVER - Although Canadians continue to expect governments to take the lead on climate change, they appear to be losing confidence in their leaders, according to a survey released today by the Environics Institute for Survey Research in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation. It found that a majority of Canadians accept the reality of climate change due to human activity, and that the number who believe in the conclusiveness of the science continues to grow.
There are two ways to look at Canada's oil wealth, found mostly in Alberta's oilsands deposits. One is to be amazed that Alberta has more than 170 billion barrels of oil - an immense resource by any yardstick. The other is to question what it all means. Will it have an effect on the global supply of oil, is Canada going to be able to sell it in the future, and how does the rest of the world view Canada - and its oil? Game changer. Oil is found just about everywhere on the planet.
OTTAWA — The Harper government says it wants Canadian diplomats in foreign countries to re-channel their energies and resources into advancing the country’s commercial interests. Trade Minister Ed Fast has laid out a new strategic direction for Canada’s foreign service called “economic diplomacy,” a plan that’s designed to put commerce at the heart of foreign policy. The objective is to improve Canada’s lacklustre trade and investment performance in emerging markets, which the government and the Bank of Canada have identified as key to the country’s future prosperity.
Collectively, the individuals on the Rich 100 are worth $230 billion, more than the total gross domestic product of many countries in the world, including New Zealand, Ireland and Portugal. And this year has been one of their best ever. Their combined net worth surged by more than 15%, the biggest increase since 2000. The reward for the wealthy is partly a result of a worldwide market rally—the S&P 500 Index rose more than 16%, while the Nasdaq increased 17%. The S&P/TSX composite, which is more heavily skewed toward commodities, is up just over 6%.
Anyone wondering why Canada, with its minuscule global carbon footprint, attracts so much international ire from environmentalists these days should listen to Avrim Lazar. The former forest industry executive and one-time Environment Canada policy lead was part of a biodiversity seminar Tuesday at the University of Ottawa, where policy talk inevitably meandered over to climate change. 'It's not the people that say there is no problem who are standing in the way of solutions.
WARSAW, Poland — UN climate talks head into a tense final week Monday after the diplomatic effort to reduce global warming gases was hit by a series of setbacks, including Japan’s decision to ditch its voluntary emissions target. The two-decade-old negotiations have so far failed to achieve their goal of slashing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that scientists say are warming the planet. They don’t seem to be getting any closer after a tumultuous first week at this year’s session in Warsaw.
Canada no longer knows how to sell anything to the world except oil and gas. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but if things keep going the way they are, it won't be for long. StatsCan’s latest numbers on Canada’s trade balance, released Thursday, look positive on the face of it: Exports and imports both grew, and Canada’s trade deficit with the world shrank by more than half, to $435 million. But dig a little deeper into the data, and what you see is a story of two different export sectors.
Canada has fallen behind in a global ranking on international development initiatives and ranks last when it comes to environmental protection. The Washington-based Center for Global Development assesses 27 wealthy nations annually on their commitment to seven areas that impact the world’s poor. Canada came 13th in this year’s survey, which will be released Monday. Denmark led the list, followed by Sweden and Norway, with Japan and South Korea at the bottom.
The annual United Nations climate conference, known as the 19th Conference of the Parties or COP 19, is underway in Warsaw with considerably less fanfare than years past. Expectations for this one are even lower than usual, after the disappointments and plodding progress of the last few conferences. World leaders are backing away from the 2015 target for a global climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, and the news for people concerned about climate change has not been encouraging.
