April 2018 Over the past few days, the concerns over the fate of the pipeline in the face of the BC government’s objections have been elevated to the level of a constitutional and political crisis, driven by an artificial deadline …
Which way forward on Carbon Pricing in Ontario?
Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown’s proposal to replace the Kathleen Wynne’s cap and trade system for reducing the province’s greenhouse gas emissions with a carbon tax has set off a series of debates about the merits of these different approaches …
Site C, Muskrat Falls and the pitfalls of short-circuited project reviews.
Mark Winfield York University November 2017 The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has just announced a public inquiry into how the economically disastrous Muskrat Falls hydro-electric project was approved. In reality there is little mystery. The project was strongly …
Energy East Pipeline Cancellation
Published in the Globe and Mail October 10, 2017 There were serious questions about the wisdom and economic and political viability of the Energy East project from the outset. It faced profound opposition in Quebec; Ontario’s energy board had concluded …
Is Ontario poised to repeat Walkerton-style mistakes
Published in the Hamilton Spectator October 23, 2017 Canadians, watching U.S. President Donald Trump’s attacks on air and water pollution rules in the United States have taken some comfort in the notion that it couldn’t happen here. Sadly, the reality …
The Political Consequences of Interim Measures: The BC Election, Kinder-Morgan Pipeline and Federal Environmental Assessment Reform.
June 1st 2017 One of the defining features of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s approach to environmental matters was the dramatic streamlining of the federal environmental review and approval processes for energy and other resource projects through his 2012 budget …
Aggregating Distributed Energy Resources – The Key to a Sustainable Energy Revolution?
By Mark Winfield The large-scale electrification of transportation and other energy-based services are widely seen as an important element of efforts to reduce significantly greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels. Major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will …
Expert Panel Outlines Future Direction of Federal Environmental Reviews, but Significant Gaps Remain
Earlier this week (April 5, 2017) the federal government’s Expert Panel on the Review of the Federal Environmental Assessment Process tabled its final report. The panel was set up as one of four elements of the Federal Environmental and Regulatory …
“Premier Wynne pulls a power move” – Letter to the Editor – Globe and Mail
March 3, 2017 The Editors The Globe and Mail 444 Front st. Toronto, Dear Sir Madam, While I am no fan of the Wynne government’s scheme for a short term reduction in Ontario electricity rates, it is both wrong and …
Trump, Trudeau and Climate Change – Published in the Hamilton Spectator, April 12, 2017
March 28, 2017 The new administration of US President Donald Trump is now engaged in a very public rejection of President Obama’s ambitious plans to address climate change. President Trump is proposing to repeal the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan …