Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver’s “open letter” on diversifying Canada’s energy markets and reforming the regulatory approval process for energy projects, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s remarks in an interview with The National’s Peter Mansbridge last week regarding the …
Hitting Bottom – Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol – Published in the Toronto Star December 16, 2011
Yesterday’s announcement by federal environment minister Peter Kent of Canada’s intention to formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol marks the country’s lowest point in the forty year history of modern global environmental diplomacy. The protocol, which Canada signed in 1997 …
Letter to the Editor – Globe and Mail – December 11, 2011 – Green Energy Act and Auditor General’s Report
December 9, 2011 The Editors The Globe and Mail 444 Front St. Toronto, Ontario Re: “Green spendthrifts” (December 9, 2011) Dear Sir or Madam, The Ontario Auditor-General’s Report on Ontario’s Green Energy Act seems to me more a more a …
Ontario Throne Speech and Economic Statement: Good News for Green Energy; Bad News for the Environment
Last week’s Speech from the Throne and Fall Economic Statement from Dalton McGuinty’s minority government contained a mix of good and bad news for those concerned about green energy and environmental sustainability. The Throne Speech re-iterated the government’s commitment to …
What does Ontario’s new Cabinet mean for Environment and Energy issues?
Re-elected Premier Dalton McGuinty’s new cabinet was sworn-in on October 20. At this stage it looks, on the whole, like good news for environmental issues. Veteran Jim Bradley, who as environment minister from 1985-1990 in the government of David Peterson …
Ontario Election Outcome: Is a Return to the Status Quo Ante the Best Thing for Ontario’s Environment?
Ontario environmentalists have generally been breathing a sigh of relief over the re-election of the McGuinty government, with its implication of the continuation of the Feed-in Tariff system under the Green Energy Act, and more general avoidance of the major …
The Ontario Election, the Environment and the Economy – Updated October 11, 2011
The run-up to the October 2011 Ontario election was defined by a strong and long-standing lead by Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives. Polls over the summer of 2011 consistently gave the Progressive Conservatives margins in excess of ten per cent over …
What would a minority government mean for energy and environmental policy in Ontario?
Recent polls are pointing to a minority government coming out of the October 6th Ontario election. It may be useful to reflect on the potential implications of such an outcome for energy and environmental policy in the aftermath of the …
Ontario’s Electricity Election – Published in the Toronto Star September 27, 2011
Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives have enjoyed a long-standing lead in the polls in the run up to the October 6th Ontario provincial election, but the race has tightened considerably over the past two months. With the PCs, Liberals, NDP and …
Should Ontario implement a cap-and-trade system even if other jurisdictions keep putting it off? updated October 1, 2011
Going into this fall’s provincial election the leaders of the Liberal, Progressive Conservative and New Democratic Parties rejected a call from Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner to introduce a price on carbon, either through a carbon tax or a cap and trade …