sands

Thursday September 1, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday September 1, 2016 Protests disrupt Energy East pipeline hearings in Montreal Protesters disrupted the first day of the National Energy Board hearings for the proposed Energy Eat pipeline in Montreal. Montreal mayor Denis Coderre was the first speaker but before he could start a protester charged at the commissioners. Security stopped him but others joined in and the NEB was forced to cancel MondayÕs hearing. ÊÒWeÕll keep in touch to see if we can come tomorrow but again I think the NEB, as I said last Friday, should rethink the way this thing is happeningÊright now,Ó says Coderre. Coderre is against the pipeline and believes the NEB commissioners may have been unfairly influenced. Others like those in New Brunswick, whose refining business would boom, are for the pipeline. Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt says the pipeline will likely go depending on whether your region is in or out of the oilÊbusiness. ÒSome people are saying look we support the pipeline just build it somewhere else. You also have groups who say we donÕt want any pipeline builtÊanywhere because we want to shut down the oil sands.Ó However, the hearings arenÕt political in nature, they are fact-finding because Parliament will make the ultimate decision. Mps will have to weigh the economic benefits of building and operating a 4,500 kilometre pipeline funneling domestic crude to domestic refineriesÊrather than buying and selling oil to and from foreigners and if itÕs worth the environmental risk. (CTV News)Êhttp://calgary.ctvnews.ca/protests-disrupt-energy-east-pipeline-hearings-in-montreal-1.3049817 Canada, protest, anti, oil, sands, Alberta, Energy East, pipeline, train, sea, transport

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 1, 2016

Protests disrupt Energy East pipeline hearings in Montreal

Protesters disrupted the first day of the National Energy Board hearings for the proposed Energy Eat pipeline in Montreal.

Montreal mayor Denis Coderre was the first speaker but before he could start a protester charged at the commissioners.

Security stopped him but others joined in and the NEB was forced to cancel Monday’s hearing.

“We’ll keep in touch to see if we can come tomorrow but again I think the NEB, as I said last Friday, should rethink the way this thing is happening right now,” says Coderre.

Coderre is against the pipeline and believes the NEB commissioners may have been unfairly influenced.

Others like those in New Brunswick, whose refining business would boom, are for the pipeline.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt says the pipeline will likely go depending on whether your region is in or out of the oil business.

“Some people are saying look we support the pipeline just build it somewhere else. You also have groups who say we don’t want any pipeline built anywhere because we want to shut down the oil sands.”

However, the hearings aren’t political in nature, they are fact-finding because Parliament will make the ultimate decision.

Mps will have to weigh the economic benefits of building and operating a 4,500 kilometre pipeline funneling domestic crude to domestic refineries rather than buying and selling oil to and from foreigners and if it’s worth the environmental risk. (CTV News)

L E T T E R S

Sept 9, 2016, Letter to the Editor (Hamilton Spectator) RE: Editorial cartoon (Sept. 1)

How about a sustainability cartoon?

In answer to MacKay’s cartoon last Thursday criticizing the no-sayers (no to pipelines, no to tar sands, etc.), here are some things I say yes to: a stable climate, a stable food supply, stable sea levels, clean air, clean water, renewable energy, a low-carbon economy.

Could we have a cartoon promoting these values instead? Most of which will not be achieved if we keep building pipelines.

Dave Carson, Dundas

 

Wednesday January 14, 2015

Wednesday January 14, 2015Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 14, 2015

The Dominoes Fall Toward Harper

Updated forecasts by TD Economics project that the Conservative government will be in deficit for two years longer than originally planned due to the sudden drop in oil prices and the impact of tax cuts announced in the fall.

Rather than a $1.9-billion surplus in 2015-16 as outlined in Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s fall fiscal update, TD Economics is projecting a $2.3-billion deficit, followed by a $600-million deficit the following year. The return to surplus would be pushed back to the 2017-18 fiscal year.

However, the report cautions that the government has put aside $3-billion a year for unforeseen events and that amount could still be enough to post slim surpluses in the coming years. It would not be enough, though, to allow the government to announce major new spending in the 2015 federal budget. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Meanwhile, the Conference Board of Canada is predicting that Alberta will slip into a recession before the end of 2015.

It says the plunging price of oil is impacting all areas of the economy from corporate investment and hiring to consumer spending.

“The province is certain to suffer, especially on the employment front, from the drop in oil prices — and it is likely to slip into recession,” said a report by Conference Board of Canada economist Daniel Fields.

During Alberta’s last recession, roughly 30,000 jobs were lost and housing starts fell by 75%. If prices do not recover soon, Alberta could take a similar hit, according to the Conference Board. (Source: CBC News)