21,000 jobs, $890 million in taxes and about $2.5 billion in annual GDP
There’s been a big step forward for a major proposed Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that’s seen as an opportunity for economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities and help to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Partners in the Ksi Lisims LNG project, including the Nisga’a Nation, have applied for a 40-year LNG export licence and…
There are 2,449 coal-fired plants operating worldwide, 189 under construction and 292 planned
Coal use around the world is rising in what the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) calls “a sobering reality check” for targets to reduce emissions. Against that backdrop, global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is soaring, in part because it can help displace coal power and reduce emissions by half – or…
Natural gas is an absolutely critical part of any clean energy mix
The future looks brighter for Canada’s emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry. A second project, Woodfibre LNG, has received the green light and a major expansion is being considered for the under-construction LNG Canada plant. It’s no surprise given the red-hot global market for LNG. Last year, LNG prices increased by 435 per cent compared…
Oil tankers off West coast are bad but drilling for oil off Newfoundland's coast is OK
We all know politics is the art of the possible. Perfection isn’t for the real world. We aren’t surprised when tradeoffs and the occasional compromise creep into government policies. Nor do we require elected members of government, even at the ministerial level, to be experts in their portfolio areas, although we expect them to avail…
A significant boost to the Canadian economy
The case for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion remains strong as the world enters another year of exceptional growth in oil demand, according to industry analysts. Following nearly two years of global demand exceeding supply, oil inventories are now at the lowest level ever in Europe and Asia, according to a report by IHS Markit. The…
Living in B.C. is unaffordable for many people and carbon taxes make it worse
Drivers in Vancouver are paying record-smashing prices at the gas pump and taxes are an extra kick in the head. Prices have hit more than $2 per litre for regular gasoline in Metro Vancouver. That’s the highest gasoline price in North America, along with the highest gasoline taxes. Before chuckling at the pipeline-blocking-moon-units getting their…
And taxes are a big part of the problem
The price at the gas pumps has hit a record-breaking $1.82 per litre in Vancouver. That’s the most expensive gasoline in North America. While some readers in Winnipeg and Calgary might chuckle at the karma coming back to bite a city whose mayor personally blocked the building of pipelines, it’s important to remember that bad…
It was responsible for nearly 26,500 direct jobs and more than 36,100 indirect jobs in 2017
By Ven Venkatachalam and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre British Columbia has been producing oil and natural gas since 1952. As of 2018, B.C. produced 32 per cent of Canada’s natural gas and two per cent of Canada’s conventional daily oil production. The government collects royalties from oil and gas development, supporting economic prosperity in…
Emissions going up despite the province having the highest carbon taxes in North America
Carbon taxes are an expensive failure when it comes to reducing emissions Emissions in British Columbia are going up despite the province having the highest carbon taxes in North America. Think you’ve read this before? That’s because this keeps happening. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again while expecting a…
Supply chains in Western Canada have always been vulnerable and that’s not going to change anytime soon
Images from British Columbia over the past week have been heartbreaking: human casualties, dairy cows barely breathing above water before being pulled to safety, the loss of livestock across the Fraser Valley. Just devastating. And the flow of goods on rail and roads is severely compromised. Many now claim that flash floods and atmospheric rivers…
More of the same
What does another Trudeau win mean for Western Canadians? After all, the actual composition of the House of Commons changed little, and once again, the Liberals will need the support of either the NDP or the Bloc Quebecois to pass legislation. So, for the most part, we can expect a continuation of some programs, including…
Rationality can prevail, clean, abundant natural gas can be used for decades, energy ‘transition’ or not
An estimated $55-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to take natural gas from northeastern British Columbia to its northwest coast at Pearse Island recently received the blessing and financial and political backing of the Nisga’a First Nation. The First Nation is on the proposed pipeline route and is the site of planned liquefaction terminal. This…
Premier Horgan really needs to start getting his spending under control
The interest payments on British Columbia’s provincial debt this year could pay the salaries of 4,600 new paramedics for 10 years. But, instead of paying for first responders or providing tax relief to families, a whopping $2.8 billion is being sent to bondholders on Bay Street and Wall Street every year to pay for our…
It costs about $50 extra in taxes to fill up a minivan in Metro Vancouver, not including the cost of the fuel
As we see the light at the end of the COVID Tunnel of Hell, many families hope to hit the roads to explore beautiful British Columbia this summer. Safe road trips will be essential after the strain many have been under during the pandemic. But, because B.C. drivers are being burned by the highest gas…
We have to beware tyrannies and autocracies that use oil and natural gas as weapons
By Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan Canadian Energy Centre History shows tyrannies and autocracies use oil and natural gas as weapons when interacting with democracies. This is obvious during wars – tanks and jets don’t run on vegetable oil – as well as peacetime. For example, in 2009, Russia cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine in…