Canadian Politics Thread

[Bob Long]

1 minute ago, Ryan Strome said:

I'm not sure why we are seeing such defiance from SG and JT. Is it a control thing? Is it a who cares about Alberta because they don't care about us? One would think we where they are in the polls They would be open to ideas to make things more cost effective for Canadians? Have they completely given up on being competitive in the next election? Imagine the next election is in 2025 or any day depending on what Jag does would you really want to go into an election with a province declaring the sovereignty act and fighting it out in court? Or do the liberals view that as a good campaign tactic? Show the rest of Canada that okay Alberta and Saskatchewan are against us but who cares look at them They're a bunch of far right anti-vaxar lunatics? 

 

I mean it does seem bizarre that SG has drawn a line in the sand with essentially blacktop. 

 

From my experience (lived in 3 provinces, worked in 5) AB is viewed as kind of unique in the rest of the country politically. I don't think anyone other than SK feels any real effects from what happens in AB. Its just 'Berta being 'Berta. 

 

So I don't think Trudeau does anything to AB with the view that it will gain or lose him any support anywhere else.

 

I think the current version of the Trudeau government is lacking in long term strategic thinking. Sure they are coming up with some OK ideas now on housing, e.g. but that should have started 5 years ago.

 

I think the loss of people like Butts (and yes I know how you feel about him) has taken away the long-term thinking, and maybe thats why we're seeing the 2030 thing being pressed so hard. 

[Ryan Strome]

1 minute ago, Bob Long said:

 

From my experience (lived in 3 provinces, worked in 5) AB is viewed as kind of unique in the rest of the country politically. I don't think anyone other than SK feels any real effects from what happens in AB. Its just 'Berta being 'Berta. 

 

So I don't think Trudeau does anything to AB with the view that it will gain or lose him any support anywhere else.

 

I think the current version of the Trudeau government is lacking in long term strategic thinking. Sure they are coming up with some OK ideas now on housing, e.g. but that should have started 5 years ago.

 

I think the loss of people like Butts (and yes I know how you feel about him) has taken away the long-term thinking, and maybe thats why we're seeing the 2030 thing being pressed so hard. 

Or a Greenpeace Radical has way too much power in that government?

[Bob Long]

3 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

Or a Greenpeace Radical has way too much power in that government?

 

not sure much power he really has, tbh. I suspect he'll quit before the next election. 

[Ryan Strome]

1 minute ago, Bob Long said:

 

not sure much power he really has, tbh. I suspect he'll quit before the next election. 

I can't speak for all Albertans but I can speak for many that would be over the moon to see that environment minister quit. Absolutely horrific at his role.

[Playoff Beered]

On 10/9/2023 at 4:34 PM, The Arrogant Worms said:

[4petesake]

1 hour ago, Ryan Strome said:

It's a violation. Without even getting into provincial rights, that's just look at the fact it'll cost Albertans four times more to power their homes on the days that we actually have electricity.

Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) disagrees with Smith’s lights out statements and says that if planned projects are allowed to proceed Alberta will have better adequacy than it has ever had historically.

 

 

 

 

[Ryan Strome]

26 minutes ago, 4petesake said:

Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) disagrees with Smith’s lights out statements and says that if planned projects are allowed to proceed Alberta will have better adequacy than it has ever had historically.

 

 

 

 

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/varcoe-aeso-federal-clean-electricity-rules

 

Actually they don't.

 

The Alberta government’s pitched battle against federal plans for a net-zero electricity system by 2035 got a jolt Thursday from the province’s grid operator, which raised the possibility of blackouts and spiralling costs for consumers.

 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Ryan Strome

[JoeyJoeJoeJr. Shabadoo]

The anti-Trudeau hate farm based out of Cairo

"If they told people we were Egyptians talking in Canada, yeah, the company would not get this success," a former social media manager for the company concedes

OCTOBER 10, 2023

ARTICLE BY JONATHAN GOLDSBIE

• FEATURED
• FOREIGN INTERFERENCE
• PROPAGANDA
• YOUTUBE

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With reporting from Jesse Brown and Karyn Pugliese

The YouTube channel Street Politics Canada is, by its own description, an “independent news organization that aims to cover unfiltered news.”

“Unlike other news organizations,” it writes, “we are clear and upfront about our biases.”

Since April 2022, it has published approximately 600 YouTube videos catering to an audience of Canadian conservatives, nearly all of which take aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. These typically consist of news clips, still photos, and basic motion graphics, accompanied by a voiceover relaying arguments and information gleaned from an assortment of Canadian sources. Titles include “Worst Prime Minister In History Gets Booed By Canadians” and “WATCH!! Trudeau Gives UNHINGED SPEECH After Protestors HECKLE him AGAIN!!” Thumbnail images often compare the prime minister to Hitler.

In the last 12 months, their videos have received more than 10 million views.

The channel gives its location as Canada. On an associated Facebook page, they put themselves in Calgary. The contact page of their website, on the other hand, points to a small city in Utah.

In fact, Street Politics Canada is run out of Egypt — specifically, the 11th-floor office of a company called Geek Labs, in the Cairo neighbourhood of Degla

 

https://www.canadaland.com/street-politics-canada-egypt/

 

I'm shocked, absolutely shocked I tells ya. 

 

 

[4petesake]

3 hours ago, Ryan Strome said:

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/varcoe-aeso-federal-clean-electricity-rules

 

Actually they don't.

 

The Alberta government’s pitched battle against federal plans for a net-zero electricity system by 2035 got a jolt Thursday from the province’s grid operator, which raised the possibility of blackouts and spiralling costs for consumers.

 

This makes me wonder about AESO’s credibility then. They’ve known about Net-zero for a long time now and it’s provisions were taken into account in it’s June 2022 report and again in it’s August 2023 report where they concluded that they would have a zero shortfall “if planned projects were allowed to proceed.”

 

Why the sudden change since August?

 

It’s also a concern that AESO had a public and non-public version of this last announcement and now the Feds and energy experts are asking AESO to release all of it’s newest analysis.

 

 

 

 

[the destroyer of worlds]

Tons of politics involved that prevented the opening of new stand alone medical programs.  It's the reason why places like UNBC went with a partnership model with UBC to open a medical program in PG.  Maybe this might lead to more Dental school positions as there are very few in BC.

 

 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/adv/article-simon-fraser-university-set-to-open-first-medical-school-in-western/

Simon Fraser University set to open first medical school in western Canada in 55 years

[Bob Long]

So, how does this square with the 'Trudeau hates us' Alberta oil folks?

 

Canada could lead the world in oil production growth in 2024

 

Canada's oil production is set to jump by about 10 per cent over the next year and become one of the largest sources of increased supply around the world.

The country produces about 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and that figure could climb by about 500,000 bpd to about 5.3 million bpd by the end of 2024, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. That would mark an all-time high for Canadian production.

Alberta's oilsands is expected to drive much of the growth, although increases are anticipated throughout Western Canada and at offshore facilities near Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Half a million is a lot," said Kevin Birn, S&P's chief analyst for Canadian oil markets. "It's bigger than a lot of countries produce in the world."

The sharp rise of oil output expected over the next 12-14 months is partially the result of lower overall production this year, due to lengthy maintenance requirements at some oilsands facilities.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bakx-oil-production-s-p-record-1.6993102

 

[Ryan Strome]

32 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

So, how does this square with the 'Trudeau hates us' Alberta oil folks?

 

Canada could lead the world in oil production growth in 2024

 

Canada's oil production is set to jump by about 10 per cent over the next year and become one of the largest sources of increased supply around the world.

The country produces about 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and that figure could climb by about 500,000 bpd to about 5.3 million bpd by the end of 2024, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. That would mark an all-time high for Canadian production.

Alberta's oilsands is expected to drive much of the growth, although increases are anticipated throughout Western Canada and at offshore facilities near Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Half a million is a lot," said Kevin Birn, S&P's chief analyst for Canadian oil markets. "It's bigger than a lot of countries produce in the world."

The sharp rise of oil output expected over the next 12-14 months is partially the result of lower overall production this year, due to lengthy maintenance requirements at some oilsands facilities.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bakx-oil-production-s-p-record-1.6993102

 

While it's important to understand the whole context and the fact it appears to be short lived, I will admit you are on to something here. Our premier has been amazing!! 13 billion paid off debt as well. 70 new nurses!! 

 

I'm not sure why you are even talking about Trudeau. He has nothing to do with any of this.

 

 

[Ryan Strome]

@Bob Long 

Let's not forget. Her government is also standing up for all Canadians by fighting Ottawa on their gun buyback program. They are also standing up for all Canadians to halt this terrible 2035 decision that will cost Canadians lots of money and potentially lead to blackouts.

Minister Amery just sent a letter to LeBlanc on Ottawa's crazy gun rules targeting law abiding citizens.

 

 

[Warhippy]

9 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

While it's important to understand the whole context and the fact it appears to be short lived, I will admit you are on to something here. Our premier has been amazing!! 13 billion paid off debt as well. 70 new nurses!! 

 

I'm not sure why you are even talking about Trudeau. He has nothing to do with any of this.

 

 

Now just imagine how this looks if oil companies aren't taking in record profits over the last 2 years.

 

Having half of your entire platform and relevance based on hating the feds is just kind of old

[Ryan Strome]

3 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

Now just imagine how this looks if oil companies aren't taking in record profits over the last 2 years.

 

Having half of your entire platform and relevance based on hating the feds is just kind of old

I think that would be the approach of somebody living in a different province. To be perfectly honest, she hasn't been as hostile as some of us would even hope. She is using logical, responsible ideas to share with the feds. The reality is people should actually support their provincial government standing up to federal overreach. In fact, it was you that not too long ago pointed out she's doing exactly what the constitution allows her to.

 

You aren't wrong. There is huge profits being made the last 2 years but there's also huge amounts of money going into new technologies for the future from the same oil companies. 

 

Edit: also, why should I imagine what it would look like if oil companies weren't in Alberta? I mean do we take out British Columbia's top economic producer and say imagine what it would look like? That seems to be quite silly. The oil industry actually benefits all Canadians where I'm not sure any industries in British Columbia benefit all Canadians. The fact of the matter is they're putting more into social programs than any NDP or liberal government you could think of. So this is all you could come back with. What you should be doing is applauding a well-done job by a very good premier and cabinet.

Edited October 12, 2023 by Ryan Strome

[Warhippy]

I never said if oil wasn't in Alberta.  Don't do that.

 

As well don't sit and moan about me living in a different province.

 

As someone on the outside without a dog in this fight I can say from an outsiders point of view the endless anti fed rhetoric is old and really just sad

[Bob Long]

21 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

@Bob Long 

Let's not forget. Her government is also standing up for all Canadians by fighting Ottawa on their gun buyback program. They are also standing up for all Canadians to halt this terrible 2035 decision that will cost Canadians lots of money and potentially lead to blackouts.

Minister Amery just sent a letter to LeBlanc on Ottawa's crazy gun rules targeting law abiding citizens.

 

 

Can she really take credit for the debt payments? That's all thanks to oil and nothing to do with her.

 

I don't buy the "blackout" thing that's fearmonger stuff imo 

 

17 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

I think that would be the approach of somebody living in a different province. To be perfectly honest, she hasn't been as hostile as some of us would even hope. She is using logical, responsible ideas to share with the feds. The reality is people should actually support their provincial government standing up to federal overreach. In fact, it was you that not too long ago pointed out she's doing exactly what the constitution allows her to.

 

You aren't wrong. There is huge profits being made the last 2 years but there's also huge amounts of money going into new technologies for the future from the same oil companies. 

 

Edit: also, why should I imagine what it would look like if oil companies weren't in Alberta? I mean do we take out British Columbia's top economic producer and say imagine what it would look like? That seems to be quite silly. The oil industry actually benefits all Canadians where I'm not sure any industries in British Columbia benefit all Canadians. The fact of the matter is they're putting more into social programs than any NDP or liberal government you could think of. So this is all you could come back with. What you should be doing is applauding a well-done job by a very good premier and cabinet.

 

Of course BC earners benefit all of Canada. Federal taxation fuels equalization.

[Ryan Strome]

10 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

Can she really take credit for the debt payments? That's all thanks to oil and nothing to do with her.

 

I don't buy the "blackout" thing that's fearmonger stuff imo 

 

 

Of course BC earners benefit all of Canada. Federal taxation fuels equalization.

1) of course she can. Do you really think a NDP government would have done that?

 

2) I do believe it and so do a lot of other people and you need to know that it didn't come from the premier directly.

 

3) I'm talking about an industry that creates jobs all across the country with trickle down jobs. Also, the feds take royalties as well. So again I would argue that Alberta does the most to benefit all Canadians.

20 minutes ago, Warhippy said:

I never said if oil wasn't in Alberta.  Don't do that.

 

As well don't sit and moan about me living in a different province.

 

As someone on the outside without a dog in this fight I can say from an outsiders point of view the endless anti fed rhetoric is old and really just sad

To the first part you pretty much exactly said if revenue wasn't so high, this likely wouldn't happen, or at least that's what I interpreted feel free to straighten it out.

 

Second, I'm not criticizing you or moaning about being in a different province. I'm saying you don't get firsthand news regarding all the things that are being done or at least I wouldn't think you would.

 

While you talk about that rhetoric think about it This way the everything conservative is bad rhetoric that comes from you and a few others is getting old. See how that works?

Edited October 12, 2023 by Ryan Strome

[Bob Long]

28 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

1) of course she can. Do you really think a NDP government would have done that?

 

2) I do believe it and so do a lot of other people and you need to know that it didn't come from the premier directly.

 

3) I'm talking about an industry that creates jobs all across the country with trickle down jobs. Also, the feds take royalties as well. So again I would argue that Alberta does the most to benefit all Canadians.

To the first part you pretty much exactly said if revenue wasn't so high, this likely wouldn't happen, or at least that's what I interpreted feel free to straighten it out.

 

Second, I'm not criticizing you or moaning about being in a different province. I'm saying you don't get firsthand news regarding all the things that are being done or at least I wouldn't think you would.

 

While you talk about that rhetoric think about it This way the everything conservative is bad rhetoric that comes from you and a few others is getting old. See how that works?

 

You say "Alberta" but the royalties don't come from Albertans tho. We should be thanking international investors just as much then.

 

I think Smith has it far easier than all other premiers. She's guaranteed to win, and she has oil money on tap. A chimp could do her job.

[Satchmo]

On 10/10/2023 at 11:58 AM, Ryan Strome said:

Nope, don't buy a lottery ticket my friend! Listen if you want to make a point that there's crazy lunatics holding these flags and saying Canada first, we can agree on that. But you won't change my mind when I say it is okay to say Canada first and to fly many Canadian flags. These people at certain events are just piss ants and that's all they'll ever be.

Ha! I won ten dollars on the 649 last night.  Now I just have to figure out how best to invest it.

[4petesake]

1 hour ago, Warhippy said:

Now just imagine how this looks if oil companies aren't taking in record profits over the last 2 years.

 

Having half of your entire platform and relevance based on hating the feds is just kind of old

 

Pity some of those record profits couldn’t have been used to pay back Canadian taxpayers for the $1B Alberta received in 2020 from the Feds for orphan well cleanup. 

[bishopshodan]

Just now, 4petesake said:

 

Pity some of those record profits couldn’t have been used to pay back Canadian taxpayers for the $1B Alberta received in 2020 from the Feds for orphan well cleanup. 

 

How are they doing on those old wells?

I heard that there was a lot and some of the farmers were left with leaching decommissioned ones.

[Ryan Strome]

59 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

You say "Alberta" but the royalties don't come from Albertans tho. We should be thanking international investors just as much then.

 

I think Smith has it far easier than all other premiers. She's guaranteed to win, and she has oil money on tap. A chimp could do her job.

1) You think so? I thought Alberta was pretty diverse as far as politics go.

 

2) apparently a chimp can't Notley was an epic fail

47 minutes ago, Satchmo said:

Ha! I won ten dollars on the 649 last night.  Now I just have to figure out how best to invest it.

Would you consider investing in me? I can give you an address to send that money to..

Every little bit helps lol

Edited October 12, 2023 by Ryan Strome

[Satchmo]

6 minutes ago, Ryan Strome said:

Would you consider investing in me? I can give you an address to send that money to..

Every little bit helps lol

Nah,  I'm keeping the money in BC.  BC First!

[4petesake]

12 minutes ago, bishopshodan said:

 

How are they doing on those old wells?

I heard that there was a lot and some of the farmers were left with leaching decommissioned ones.

A lot of wells were cleaned & land reclaimed. Alberta approved 37,589 applications but 3,445 weren’t completed and Alberta may have to return $130M. Unfortunately it’s the same old shit show as Alberta’s own regulator says there are 10s of thousands again. Looks like Canadians will be on the hook again at the next down cycle in gas & oil.

 

 

• OPINION
  Danielle Smith has a big idea to clean up oil and gas wells. It's all kinds of messy

• Confusion, lack of clarity dog Alberta plans to clean up old well sites

"A few other ministers and I have written to the federal government to keep the left-over funds here in Alberta. We are still awaiting a response," wrote Energy Minister Pete Guthrie in an emailed statement.

According to the Alberta Energy Regulator, the province still has tens of thousands of inactive oil and gas wells, which pose an environmental risk because of the potential soil and water contamination, in addition to the release of methane gases. 

 

 

Academics at the University of Calgary are calling for a public review of the Alberta Energy Regulator, describing it as secretive and too close to industry.

In a peer-reviewed report issued by the university's School of Public Policy, three authors examine what they call a "massive policy failure" in dealing with the large and growing environmental liability left by the province's oil and gas industry.

They use decades of documents from registries and access to information requests to accuse the regulator of consistently favouring industry over public interest.

"There needs to be an inquiry of some kind," said co-author and resource law professor Martin Olszynski. "Albertans don't have the information they need."

• Oil and gas industry must pay for abandoned well cleanup, new Alberta rules say

• Alberta may have to return $130M in unspent federal funding for oil and gas well cleanup

A spokeswoman for the regulator said recent programs funded by industry and government have improved spending on reclamation.

"Over $1 billion was spent on closure activities in 2022," said Teresa Broughton in an email.

Alberta has about 230,000 drilled wells that need to be abandoned and reclaimed. Another 90,000 have been abandoned but not reclaimed.

That liability is estimated to be at least $60 billion. Some estimates double that.

The university report concludes that liability is the result of years of regulatory cosiness with industry.

"You have 30 years of essentially bilateral meetings between industry and the regulator," Olszynski said. "The records we do have show very clearly how an initial policy would be proposed by government and then over the course of 20 or 30 meetings a very different policy emerges."

As well, the report says too many of Alberta's environmental requirements are left to the regulator's discretion.

Legislation requires companies to clean up after themselves, but that obligation comes only after an order from the regulator. Although the province now has reclamation spending targets for industry, those targets are also set at the regulator's discretion.

The report says the word "may" — as in "the regulator may prescribe conditions" — appears 190 times in Alberta's Oil and Gas Conservation Act, 84 times in its Pipeline Act and 437 times in its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.

Alberta once had a requirement that all wells inactive for more than 10 years be abandoned, placed back into production or have financial security posted for their abandonment. That program was cancelled in 2000.

 

"The absence of legislated time frames for closure work means that, in almost all cases, the work is only conducted either voluntarily by the licensee or when the regulator issues an order," the report says.

Broughton said the regulator is working on the problem and now has mandatory requirements for spending on well closure and remediation.

"Mandatory closure spend quotas specify the minimum amount of money that licensees are required to spend on closure work each year," she said.

That requirement has grown to $700 million in 2024, from $422 million in 2022. In 2022, 4,461 sites received reclamation certificates, an increase of a third over the previous year.

However, the report says that requirement is also set at the regulator's discretion and the 2024 target is lower than the $764 million forecast when the program was set out. The percentage of spending required is also significantly lower for operators deemed financially at risk.

Choking off information

The report criticizes how the regulator has, over the years, choked off the information it releases around the financial health of companies acquiring oil and gas leases.

The regulator used to post how much security each company had posted, as well as its score on the system used to assess ability to clean up old sites. The information on security was no longer posted after 2010 and individual liability scores were kept private after 2019, says the report.

The report also criticizes the Orphan Well Fund, an industry-funded and -run group that is supposed to oversee the reclamation of wells for which no owner exists. The authors say the fund's board is dominated by industry and is exempt from freedom of information legislation despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding in recent years.

The solutions to Alberta's huge unfunded environmental liability aren't going to be easy, said Olszynski. Some may feel the economic benefits are worth it, he said.

But he said no informed debate is possible under the current regime.

"We don't know enough about how this came to be," Olszynski said.

"How is it that over 20 years, the inactive well inventory mushroomed and nobody decided this was a problem?"