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The cabinet selection for a new government may be the classic Ottawa bubble event, but Alberta will be watching closely for changes in one portfolio in particular.
There is widespread discontent in that province about the Liberal government’s environmental policies, including the federal carbon tax and Bill C-69, the legislation that overhauls the review process for major energy projects and which Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has dubbed “the no more pipelines bill.”
Some senior Liberals are expecting current Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to be shuffled out of her department, maybe with a promotion or a lateral move for a loyal soldier who has been the face of many of the government’s most unpopular policies.
And the Prime Minister’s Office confirms that, whether McKenna is in the job or not, the policy direction will not change.
“We have always made fighting climate change and growing the economy a priority, and we will continue to do that,” said PMO director of communications Cameron Ahmad, who declined to speak specifically about any possible cabinet decisions.
[…]
See Also:
(1) Trudeau is still obsessed with photo ops. It’s time for something more substantive
(4) ‘Bland’ Peter MacKay throws ‘zingers,’ then retreats
(5) Talks with Trudeau leave the West jilted and fending for itself
Addendum:
I forgot to mention that even Andrew Thomson, former Sask. (NDP) finance minister & currently a regular panelist on the CBC’s Power & Politics, also mentioned the possibility of small nuclear power plants to mitigate effects of climate change.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/powerandpolitics/nov-14-ndp-leader-singh-meets-with-prime-minister-trudeau-1.5360508 (at the 43:00 min. mark)
Then, there’s also this idea:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenrwald/2019/10/24/could-small-scale-nuclear-power-plants-be-a-game-changer/#7ad29881121f
Canada would be well positioned to benefit because of this:
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/energy-sources-distribution/uranium-nuclear-energy/uranium-canada/about-uranium/7695
“Canada is the world’s second largest producer of uranium, with 15% of global production in 2012.
Canada has the world’s largest deposits of high-grade uranium with grades of up to 20% uranium, which is 100 times greater than the world average.
In 2013, Canada produced 9,331.5 tonnes of uranium, all from mines in northern Saskatchewan.
Nearly 85% of Canada’s uranium production is exported. The remainder is used to fuel CANDU reactors in Canada.
With its resource base and current output, Canada is well positioned to maintain its importance in uranium production in the future.”
Mind you, that web page was last updated in Oct. 2014, so I hope that info is still accurate.
Finally … many people are afraid of the word nuclear, yet I’d be willing to bet that they trust nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat life-threatening diseases. “Go nuclear” should be promoted as a real solution, not as an expression of extreme wrongful action.
In addition to supporting new technologies to reduce and/or reuse fossil fuel emissions, nuclear power should be considered as another means of reducing GHGs. France is a good example of intelligent use of nuclear power:
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-a-f/france.aspx
“Nuclear Power in France
(Updated October 2019)
France derives about 75% of its electricity from nuclear energy, due to a long-standing policy based on energy security. Government policy is to reduce this to 50% by 2035.
France is the world’s largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of generation, and gains over €3 billion per year from this.
The country has been very active in developing nuclear technology. Reactors and especially fuel products and services have been a significant export.
About 17% of France’s electricity is from recycled nuclear fuel.”
Unfortunately, the Conservatives’ policy on the environment has been a losing proposition. The propaganda is too widespread and the coverage of extreme weather-related events — like wild fires and floods — have convinced people that a planet endangering catastrophe awaits us if we don’t reduce GHG emissions drastically, primarily CO2.
Also unfortunately, not much of a case has been made about the various beneficial uses of CO2, including this:
http://www.uigi.com/carbondioxide.html
“Carbon dioxide gas is used to carbonate soft drinks, beers and wine and to prevent fungal and bacterial growth.”
Those who attend the yearly UN Climate Change Conferences (this year in Madrid) would definitely miss imbibing their favourite refreshments if CO2 were to become scarce.
I agree that Catherine McKenna should be out as Environment minister. It is grating to listen to her rhetoric, especially when she mentions her daughters, as if lost jobs in the oil patch don’t affect families. However, the one possibly replacing her may be even worse:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Guilbeault