In defense of feed-in tariffs…just not this one.
With the release of Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak’s platform today, it’s clear where much of the focus of the campaign to be Ontario’s next Premier will be – on Ontarians’ electricity bills. Hudak announced no fewer than six major policy changes to Ontario’s electricity system: An end to Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff (FiT) program; An […]
Environmentalists and energy prices 2.0
One thing I can’t make head nor tail of is how people who are concerned about the environmental impacts of fossil fuel consumption also seek to combat high or volatile oil and gas prices. I got on this idea today after reading a post by Brad Johnson (@climatebrad) originally at his site, The Wonk Room, […]
Alberta needs to do more than tell Ottawa, “hands off the golden goose!”
This article, by Jason Fekete and Darcy Henton, discusses the Alberta Government’s growing anxiety with respect to the coming Federal GHG regulations for the oil and gas sector. Premier Stelmach and the Alberta Government may be late to the game, but they have moved quickly in the past to head off federal action with regulatory […]
My latest Economy Lab Post: Emissions: Peter Kent’s 178 millon-ton challenge
It may be his most important task, and setting Canada’s GHG policy course for the next four years will not be an easy one for Environment Minister Peter Kent. By his own admission, meeting Canada’s GHG goals will be a daunting challenge and will require stringent regulations on oil and gas, electricity generation, transportation, and […]
A discounted, domestic oil price would be bad policy for Alberta
There’s something about oil that makes some of my favorite conservatives start to think like liberals. Yesterday, I was surprised to read, on John Winslow’s blog, the question of, “whether it stands to reason the people of Alberta and, to a lessor extent, the people of Saskatchewan should be receiving a nice break on the […]
High gas prices more likely due to oiligopoly than collusion
The knee-jerk reaction of many Canadians, including Industry Minister Tony Clement, is to assume that high gas prices and inflated profit margins are likely to be explained by collusion among the big oil companies to fix prices at higher than acceptable levels. It may well be true that that there are price setting agreements reached […]
Gas prices: Who benefits from tax relief?
Since oil prices began their steady march back to three-digit levels, the cries for government intervention in gasoline markets has risen in tandem. These calls have reached a fever pitch this week with reports we will soon see a US-style dressing-down of the oil executives by federal MPs as well as calls from politicians including […]
Post-election hiatus
A quick note to readers to say that I expect my unplanned post-election to end shortly. Thanks for reading, and please stay-tuned.