Ottawa Insider

Critical questions about tailing pond leaks at Imperial Oil’s Kearl facility are still unanswered after the second round of testimony by the Alberta Energy Regulator president, say some MPs.

A federal committee is forcing the president of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to testify for a second time on the aftermath of huge tailings pond leaks at Imperial Oil's Kearl facility earlier this year.

“The longer that we delay, the harder it will be to bring this into force,” British Columbia MP Patrick Weiler told Canada’s National Observer in a phone interview.

“Given the current climate politically, I'm really surprised they didn't say: We're going to come through with more money for eco-energy retrofits,” Green Party Leader Elizabeth May told Canada’s National Observer in an interview at Parliament Hill.

A status-quo fiscal statement suggests climate change is an afterthought for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland following the wildfire crises felt by Canadians this summer, a new economic update suggests.

With the annual United Nations climate conference just around the corner, environmental groups are calling for an end to subsidies that support burning forest biomass to generate electricity.

A bill to create more carbon price exemptions for farmers is in the home stretch in the Senate as the federal government faces sustained criticism for its decision to exempt home heating oil from the federal carbon pricing system.

Canada’s environment commissioner said it is not clear how the oil and gas sector will achieve the greenhouse gas emission reductions prescribed under the federal government’s climate plan, and called for more transparency around the modelling.

Each year, companies are invited to offer money to explore areas in the Atlantic Ocean for oil and gas deposits. But last week, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board announced there were no new bids to explore the region in 2023. The lack of interest contrasts sharply with 2022, when over $238 million worth of exploration licences were awarded.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s symbolic motion calling for more carbon tax carveouts was defeated, but this won’t end the polarizing debate that centres on equity.

On Monday, Bloc Québécois MPs will decide the fate of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s motion to exempt all fuel for home heating from the carbon price. The motion is non-binding but is significant because it serves to keep the hot-button carbon tax debate alive and in the public eye.

Conservative MPs' efforts to stall discussion on the sustainable jobs act have attracted the ire of prominent labour leaders, who made it clear they will take action if the Conservatives continue with their delay tactics in committee. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced a second day of criticism over the carbon tax carveout but resolved there will be no similar breaks for other provinces. 

The federal Conservatives and a lot of premiers are up in arms after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a three-year pause on the carbon price for heating oil largely used in Atlantic Canada.

It’s no secret oilsands companies intend to ramp up production despite the rapidly worsening impacts of the climate crisis, and one longtime industry executive laid out his arguments for doing just that at a federal committee Monday.