Category: Canada

The Role of Protests in a Democracy

INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

There is currently a public enquiry in Canada examining whether the invocation of the Emergencies Act to end the “Trucker’s Freedom Protest” in Ottawa last year was legally justified. This protest was to force the government to end the vaccination mandate for truckers crossing the border to the U.S. It lasted from Jan. 28 to Feb. 20. The police did not intervene effectively until the Canadian Parliament invoked the Emergencies Act and the protest was dispersed.

This raises general questions about protests in democracies. Continue reading “The Role of Protests in a Democracy”

The Covid-19 Pandemic May be Over Sooner Than You Think

Covid-19 has spread throughout the world and people and governments are going to extraordinary lengths to contain it.

Two of the first nations to experience the pandemic are China and South Korea. In both cases, the number of new casualties has dropped ( in China there have been no new cases at all yesterday – 23-March 2020). In other countries, including Canada and the U.S., the number of new cases is still rising.

We can look at the data for Canada and the U.S. and compare it to South Korea and see if there are similarities and if it can suggest how long the outbreak will last. Continue reading “The Covid-19 Pandemic May be Over Sooner Than You Think”

What will it take for Canada to eliminate its use of fossil fuels?

  • Gasoline/diesel vehicles will have to go electric
  • Railways will have to be electrified
  • Heating will have to go electric

If this were to happen, Canada’s demand for electricity will increase. In this blog, the increase in electricity generation capacity is estimated.

The results show that Canada will require 31 new nuclear plants or 202 new hydro plants or 1413 new wind farms or 15167 solar plants or a combination of the above

First look at current consumption of energy from fossil fuels in Canada:

  • Coal                                      33.2 106 tonnes/yr
  • Petroleum products       1.9 mmbbl/d
  • Natural gas                        8.9 Bcf/d

Continue reading “What will it take for Canada to eliminate its use of fossil fuels?”

Trump’s Achievements

No president has divided public opinion more than Donald Trump. Many find him personally obnoxious, irresponsible and harmful to the U.S. and the world. His supporters however, see him as a breath of fresh air who is “making America great again”.

Personally, I am not an admirer of Trump but I think that it is beneficial to play the “devil’s advocate” and try to look at his record in his first two years in as positive light as possible. Continue reading “Trump’s Achievements”

Indigenous Academics in the Press

The Globe and Mail has published a number of articles by indigenous academics in Canadian Universities and indigenous leaders.

Some of the statements made called out for rebuttal, but the “Comments” section was unavailable or the comments were closed down as “not meeting the G&M’s standards”, most likely due to being deemed racist. Continue reading “Indigenous Academics in the Press”

The Cost of Opposition to Resource Development

The Financial Post identified $129 BILLION of resource projects which are held up by:

  • Environmentalists
  • First Nations

What is the cost to the economy of these delays? In this blog I will try to quantify the cost of this to the Canadian economy (as measured by its GDP) over the next 20 years. Continue reading “The Cost of Opposition to Resource Development”

Get Canada Moving Again – Streamlining the Resource Development Approval Process

In Canada resource development projects must go through a lengthy approval process.  This is necessary so that all the factors are taken into consideration including, of course, environmental concerns.

However, radical environmentalists have used these approval processes to stop all resource developments, whether it involves pipelines, oil and gas development, hard rock mining or forestry.

The Financial Post has identified 35 projects valued at $129 billion that have been held up or stopped by extreme environmental extremists. Continue reading “Get Canada Moving Again – Streamlining the Resource Development Approval Process”

Canada’s 2018 budget: virtue signaling all the way

Canada’s 2018 budget was released on February 26th.  It projects an estimated deficit of $17.8 billion for 2018.  In subsequent years the budget deficit is expected to decrease, but only to $13 billion.

Canada’s economy is currently strong.  Unemployment is at record lows and GDP growth is as high as could be expected.

Conventional Keynesian economics would expect a budget surplus under these conditions.  Admittedly the budget deficit is lower than had been expected a year ago due to the strong economy.  This was seen as a signal for the Trudeau government to increase spending and introduce new programs.

Continue reading “Canada’s 2018 budget: virtue signaling all the way”

The verdict in the Gerald Stanley Case was (probably) Correct

The trial of Gerald Stanley, a farmer in northern Saskatchewan, over the shooting death of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree from the Red Pheasant First Nations (an Indigenous community) has stirred much discussion, most focused on the alleged racial nature of the events. Stanley was acquitted by the all non-Indigenous jury. This has given rise to protests calling for “Justice for Colten” and a number of politicians, including the Prime Minister, making statements generally critical of the verdict.

Although some of the events that took place are not clear (contradictions in statements by witnesses from both sides), several issues have not been raised publicly:

  • What was Stanley’s frame of mind when he shot Boushie?
  • Was Boushie the innocent young man who wanted to become a firefighter that has been portrayed by the press?
  • What would be the repercussions of a “guilty” verdict?

Continue reading “The verdict in the Gerald Stanley Case was (probably) Correct”

Towards a Rational Approach to Climate Change

To decide how to deal with climate change we have to first look at the affects it will have.  The effects which have been discussed fall into three groups.

These are:

  • Effect on wildlife and the environment
  • More frequent extreme weather events
  • Rising sea levels

My conclusion is that the only aspect that poses a real threat to humanity is a rising sea level.

In this blog I shall look at all three aspects and explain the reasoning behind the conclusion. Continue reading “Towards a Rational Approach to Climate Change”