Liberals say a new climate plan is still in the works despite pandemic | CBC News: Advocacy groups have expressed concern that the Liberals were not just changing their tone but their plans for the environment due to a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, but Wilkinson says that’s not the case, and he’s working on an ‘ambitious’ climate plan. (Reuters)

The pandemic has forced some changes to the government’s broader plans. As reported this week by La Presse, the government has not yet planted any of the two billion new trees it promised in last year’s campaign. Wilkinson links that to the fact that there wasn’t a federal budget in the spring.

Wilkinson said the government should be able to move forward with climate change accountability legislation in the fall or early in the new year. An expert panel to advise on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050 is also expected in the “near term,” and Wilkinson said the government should have more to say about plastics in the “next couple months.”

The Liberal platform already committed the government to meaningful action on building retrofits and promoting the use of zero-emission vehicles. As far as a plan to exceed the 2030 target — part of the Paris Agreement on climate change drafted in 2015 — Wilkinson also mentioned the use of hydrogen to fuel heavy-duty transportation and working with industry, including oil and gas, to reduce emissions.

Liberals say a new climate plan is still in the works despite pandemic | CBC News: Advocacy groups have expressed concern that the Liberals were not just changing their tone but their plans for the environment due to a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, but Wilkinson says that’s not the case, and he’s working on an ‘ambitious’ climate plan. (Reuters)The pandemic has forced some changes to the government’s broader plans. As reported this week by La Presse, the government has not yet planted any of the two billion new trees it promised in last year’s campaign. Wilkinson links that to the fact that there wasn’t a federal budget in the spring.Wilkinson said the government should be able to move forward with climate change accountability legislation in the fall or early in the new year. An expert panel to advise on the path to net-zero emissions by 2050 is also expected in the “near term,” and Wilkinson said the government should have more to say about plastics in the “next couple months.”The Liberal platform already committed the government to meaningful action on building retrofits and promoting the use of zero-emission vehicles. As far as a plan to exceed the 2030 target — part of the Paris Agreement on climate change drafted in 2015 — Wilkinson also mentioned the use of hydrogen to fuel heavy-duty transportation and working with industry, including oil and gas, to reduce emissions.Read More

COVID-19 crushes Nova Scotia’s tourism season | CBC News:

Revenues down from $2.6 billion to $900 million

Like a
lot of tourism operators, Haverstock and his wife had to refund
reservations and now find themselves deeply in debt and high on
uncertainty.

All across the province, members of one of Nova
Scotia’s most lucrative sectors are trying to figure out how to — or if
they even can — adjust to a tourism industry that’s seen droves of
potential clients sidelined by COVID-19 and the disease’s related
effects on travel.

The cruise ship season was cancelled,
business and convention travel dried up, airline traffic all but
disappeared and anyone from outside Atlantic Canada who wants to come
here must spend their first 14 days in quarantine. The effects have been
dire.

COVID-19 crushes Nova Scotia’s tourism season | CBC News: Revenues down from $2.6 billion to $900 millionLike a
lot of tourism operators, Haverstock and his wife had to refund
reservations and now find themselves deeply in debt and high on
uncertainty.All across the province, members of one of Nova
Scotia’s most lucrative sectors are trying to figure out how to — or if
they even can — adjust to a tourism industry that’s seen droves of
potential clients sidelined by COVID-19 and the disease’s related
effects on travel.The cruise ship season was cancelled,
business and convention travel dried up, airline traffic all but
disappeared and anyone from outside Atlantic Canada who wants to come
here must spend their first 14 days in quarantine. The effects have been
dire.Read More

Horgan Unveils Economic Recovery Plan, Dodges Election Questions:

Kai Nagata, Dogwood writer said, “Our politicians are drilling holes in the lifeboat, while we bail out the water. They’re shovelling your money into the gaping jaws of oil and gas, to pay for more fracking and pipelines. It has to stop.

Horgan Unveils Economic Recovery Plan, Dodges Election Questions: Kai Nagata, Dogwood writer said, “Our politicians are drilling holes in the lifeboat, while we bail out the water. They’re shovelling your money into the gaping jaws of oil and gas, to pay for more fracking and pipelines. It has to stop.Read More

Recognizing The Scumbag Of The Year: It’s impossible to keep track of the damage the UCP government is
doing to Alberta. The sheer volume of it is overwhelming. It will be
difficult to remember the worst of it when the next provincial election
occurs. About a week ago it was decided this website should keep a
running list of the damages so that it can be reviewed when one needs a
refresher.

The forum is an ideal place for this. A central topic can have many
sub-topics. It will make it easy to keep a list. You can create an
account on this website to login and post items you want to share. There
are a few already in place, if you would like to see some examples. If
you would like to contribute to the list without logging in, just email
me with a description and a link to a news source that contain more
information. I will post it.

Recognizing The Scumbag Of The Year: It’s impossible to keep track of the damage the UCP government is
doing to Alberta. The sheer volume of it is overwhelming. It will be
difficult to remember the worst of it when the next provincial election
occurs. About a week ago it was decided this website should keep a
running list of the damages so that it can be reviewed when one needs a
refresher.The forum is an ideal place for this. A central topic can have many
sub-topics. It will make it easy to keep a list. You can create an
account on this website to login and post items you want to share. There
are a few already in place, if you would like to see some examples. If
you would like to contribute to the list without logging in, just email
me with a description and a link to a news source that contain more
information. I will post it.Read More

While public attention is elsewhere oil and gas industry takes advantage | Starr’s Point: The waning of concern about climate change may also be because Canada
has so far dodged many of the bullets climate change usually fires in
our direction. Events like 100-degree Fahrenheit temperatures in Siberia
or inferno-level 54 Celsius (130F) in Death Valley, California, seem
less threatening if there are no headlines about fires, floods and
hurricanes in this country. Until smoke from the west coast fires began
drifting east this week, this summer’s drought in New Brunswick and
parts of Nova Scotia was about the worst of it for Canadians.

But while good luck and the pandemic pushed climate change down the
issues agenda, the federal government’s economic response to COVID-19
also provided cover for more subsidies to the oil and gas industry. In
April, the feds gave $1.7 billion to clean up abandoned wells in Alberta
and its two neighbouring provinces, and $750 million for emissions
reduction measures, costs that should be borne by the industry. The
Liberals also offered expanded credit support for small and medium-sized
energy companies through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
and Export Development Canada (EDC).

While public attention is elsewhere oil and gas industry takes advantage | Starr’s Point: The waning of concern about climate change may also be because Canada
has so far dodged many of the bullets climate change usually fires in
our direction. Events like 100-degree Fahrenheit temperatures in Siberia
or inferno-level 54 Celsius (130F) in Death Valley, California, seem
less threatening if there are no headlines about fires, floods and
hurricanes in this country. Until smoke from the west coast fires began
drifting east this week, this summer’s drought in New Brunswick and
parts of Nova Scotia was about the worst of it for Canadians.But while good luck and the pandemic pushed climate change down the
issues agenda, the federal government’s economic response to COVID-19
also provided cover for more subsidies to the oil and gas industry. In
April, the feds gave $1.7 billion to clean up abandoned wells in Alberta
and its two neighbouring provinces, and $750 million for emissions
reduction measures, costs that should be borne by the industry. The
Liberals also offered expanded credit support for small and medium-sized
energy companies through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
and Export Development Canada (EDC).Read More