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☆ Fire and flood: Record spring heat forces evacuations across western Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 5 (Reuters) - A week of record hot weather in western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires rage in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggers flooding across interior British Columbia. Until last week western Canada had been enduring a cold spring but the rapid onset of unseasonably high temperatures, in places 10C above the average for early May, is triggering both fires and flooding. In British Columbia, the flooding is expected to worsen over the weekend with heavy rain forecast across the south of the province. "Peak river levels are expected on Saturday through Monday," British Columbia's River Forecast Centre said in a flood warning issued late Thursday. Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canada opens formal investigation into Imperial's oil sands tailings leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CALGARY, Alberta, May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's federal environment ministry on Thursday opened a formal investigation into a months-long tailings leak at Imperial Oil's (IMO.TO) Kearl oil sands mine in northern Alberta, signalling a potential prosecution. Tailings, a toxic mining by-product containing water, silt, residual bitumen and metals, have been seeping from Imperial's site since last May, angering local Indigenous communities who hunt and fish on the lands downstream from Canada's oil sands mines. The company first discovered discolored water on its Kearl site in May 2022 and informed the AER and some local Indigenous communities, but failed to update those communities when testing showed the water contained tailings. Canada's Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault, one of only two Liberals lawmakers in Alberta, said the Kearl leak and poor communication was "simply unacceptable". "It's unjust for Indigenous communities that are living downstream to have questions about their drinking water table and the health of the natural environment."

☆ TC Energy says Keystone oil spill caused by fatigue crack
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 21 (Reuters) - Canada's TC Energy (TRP.TO) on Friday said a 14,000-barrel oil spill from its Keystone pipeline in rural Kansas in December was primarily due to a progressive fatigue crack, which originated during the construction of the pipeline. The Calgary-based company released the findings after receiving an independent third-party root cause failure analysis (RCFA), as required by regulators. TC said the RCFA report found the fatigue crack came from a girth weld connecting a manufactured elbow fitting to the section of pipe constructed across Mill Creek. The girth weld was completed at a fabrication factory and met applicable standards. "This resulted in the initiation of a circumferential crack in the weld, which led to failure through operations after over a decade," TC said.

☆ Canadian police investigating C$20 million gold heist at Toronto airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 20 (Reuters) - Canadian police are investigating the theft of a C$20 million ($14.84 million) cargo of gold and other valuables that was stolen from a holding facility at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday. The cargo was reported missing after arriving on an aircraft early Monday evening, Peel Regional Police Inspector Stephen Duivesteyn told a news conference on Thursday. Duivesteyn said after the aircraft landed the cargo was unloaded and taken to a holding facility, as per normal procedure, but disappeared some time afterwards. "Subsequent to its arrival this high value cargo was removed by illegal means from the holding facility," Duivesteyn told reporters. The cargo was reported missing to police a short time later.

☆ Canada's Suncor releases 5,900 cubic metres of water from oil sands site
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Canada's Suncor Energy (SU.TO) has reported the release of 5,900 cubic metres (208,400 cubic feet) of water with more than twice the approved level of suspended solids from a sedimentation pond at its Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta. The water came from a sedimentation pond, which collects and discharges surface run-off from the oil sands site, and not a tailings pond, Suncor spokesperson Erin Rees said in an email. Oil sands companies are under scrutiny for how they manage water on their sites, after Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) said in February that tailings ponds at its Kearl site had been seeping for months and another spill released 5,300 cubic metres of process water in late January. "This is not a tailings pond, but a water run-off pond that collects and discharges run off into Fort Creek ... in line with regulatory approvals," Rees said. The water discharges into Fort Creek roughly 800 metres upstream of the Athabasca River, the main waterway running through the oil sands region.

☆ Rough week for Alberta's ruling UCP casts shadow ahead of May election
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Polls show Alberta's election, scheduled to take place no later than May 29, will be a tight two-way race between the UCP and left-leaning New Democratic Party, led by Rachel Notley. "I think it will make a difference (to voters), it's going to keep coming up," Bratt said of the recording. "It's going to be reluctant conservatives in Calgary who are concerned about the judgment and trustworthiness of Premier Smith and this adds to questions about that." Smith became UCP leader and premier last October, replacing Jason Kenney, by appealing to grassroots UCP members in the traditionally conservative province. read moreLast week's controversies come just days after two senior Alberta government minister, Finance Minister Travis Toews and Environment Minister Sonya Savage, said they would not seek re-election.

OTTAWA, March 30 (Reuters) - Canada's province of Alberta - the heart of the country's oil and gas industry - is expected to offer more support for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects now that the federal government has its incentives in place, the federal natural resources minister told Reuters on Thursday. This week, Canada's federal budget expanded eligibility for CCUS investment tax credits over the next five years, by adding C$520 million to the C$2.6 billion program laid out in last year's budget. Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said he has had many conversations with the Alberta government on CCUS, including one earlier this week, and he hopes to see some of the major CCUS projects launched by end-year. In an interview with Reuters in January, Trudeau urged Alberta to contribute to CCUS. ($1 = 1.3526 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Steve Scherer and Nia Williams Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Canada's ATCO gives Mexico troubled pipeline after damage award -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lopez Obrador afterward met representatives from Canadian energy companies, including ATCO, and details of the transfer were concluded in late February, one of the sources said. Neither ATCO, CFE, the Canadian government or Lopez Obrador's office immediately replied to requests for comment. Arguing that past governments skewed Mexico's energy market in favor of private capital, Lopez Obrador has taken a series of steps to bolster state control of the sector. Last July the U.S. and Canadian governments launched formal dispute resolution talks with Mexico over energy. The company argued Mexico had not done enough to enable the pipeline's completion, and the London Court of International Arbitration agreed, Reuters reported.

☆ Reactions: Canada 2023/24 budget deficit to jump, Ottawa to boost spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

JULES BOUDREAU, SENIOR ECONOMIST, MACKENZIE INVESTMENTS"The surprise was more on the revenue side more than the spending side. Prior to this budget we were not eligible for the carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) investment tax credit, but they have now broadened the eligibility parameters." "The big open question, heading into this budget was how was Canada going to react to the Inflation Reduction Act ... MARK ZACHARIAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CLEAN ENERGY CANADA"We thought today's budget was generally excellent and it sets Canada on a path for prosperity. "The investment tax credits for clean tech manufacturing positions Canada as a leader, particularly in zero-emissions vehicles."

[1/2] The processing facility at an oil sands operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, September 17, 2014. The company joins Canada's biggest oil producers in urging policymakers to boost public funding for the costly technology that is seen as key to cutting emissions from the carbon-intensive oil sands. Until then, the company will pay Canada's carbon tax, set to rise to C$170 a tonne by 2030, Nicholson said. Canada's oil sands produced a record 3.15 million bpd in 2022 and are forecast to hit 3.7 million bpd by 2030, according to S&P Global. "The oil sands are long-life, low-decline assets," said Wood Mackenzie analyst Scott Norlin.

☆ Canada's B.C. province sets high emissions bar for new LNG projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The entrance to Shell's LNG Canada project site is shown in Kitimat in northwestern British Columbia on April 12, 2014. While the tougher regulation will not impact the huge Shell-led (SHEL.L) LNG Canada project already under construction, a proposed export terminal adjoining the small-scale Tilbury LNG facility and the early-stage Ksi Lisims LNG project in northern B.C will fall under the new rule. The province will start exporting 14 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) when LNG Canada enters service in 2025. "That (net-zero requirement) is a very high bar and a high hurdle to pass," said Mark Zacharias, executive director of think-tank Clean Energy Canada, adding the new framework rounds out B.C. 's new regulations also include an oil and gas emissions cap and plans to accelerate the electrification of the economy.

March 12 (Reuters) - A Canadian banking regulator on Sunday said it was taking temporary control of Silicon Valley Bank's (SIVB.O) unit in the country, as the fallout from the collapsed U.S. startup-focused lender reverberated around the world. "By taking temporary control of the Canadian branch of Silicon Valley Bank, we are acting to protect the rights and interests of the branch's creditors," Peter Routledge, the superintendent of financial institutions, said in a statement. OFSI said the U.S.-headquartered bank has operated in Canada since 2019 as a foreign bank branch based in Toronto. Its business in Canada is primarily lending to corporate clients, and the branch does not hold any commercial or individual deposits in Canada. The Canadian unit had C$435 million ($315.33 million) in secured loans at the end of last year, more than double the amount at the end of 2021, according to regulatory filings.

☆ Two dead, nine injured after being struck by van in Canada's Quebec
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 13 (Reuters) - Two people were killed and nine injured after being struck by a van on Monday in the Canadian town of Amqui, Quebec, provincial police said. Police spokeswoman Hélène St-Pierre said the circumstances of the collision were still being investigated and the driver of the van, a 38-year-old man, was under arrest. A man in his 70s and another man in his 60s were killed, St-Pierre said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Twitter that his heart was with the people of Amqui. "As we learn more about the tragic events that have taken place, I'm keeping everyone affected in my thoughts," he said.

☆ Norway's Equinor nears deal to buy Suncor's UK oilfields
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) is close to reaching a deal to buy Suncor Energy's (SU.TO) British North Sea oil and gas assets for around $1 billion, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. The deal includes Suncor's 40% stake in the Equinor-operated offshore Rosebank oil and gas project, located some 130 km (80 miles) northwest of Shetland Islands, and one of the largest developments in the ageing basin. Equinor, which already owns 40% of Rosebank, had previously estimated the project's cost at about 4.3 billion pounds ($5.22 billion). The windfall tax led many companies, including Equinor, to warn that they could reduce their UK North Sea investments. The acquisition of the Suncor assets gives Equinor a large amount of tax losses that it could use to offset future investments in the basin, the sources said.

First Nations ice fishermen risk going out on ice as climate change affects the quality of the ice. He blames climate change for the unseasonal weather and worries ice fishing season will only get shorter in future. "People tell us across the board they would like more traditional food but there are barriers, and one of them is climate change," Batal said. Families in communities like Kitigan Zibi wind up spending more in grocery stores to supplement their diet. Reporting by Blair Gable in Kitigan Zibi and Nia Williams in British Columbia Editing by Denny Thomas and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Canada unveils sustainable jobs plan to prepare workers for future green economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

From 2025 the government plans to release a new sustainable jobs plan every five years. Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been promising sustainable jobs legislation since 2019. But in Canada, the world's fourth-largest crude oil producer, the concept of retraining workers for clean energy jobs, also called a "Just Transition", became a lightening rod for criticism. "Rather than a shortage of jobs, in Canada we are much more likely to see an abundance of sustainable jobs with a shortage of workers required to fill them," the plan said. Think-tanks Clean Energy Canada expects jobs in the sector will grow by 3.4% annually over the next decade, nearly four times faster than the Canadian average.

☆ Canadian premiers accept C$46-bln federal govt healthcare funding offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Canada's provincial and territorial premiers on Monday said they will accept an additional C$46.2 billion ($34.64 billion) in healthcare funding from the federal government over the next 10 years, but warned the amount falls short of what is needed. In return for additional funding, the federal government has asked the provinces to commit to some conditions, including better data gathering and sharing. "We have accepted this for now...This is not a long-term solution to the healthcare funding that is needed within this country and by no means is a panacea to fix healthcare," Stefanson said. As a next step Ottawa will hold bilateral meetings with each province to finalize individual funding agreements. ($1 = 1.3336 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Nia Williams Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Trudeau joins vigil for Montreal daycare crash victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Nelson Wyatt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] A Laval city bus is towed away after being pulled out of the daycare it crashed into, in Laval, Quebec, Canada February 8, 2023. Authorities have not yet given any indication of a motive behind the incident in Laval, Quebec, as they wait for a psychological evaluation of the suspect. "This is a moment to reflect on the incredible loss that families are feeling right now," CTV News quoted Trudeau as saying. He stopped to talk with parents who had dropped off their 2-1/2-year old daughter 10 minutes before the crash. Authorities said St-Amand has worked for the Laval municipality's public transit system for 10 years and does not have a criminal record.

☆ Canada's Imperial ordered to fix seepage from oil sands tailing ponds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Nia Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 8 (Reuters) - Canada's Imperial Oil (IMO.TO) on Wednesday said it is working with the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) to fix industrial wastewater seepage from tailings ponds at its Kearl oil sands project that has been ongoing for months. The order steps up regulatory enforcement from the AER, which previously issued Imperial with two non-compliance notices and conducted site inspections. Kearl is a 240,000-barrel-per-day bitumen mine in northern Alberta, and the wastewater, or tailings, from its industrial processes include dissolved iron and arsenic. However, Imperial on Saturday also reported a separate leak of more than 5,000 cubic metres of tailings water from one of its holding ponds. Schmidt said the cause of that release is still being determined and Imperial has notified local communities.

☆ As his beliefs have seeped into homes and classrooms, children as young as 11 think Andrew Tate is their 'god'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Insider spoke with teachers and parents about how Tate's beliefs are seeping into young boys' minds. Insider spoke with seven teachers who said Tate's words and beliefs have significantly impacted their students — some as young as 11 years old. Many young boys are drawn in by this promise of personal development. Mary McCarthy, a mother of four from Dublin, told Insider that Tate seems to have an "intoxicating" effect on her 14-year-old son. Speaking to the BBC, Nia Williams, a psychologist and academic, addressed why so many young boys get "sucked in" by Tate's image.

It is planning to develop a CCS hub in northern Alberta, expected to cost C$16.5 billion ($12.3 billion) by 2030. Trudeau told Reuters in an interview earlier this month Alberta was "hesitating around investing in anything related to climate change". Canada is the world's fourth-largest producer of crude, most of which comes from Alberta's oil sands. The oil and gas sector is the country's highest-polluting industry and needs to drastically cut emissions if Canada is to achieve its climate commitments. 'NO TIME TO SLIP'The Pathways Alliance has already said Ottawa's goal of cutting oil and gas emissions 42% by 2030, equivalent to a 35-megatonne reduction, is impossible.

☆ Canada's energy jobs transition bill sparks discord in oil heartland
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Nia Williams | Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FILE PHOTO: Pipelines run at the McKay River Suncor oil sands in-situ operations near Fort McMurray, Alberta, September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Todd KorolPrime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is expected to table its long-awaited workforce transition bill this spring, ahead of economic changes expected as they pursue ambitious goals to slash climate-warming emissions. The government of Alberta, Canada’s main crude-producing province, says the legislation will dismantle the oil and gas industry that makes up 5% of Canada’s GDP. The oil and gas sector employs around 185,000 workers, making the bill a hot topic in Alberta ahead a provincial election in May. Think tank Clean Energy Canada estimates there could be 200,000 clean energy jobs created by 2030.

☆ British Columbia reaches deal with more First Nations on resource management
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OTTAWA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The western Canadian province of British Columbia (B.C.) on Friday announced a deal with four Indigenous First Nations to collaborate on land planning and managing the impacts of industrialization. Supreme Court ruled decades of natural resource extraction and industrial development had infringed on indigenous rights. It also contains a new revenue-sharing approach to support First Nations communities, similar to the ones agreed with Blueberry River. However, other aspects of the Blueberry River agreement, such as an annual cap on land that can be disturbed for oil and gas development, were not included.

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Monday but were holding near their highest levels this month as easing COVID restrictions in China raised hopes of a demand recovery in the world's top crude importer. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.01, or 1.3%, at $78.85 in thin trade on a U.S. public holiday. "The narrative that Chinese growth is going to add to demand is playing a very large part here. Traffic levels in China are rebounding from record lows after the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in stronger demand for crude and oil products, ANZ analysts said in a note. The United Arab Emirates' energy minister, Suhail al-Mazrouei, said on Monday that oil markets were balanced.

[1/4] LNG Canada site construction activities are held, in Kitimat, Canada, September 2022. LNG Canada, in which Japan's Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) owns a 15% stake, is set to be Canada's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. LNG Canada has previously described this approach as only one of the options it was considering. LNG Canada has full environmental permits from both governments to use natural gas turbines for Phase 2, making it unclear what leverage governments have to force electrification. But buyers may pay more for LNG produced with lower emissions, Klein said, noting that some buyers already purchase carbon offsets for LNG cargoes.

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