December 2009
- Thread starter Ally
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 16,743
Alberta puts billions into the Coffers of Canada`s Oilsands bashers
Follow the money. It`s the oldest rule in journalism.
It usually explains the virtuous rhetoric that sometimes emanates from the mouths of politicians and lobbyists. You dress up crass self-interest in the garb of some lofty cause, and bingo! You`ve got a nice shiny message to sell.
Which brings me to the unseemly whining now emanating from the politicians in Ontario and Quebec. On the eve of the Copenhagen climate summit, they`re doing their best to pose as virtuous defenders of the planet.
The truth? It`s all about money, as it always is.
In particular, they`re lobbying the feds to adopt a tougher stance on curbing carbon emissions. Although the Harper government`s goal is a 20-per-cent cut below 2006 levels by 2020--slightly tougher than the U.S. target of 17 per cent--that`s not enough to satisfy them.
They demand that Ottawa go further. You know, to save the planet. The fact that Canada accounts for a mere two per cent of global emissions, or that oil and natural gas just happen to be the country`s top exports, matters not.
Read the full article here.
Follow the money. It`s the oldest rule in journalism.
It usually explains the virtuous rhetoric that sometimes emanates from the mouths of politicians and lobbyists. You dress up crass self-interest in the garb of some lofty cause, and bingo! You`ve got a nice shiny message to sell.
Which brings me to the unseemly whining now emanating from the politicians in Ontario and Quebec. On the eve of the Copenhagen climate summit, they`re doing their best to pose as virtuous defenders of the planet.
The truth? It`s all about money, as it always is.
In particular, they`re lobbying the feds to adopt a tougher stance on curbing carbon emissions. Although the Harper government`s goal is a 20-per-cent cut below 2006 levels by 2020--slightly tougher than the U.S. target of 17 per cent--that`s not enough to satisfy them.
They demand that Ottawa go further. You know, to save the planet. The fact that Canada accounts for a mere two per cent of global emissions, or that oil and natural gas just happen to be the country`s top exports, matters not.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 16,743
City, Aiport Authority reach deal on Tunnel
A proposed tunnel under a new runway at the Calgary International Airport is closer to breaking ground as the city committed to aggressively pursuing government funding for the $287-million project.
The City of Calgary and the Calgary Airport Authority will cover $90 million of the tunnel`s total cost, they announced on Tuesday. Mayor Dave Bronconnier will lead a campaign to secure the rest of the funding from the provincial and federal governments by March 2010.
"So this is a big step for us to actually have the two parties agree on a program going forward," said Ald. Jim Stevenson, who pointed out it`s taken two years and hundreds of meetings to get to this point.
The proposed tunnel will extend Airport Trail (96th Avenue) eastward to 36th Street N.E., connecting to Métis Trail.
The airport is constructing a new 4,270-metre long runway, which will include the closure of Barlow Trail between 48th Avenue and Airport Road N.E.
Many business owners and commuters supported the tunnel idea at a public meeting in November, arguing the area needed easily accessible roads in light of the Barlow Trail closure in April 2011.
Read the full article here.
A proposed tunnel under a new runway at the Calgary International Airport is closer to breaking ground as the city committed to aggressively pursuing government funding for the $287-million project.
The City of Calgary and the Calgary Airport Authority will cover $90 million of the tunnel`s total cost, they announced on Tuesday. Mayor Dave Bronconnier will lead a campaign to secure the rest of the funding from the provincial and federal governments by March 2010.
"So this is a big step for us to actually have the two parties agree on a program going forward," said Ald. Jim Stevenson, who pointed out it`s taken two years and hundreds of meetings to get to this point.
The proposed tunnel will extend Airport Trail (96th Avenue) eastward to 36th Street N.E., connecting to Métis Trail.
The airport is constructing a new 4,270-metre long runway, which will include the closure of Barlow Trail between 48th Avenue and Airport Road N.E.
Many business owners and commuters supported the tunnel idea at a public meeting in November, arguing the area needed easily accessible roads in light of the Barlow Trail closure in April 2011.
Read the full article here.
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
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- 16,743
Migrants Abandoning Alberta
CALGARY - Susan Welton is part of one of the fastest-growing demographics in Chipman, N.B.: a former Alberta resident.
After a three-year stint in Calgary as a funeral director, she moved back this July to her home village to run a funeral parlour of her own.
When she returned to Chipman, she found a lot of other people who`d make a homecoming from the province whose economic boom had for years lured them west.
"Some have had children and didn`t want to raise them in a big city, and for some of them their jobs were finished," she said Wednesday from New Brunswick. "Or some of them were homesick and just wanted to come home."
In a reversal of the longtime trend, "Go east, young man" is proving a stronger call than "Go west."
For the first time since 1994, more people left Alberta for other provinces in this year`s third quarter than came to Alberta from elsewhere in the country, according to a new Statistics Canada population update.
Read the full article here.
CALGARY - Susan Welton is part of one of the fastest-growing demographics in Chipman, N.B.: a former Alberta resident.
After a three-year stint in Calgary as a funeral director, she moved back this July to her home village to run a funeral parlour of her own.
When she returned to Chipman, she found a lot of other people who`d make a homecoming from the province whose economic boom had for years lured them west.
"Some have had children and didn`t want to raise them in a big city, and for some of them their jobs were finished," she said Wednesday from New Brunswick. "Or some of them were homesick and just wanted to come home."
In a reversal of the longtime trend, "Go east, young man" is proving a stronger call than "Go west."
For the first time since 1994, more people left Alberta for other provinces in this year`s third quarter than came to Alberta from elsewhere in the country, according to a new Statistics Canada population update.
Read the full article here.
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- Mar 24, 2009
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Alberta Influx cools with Economy
EDMONTON — Alberta lost more residents than it gained from other provinces this year, the first time that`s happened since 1994, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
But the province`s population still grew in the third quarter, to a total of 3,703,979, because of births and arrivals from other countries, the agency said.
"It appears that the recession is finally catching up to Alberta`s flow of interprovincial migration," ATB Financial senior economist Todd Hirsch said in a research note.
From July through September, 20,790 Canadians from other provinces moved to Alberta while 23,325 departed -- a net outflow of 2,535 people.
But births outnumbered deaths by 8,437 and international migration -- including foreign workers -- boosted population by another 10,415.
The overall gain of 16,317 works out to a population increase of 0.44 per cent -- third-highest in Canada behind B.C. and Saskatchewan.
Read the full article here.
EDMONTON — Alberta lost more residents than it gained from other provinces this year, the first time that`s happened since 1994, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
But the province`s population still grew in the third quarter, to a total of 3,703,979, because of births and arrivals from other countries, the agency said.
"It appears that the recession is finally catching up to Alberta`s flow of interprovincial migration," ATB Financial senior economist Todd Hirsch said in a research note.
From July through September, 20,790 Canadians from other provinces moved to Alberta while 23,325 departed -- a net outflow of 2,535 people.
But births outnumbered deaths by 8,437 and international migration -- including foreign workers -- boosted population by another 10,415.
The overall gain of 16,317 works out to a population increase of 0.44 per cent -- third-highest in Canada behind B.C. and Saskatchewan.
Read the full article here.
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Alberta Loses 15,000 Jobs
EDMONTON - Alberta`s job market recovery lasted all of one month.
After growing by 3,000 jobs in September for the first monthly decrease in the provincial unemployment rate since December 2008, October came along to wipe out the gains and then some.
Alberta lost 15,000 jobs, the most of any province in Canada in October, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
That pushed the province`s unemployment rate up 0.4 percentage points to 7.5 per cent from September`s 7.1 per cent.
"Economists typically wait for a few months of data before they conclude a trend has formed, and today`s labour force survey provides a perfect example of why," said ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner.
"The labour report was particularly ugly for Alberta, which saw the largest decline in employment of any province--most of it in the full-time category."
Read the full article here.
EDMONTON - Alberta`s job market recovery lasted all of one month.
After growing by 3,000 jobs in September for the first monthly decrease in the provincial unemployment rate since December 2008, October came along to wipe out the gains and then some.
Alberta lost 15,000 jobs, the most of any province in Canada in October, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
That pushed the province`s unemployment rate up 0.4 percentage points to 7.5 per cent from September`s 7.1 per cent.
"Economists typically wait for a few months of data before they conclude a trend has formed, and today`s labour force survey provides a perfect example of why," said ATB Financial economist Dan Sumner.
"The labour report was particularly ugly for Alberta, which saw the largest decline in employment of any province--most of it in the full-time category."
Read the full article here.
- Joined
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Housing Market settles after Roller-Coaster ride
EDMONTON - After toughing out hard times, Edmontonians ventured back into real estate to drive a steady recovery in existing-home sales and housing starts.
Sounds like the present day, but it could also be a recap of 2000.
After a decade-long roller-coaster ride that pushed Edmontonians up a homebuying and home-building peak and then plunged them down a subsequent slide, the market now looks much like the level track of 10 years ago.
"During the 10 years, you`ve seen almost a full cycle," said Barry Hanna, who was president of the Edmonton Real Estate Board in 2000.
"We`ve seen the whole thing go up and come back down again."
One difference remains after 10 years. Prices are considerably higher now; for the first 11 months of 2009, the average selling price of a single-family house was $362,165 compared with $139,966 in 2000. Still, that`s nearly 10 per cent down from the 2007 peak of $400,304.
Hanna, who now teaches at his Real Estate Training Institute, recalls that 2000 had a feeling of optimism after the bleak 1980s and 1990s.
Read the full article here.
EDMONTON - After toughing out hard times, Edmontonians ventured back into real estate to drive a steady recovery in existing-home sales and housing starts.
Sounds like the present day, but it could also be a recap of 2000.
After a decade-long roller-coaster ride that pushed Edmontonians up a homebuying and home-building peak and then plunged them down a subsequent slide, the market now looks much like the level track of 10 years ago.
"During the 10 years, you`ve seen almost a full cycle," said Barry Hanna, who was president of the Edmonton Real Estate Board in 2000.
"We`ve seen the whole thing go up and come back down again."
One difference remains after 10 years. Prices are considerably higher now; for the first 11 months of 2009, the average selling price of a single-family house was $362,165 compared with $139,966 in 2000. Still, that`s nearly 10 per cent down from the 2007 peak of $400,304.
Hanna, who now teaches at his Real Estate Training Institute, recalls that 2000 had a feeling of optimism after the bleak 1980s and 1990s.
Read the full article here.