Friday, December 26, 2008
Solar Meets Polar as Winter Curbs Clean Energy
Old Man Winter, it turns out, is no friend of renewable energy.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
John Kennedy led us on a journey to discover the moon. Obama needs to lead us on a journey to rediscover, rebuild and reinvent our own backyard.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Enough Rhetoric, Already
By Bruce JohnstoneDecember 6,
Now that Stephen Harper has got his "Get Out of Parliament Free'' card from Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, what will the PM do for the next six or seven weeks?
Will he use his reprieve from certain defeat in the House of Commons to mend fences with the opposition parties and seek their advice in building a new fiscal plan for Canada?
Will he open his heart and his door at 24 Sussex Dr. to new ideas and a new willingness to work towards the common goal of "peace, order and good government"?
Or will Harper continue to play his divisive game of divide and conquer and seek to drive a wedge between the opposition parties and a stake into the heart of the Liberal-NDP coalition?
Well, it's early yet and it is the festive season, so there's always hope that Harper will undergo a Scrooge-like conversion and emerge from this near-political-death experience a changed man.
Read More Here
Now that Stephen Harper has got his "Get Out of Parliament Free'' card from Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, what will the PM do for the next six or seven weeks?
Will he use his reprieve from certain defeat in the House of Commons to mend fences with the opposition parties and seek their advice in building a new fiscal plan for Canada?
Will he open his heart and his door at 24 Sussex Dr. to new ideas and a new willingness to work towards the common goal of "peace, order and good government"?
Or will Harper continue to play his divisive game of divide and conquer and seek to drive a wedge between the opposition parties and a stake into the heart of the Liberal-NDP coalition?
Well, it's early yet and it is the festive season, so there's always hope that Harper will undergo a Scrooge-like conversion and emerge from this near-political-death experience a changed man.
Read More Here
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Estevan Came Close To Being Preferred Site For Nuclear Power Plant
By Norm Park of The Mercury
According to the Saskatchewan government administration and Bruce Power officials, southeast Saskatchewan and the Estevan area in particular, was nearly selected as a preferred site to build a 1,000 megawatt nuclear powered electrical generating station.
The company released its feasibility study last week and it revealed that Estevan and area scored high on the desirability index but ultimately finished second behind a preferred location somewhere between North Battleford and Prince Albert in northwest Saskatchewan beginning sometime in 2011.
....
Read More from Park HERE and reaction from Business Manager Neil Collins
Sask. Party likes nuclear pitch
According to the Saskatchewan government administration and Bruce Power officials, southeast Saskatchewan and the Estevan area in particular, was nearly selected as a preferred site to build a 1,000 megawatt nuclear powered electrical generating station.
The company released its feasibility study last week and it revealed that Estevan and area scored high on the desirability index but ultimately finished second behind a preferred location somewhere between North Battleford and Prince Albert in northwest Saskatchewan beginning sometime in 2011.
....
Read More from Park HERE and reaction from Business Manager Neil Collins
Sask. Party likes nuclear pitch
When a Job Disappears, So Does the Health Care
By ROBERT PEAR Published: December 6, 2008
ASHLAND, Ohio — As jobless numbers reach levels not seen in 25 years, another crisis is unfolding for millions of people who lost their health insurance along with their jobs, joining the ranks of the uninsured.
The crisis is on display here. Starla D. Darling, 27, was pregnant when she learned that her insurance coverage was about to end. She rushed to the hospital, took a medication to induce labor and then had an emergency Caesarean section, in the hope that her Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan would pay for the delivery.
Read More From Pear HERE
ASHLAND, Ohio — As jobless numbers reach levels not seen in 25 years, another crisis is unfolding for millions of people who lost their health insurance along with their jobs, joining the ranks of the uninsured.
The crisis is on display here. Starla D. Darling, 27, was pregnant when she learned that her insurance coverage was about to end. She rushed to the hospital, took a medication to induce labor and then had an emergency Caesarean section, in the hope that her Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan would pay for the delivery.
Read More From Pear HERE
Saturday, November 29, 2008
IBEW Local 2067 Encouraged by Bruce Power Feasibility Study Findings
For Immediate Release
REGINA Nov 27th - IBEW Local 2067 expressed their strong support for Bruce Power's feasibility study release today identifying a possible role for nuclear in Saskatchewan's energy future. A facility could create 1000 jobs for 60 years and reduce greenhouse gases. The facility would generate thousands of jobs in the construction phase as well not to mention the spin-off jobs throughout our province.
"As Saskatchewan continues to grow and prosper so will our need for clean electricity. Developing a nuclear option for the province is good for jobs, security of supply and our environment" said Neil Collins, IBEW Local 2067 Business Manager.
The report provides the people of Saskatchewan a clear sense of the viability of the nuclear option.
"We support Bruce Power's approach to being open and transparent and look forward to further dialogue with them on the nuclear option" The nuclear option has the opportunity to work in unison with SaskPower’s decision of utilizing clean coal technology on the existing coal fleet to lessen the impact of our environmental footprint" added Collins.
For additional information contact:
Neil Collins
Buisness Manager & Financial Secretary
I.B.E.W Local 2067
(306) 352-1433
http://www.ibew2067.com/
Read the news release from Bruce Power
Read the news release from the Government of Saskatchewan
Sides weigh in on nuclear power in Sask.
REGINA Nov 27th - IBEW Local 2067 expressed their strong support for Bruce Power's feasibility study release today identifying a possible role for nuclear in Saskatchewan's energy future. A facility could create 1000 jobs for 60 years and reduce greenhouse gases. The facility would generate thousands of jobs in the construction phase as well not to mention the spin-off jobs throughout our province.
"As Saskatchewan continues to grow and prosper so will our need for clean electricity. Developing a nuclear option for the province is good for jobs, security of supply and our environment" said Neil Collins, IBEW Local 2067 Business Manager.
The report provides the people of Saskatchewan a clear sense of the viability of the nuclear option.
"We support Bruce Power's approach to being open and transparent and look forward to further dialogue with them on the nuclear option" The nuclear option has the opportunity to work in unison with SaskPower’s decision of utilizing clean coal technology on the existing coal fleet to lessen the impact of our environmental footprint" added Collins.
For additional information contact:
Neil Collins
Buisness Manager & Financial Secretary
I.B.E.W Local 2067
(306) 352-1433
http://www.ibew2067.com/
Read the news release from Bruce Power
Read the news release from the Government of Saskatchewan
Sides weigh in on nuclear power in Sask.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Saskatchewan region ID'd as viable spot for nuclear plant
Cassandra Kyle, TheStarPhoenix.comPublished: Thursday, November 27, 2008
Plant would create 2,000 new jobs during construction, plus 1,000 permanent jobs: CEO
Read More From Cassandra HERE
Plant would create 2,000 new jobs during construction, plus 1,000 permanent jobs: CEO
Read More From Cassandra HERE
Friday, November 21, 2008
Leader of UFCW Canada points to "EI Solution" for pension crisis
Wayne Hanley, the leader of Canada’s largest private sector union says some of the EI surplus of $52 billion should be used immediately to safeguard workers’ pension plans battered by the meltdown of the credit crisis.
“The Employment Insurance contributions paid by workers built up that surplus and continue to,” says Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.
“Now use that surplus, as well as a portion of future EI premiums to help workers’ pension plans weather the financial crisis and to improve the funding of those plans.”
Even before the onset of the current dive in the stock market, in the first quarter of 2008 alone the asset base of workers’ pension plans eroded by more than $100 billion. As a result, many plans have been put in jeopardy, or have fallen below the level of assets required under statutory requirements. The result could mean a cutback in what pensioners were expected to receive, or a massive hit to employers to infuse more cash to bring pension fund assets back up to required levels, or both.
Read More from UFCW HERE
“The Employment Insurance contributions paid by workers built up that surplus and continue to,” says Hanley, the National President of UFCW Canada.
“Now use that surplus, as well as a portion of future EI premiums to help workers’ pension plans weather the financial crisis and to improve the funding of those plans.”
Even before the onset of the current dive in the stock market, in the first quarter of 2008 alone the asset base of workers’ pension plans eroded by more than $100 billion. As a result, many plans have been put in jeopardy, or have fallen below the level of assets required under statutory requirements. The result could mean a cutback in what pensioners were expected to receive, or a massive hit to employers to infuse more cash to bring pension fund assets back up to required levels, or both.
Read More from UFCW HERE
Thursday, November 20, 2008
ACTION ALERT: Re-negotiate NAFTA now!
Governments and big business have spent the last 15 years telling us that free trade is good for us. But Canadians know better. The Council of Canadians has found that 61% of Canadians agree that NAFTA should be renegotiated to include enforceable labour and environmental standards.
Why?
Why?
Legislation threatens talks
Angela Hall, Leader-PostPublished: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
"So far what we've seen from the employer's perspective is about 95 per cent of the employees within CUPE's jurisdiction being declared essential at this point," he said, as he was joined by representatives from the Service Employees International Union (SEIUWEST) and the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union.
Read More From Hall HERE
Province's approach essentially flawed
List of essential services still being compiled
"So far what we've seen from the employer's perspective is about 95 per cent of the employees within CUPE's jurisdiction being declared essential at this point," he said, as he was joined by representatives from the Service Employees International Union (SEIUWEST) and the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union.
Read More From Hall HERE
Province's approach essentially flawed
List of essential services still being compiled
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Plans on track for Bruce plant
Joanne Paulson, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News ServicePublished: Saturday, November 15, 2008
SASKATOON -- A Saskatchewan nuclear power plant would contribute $4 billion to the economy and generate 20,000 direct jobs during its construction, the president and CEO of Bruce Power told a business crowd in Saskatoon Friday.
Duncan Hawthorne said the plant would cost $8 to $10 billion in total to build, and ultimately employ 1,000 people full-time, many of those university graduates. It would also contribute about $240 million annually to the provincial economy. "We're talking about a very, very significant impact to Saskatchewan's economy."
Bruce Power, the private operator of nuclear plants in Ontario, is on track to complete its feasibility study on nuclear power in Saskatchewan by the end of this year, Hawthorne said. The company announced that it would embark on the study in June.
Read More From Joanne HERE
SASKATOON -- A Saskatchewan nuclear power plant would contribute $4 billion to the economy and generate 20,000 direct jobs during its construction, the president and CEO of Bruce Power told a business crowd in Saskatoon Friday.
Duncan Hawthorne said the plant would cost $8 to $10 billion in total to build, and ultimately employ 1,000 people full-time, many of those university graduates. It would also contribute about $240 million annually to the provincial economy. "We're talking about a very, very significant impact to Saskatchewan's economy."
Bruce Power, the private operator of nuclear plants in Ontario, is on track to complete its feasibility study on nuclear power in Saskatchewan by the end of this year, Hawthorne said. The company announced that it would embark on the study in June.
Read More From Joanne HERE
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Scientists say a rock can soak up carbon dioxide
By Timothy Gardner
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A rock found mostly in Oman can be harnessed to soak up the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide at a rate that could help slow global warming, scientists say.
When carbon dioxide comes in contact with the rock, peridotite, the gas is converted into solid minerals such as calcite.
Geologist Peter Kelemen and geochemist Juerg Matter said the naturally occurring process can be supercharged 1 million times to grow underground minerals that can permanently store 2 billion or more of the 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by human activity every year
Read More HERE
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A rock found mostly in Oman can be harnessed to soak up the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide at a rate that could help slow global warming, scientists say.
When carbon dioxide comes in contact with the rock, peridotite, the gas is converted into solid minerals such as calcite.
Geologist Peter Kelemen and geochemist Juerg Matter said the naturally occurring process can be supercharged 1 million times to grow underground minerals that can permanently store 2 billion or more of the 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by human activity every year
Read More HERE
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Obama Wins Election
Senator Barack Obama with his wife, Michelle, and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. with his wife, Jill, in Chicago on Tuesday night. More Photos >
By ADAM NAGOURNEY Published: November 4, 2008
Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.
Read More From Adam HERE
Taking pills? Avoid the juice
Sharon Kirkey , Canwest News ServicePublished: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A leading Canadian researcher is warning people about taking their daily dose of prescription pills with orange or apple juice - nearly 20 years after his earlier caution about grapefruit juice prompted sticker warnings on drug vials.
David Bailey and colleagues announced to a startled - and skeptical - medical world in 1991 that grapefruit juice can boost the amount of certain drugs absorbed into the bloodstream two- to threefold, turning normal doses into potentially toxic overdoses. Today, nearly 50 drugs carry labels warning about the so-called Grapefruit Juice Effect.
Now, in another surprise discovery, Bailey is reporting that grapefruit juice - as well as orange and apple juice - also appears to do the opposite by substantially lowering the absorption of certain other drugs, including certain antibiotics and drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease
Read More From Sharon HERE
A leading Canadian researcher is warning people about taking their daily dose of prescription pills with orange or apple juice - nearly 20 years after his earlier caution about grapefruit juice prompted sticker warnings on drug vials.
David Bailey and colleagues announced to a startled - and skeptical - medical world in 1991 that grapefruit juice can boost the amount of certain drugs absorbed into the bloodstream two- to threefold, turning normal doses into potentially toxic overdoses. Today, nearly 50 drugs carry labels warning about the so-called Grapefruit Juice Effect.
Now, in another surprise discovery, Bailey is reporting that grapefruit juice - as well as orange and apple juice - also appears to do the opposite by substantially lowering the absorption of certain other drugs, including certain antibiotics and drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease
Read More From Sharon HERE
Monday, November 3, 2008
Ont. government opposes two possible new nuclear reactors from Bruce Power
Allison Jones, THE CANADIAN PRESS 31 October 2008 18:31:00
TORONTO - Proposed plans by Bruce Power to build two new nuclear reactors on the shores of Lake Erie met with strong opposition from the Ontario government Friday.
The only private nuclear generating company in Canada will conduct an environmental assessment as it considers building two reactors at the former Stelco lands in Nanticoke in southwestern Ontario.
Read More from Jones HERE
TORONTO - Proposed plans by Bruce Power to build two new nuclear reactors on the shores of Lake Erie met with strong opposition from the Ontario government Friday.
The only private nuclear generating company in Canada will conduct an environmental assessment as it considers building two reactors at the former Stelco lands in Nanticoke in southwestern Ontario.
Read More from Jones HERE
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Oil royalties could give Sask. $2.7B more: economist
Neil Scott, Leader-PostPublished: Friday, October 24, 2008
Erin Weir, an economist employed by the United Steelworkers Union, said the tax breaks provided to Saskatchewan citizens by the provincial government earlier this week only cost an amount equal to about one-ninth of the revenues lost by the province by not charging oil companies appropriate royalties.
"The government of Saskatchewan has some room to increase oil royalties,'' Weir told an audience of more than 600 at the Conexus Arts Centre.
Weir said he believes there was room last year for the provincial government to have charged $2.7 billion more in oil royalties while still leaving oil companies room to make an adequate profit.
The provincial government could also have earned about $800 million more last year by raising potash royalties, Weir said.
Read more from Scott HERE
Erin Weir, an economist employed by the United Steelworkers Union, said the tax breaks provided to Saskatchewan citizens by the provincial government earlier this week only cost an amount equal to about one-ninth of the revenues lost by the province by not charging oil companies appropriate royalties.
"The government of Saskatchewan has some room to increase oil royalties,'' Weir told an audience of more than 600 at the Conexus Arts Centre.
Weir said he believes there was room last year for the provincial government to have charged $2.7 billion more in oil royalties while still leaving oil companies room to make an adequate profit.
The provincial government could also have earned about $800 million more last year by raising potash royalties, Weir said.
Read more from Scott HERE
Gov't needs to respect labour: SFL
Neil Scott, The Leader-PostPublished: Saturday, October 25, 2008
"It doesn't have to be that way,'' Hubich said in an interview. The SFL is open to having improved relations with the provincial government, he added.
But "the ball is clearly in the government's court,'' Hubich said.
Relations between the province and labour will improve "if they're prepared to give the same level of respect,'' to labour as is provided to business interests and organizations, Hubich said.
READ MORE from Scott
Labour, Sask. Party equally to blame
"It doesn't have to be that way,'' Hubich said in an interview. The SFL is open to having improved relations with the provincial government, he added.
But "the ball is clearly in the government's court,'' Hubich said.
Relations between the province and labour will improve "if they're prepared to give the same level of respect,'' to labour as is provided to business interests and organizations, Hubich said.
READ MORE from Scott
Labour, Sask. Party equally to blame
Gov't may levy big polluters
James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, October 24, 2008
The Saskatchewan Party government may not meet its initial climate change target of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions by 2010, forcing it to introduce levies on big polluters, Premier Brad Wall said Thursday.
Read more HERE
Published: Friday, October 24, 2008
The Saskatchewan Party government may not meet its initial climate change target of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions by 2010, forcing it to introduce levies on big polluters, Premier Brad Wall said Thursday.
Read more HERE
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The whole idea of the McCain plan is to get families out of employer-paid health coverage and into the health insurance marketplace, where naked competition is supposed to take care of all ills. (We’re seeing in the Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch fiascos just how well the unfettered marketplace has been working.)
Taxing employer-paid health benefits is the first step in this transition, the equivalent of injecting poison into the system. It’s the beginning of the end.
When younger, healthier workers start seeing additional taxes taken out of their paychecks, some (perhaps many) will opt out of the employer-based plans — either to buy cheaper insurance on their own or to go without coverage.
That will leave employers with a pool of older, less healthy workers to cover. That coverage will necessarily be more expensive, which will encourage more and more employers to give up on the idea of providing coverage at all.
Read More from By BOB HERBERT
Published: September 15, 2008
HERE
Taxing employer-paid health benefits is the first step in this transition, the equivalent of injecting poison into the system. It’s the beginning of the end.
When younger, healthier workers start seeing additional taxes taken out of their paychecks, some (perhaps many) will opt out of the employer-based plans — either to buy cheaper insurance on their own or to go without coverage.
That will leave employers with a pool of older, less healthy workers to cover. That coverage will necessarily be more expensive, which will encourage more and more employers to give up on the idea of providing coverage at all.
Read More from By BOB HERBERT
Published: September 15, 2008
HERE
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Report urges Sask., Alta. to go nuclear
Hanneke Brooymans, Canwest News ServicePublished: Thursday, September 11, 2008
EDMONTON -- Nuclear power offers Alberta and Saskatchewan more opportunities than challenges and both provinces should develop the industry, says a new report by the Canada West Foundation intended to push them toward embracing the nuclear option.
Read more from Brooymans HERE
EDMONTON -- Nuclear power offers Alberta and Saskatchewan more opportunities than challenges and both provinces should develop the industry, says a new report by the Canada West Foundation intended to push them toward embracing the nuclear option.
Read more from Brooymans HERE
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Canadian businesses clearly have a major advantage, because most of their employees’ medical costs are covered by our universal public health care system. And though many pay for extended coverage for services like dental care and pharmaceuticals, the costs aren’t anywhere close to what U.S. companies must absorb.
PROFIT and Canada’s competitive advantage
PROFIT and Canada’s competitive advantage
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
U.S. Employee Free Choice Act
Barack Obama, the 2008 Presidential candidate for the Democrats, supports the Bill. An original cosponsor of the EFCA, Senator Obama urged his colleagues to pass the bill during a 2007 motion to proceed:
“
I support this bill because in order to restore a sense of shared prosperity and security, we need to help working Americans exercise their right to organize under a fair and free process and bargain for their fair share of the wealth our country creates.
The current process for organizing a workplace denies too many workers the ability to do so. The Employee Free Choice Act offers to make binding an alternative process under which a majority of employees can sign up to join a union. Currently, employers can choose to accept--but are not bound by law to accept--the signed decision of a majority of workers. That choice should be left up to workers and workers alone.”
Employee Free Choice Act
For more on the U.S. Employee Free Choice Act click here....
“
I support this bill because in order to restore a sense of shared prosperity and security, we need to help working Americans exercise their right to organize under a fair and free process and bargain for their fair share of the wealth our country creates.
The current process for organizing a workplace denies too many workers the ability to do so. The Employee Free Choice Act offers to make binding an alternative process under which a majority of employees can sign up to join a union. Currently, employers can choose to accept--but are not bound by law to accept--the signed decision of a majority of workers. That choice should be left up to workers and workers alone.”
Employee Free Choice Act
For more on the U.S. Employee Free Choice Act click here....
Friday, September 5, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
State of the Union: Stanford
Far from further weakening workers' ability to form unions, it's time to push the pendulum back the other way -- as is occurring in Australia. Without strong unions, no society has ever achieved truly mass, inclusive prosperity for average working people. Workers need unions to ensure a decent share of the wealth they produce; the so-called "free market" will never provide that.
Jim Stanford, Financial Post Published: Monday, September 01, 2008
Find out MORE
SFL files historic international complaint
The New Face of Unionbusting
Jim Stanford, Financial Post Published: Monday, September 01, 2008
Find out MORE
SFL files historic international complaint
The New Face of Unionbusting
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Shattered to Rock IBEW 2067 Conference
Brothers Denny Klatt, Cory Gellner with Band Mates J.D. Michel and Brad Belitski to perform Friday night Oct 17th for IBEW 2067 delegates.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Feeling No Pain
The truth, of course, is that visiting the emergency room in a medical crisis is no substitute for regular care. Furthermore, while a hospital will treat you whether or not you can pay, it will also bill you — and the bill won’t be waived unless you’re destitute. As a result, uninsured working Americans avoid visiting emergency rooms if at all possible, because they’re terrified by the potential cost: medical expenses are one of the prime causes of personal bankruptcy.
By PAUL KRUGMAN - Feeling No Pain
By PAUL KRUGMAN - Feeling No Pain
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Cities Debate Privatizing Public Infrastructure
Cleaning up road kill and maintaining runways may not sound like cutting-edge investments. But banks and funds with big money seem to think so. By JENNY ANDERSON
Reeling from more exotic investments that imploded during the credit crisis, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are among the investors who have amassed an estimated $250 billion war chest — much of it raised in the last two years — to finance a tidal wave of infrastructure projects in the United States and overseas.
Read More HERE
Reeling from more exotic investments that imploded during the credit crisis, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the Carlyle Group, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are among the investors who have amassed an estimated $250 billion war chest — much of it raised in the last two years — to finance a tidal wave of infrastructure projects in the United States and overseas.
Read More HERE
The Energy Challenge
Mike Groll/Associated PressWhen the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing. By MATTHEW L. WALD
Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism
Pluto Press, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and Fernwood Publishing Inc. have jointly issued Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism, by Jim Stanford. Jim is one of Canada's best-known economists: he works for the Canadian Auto Workers, and writes a regular economics column for the Globe and Mail.Economics for Everyone
Download a PDF Poster of the event here.
Doug Arden To Perform at IBEW 2067 Conference
Doug’s incredibly entertaining comedy variety show is what many clients have described as the “perfect corporate entertainment”. Unlike “one dimensional” acts such as stand-up comedians, or traditional magicians, Doug’s creative blend of clean comedy, incredible magic and hilarious ventriloquism is a show that has something for literally everyone! The performance is a radical departure from traditional magic shows, and has become a leading entertainment choice for corporate and community events across Canada.Doug Arden
Dr. Karyn Gordon to Spaeak at IBEW 2067 Conference
Dr. Karyn is frequently interviewed by national media to share her expert opinions on understanding Generation Y. For 3 years she hosted and executive produced her own music talk-show, “Spill Your Guts” in which she interviewed rock stars (i.e. Everclear, Sum 41, Our Lady Peace, Matchbox 20 and many others) about the lessons they learned as teenagers (Global TV Canwest). For 2 years she hosted her own radio talk show, ‘Bridging the Gap’ (Newstalk 1010, CFRB) and for the last 4 years she has been the expert on the TV show, “The Mom Show” (Slice Network).
Dr Karyn
Jim Warren to Address IBEW 2067 Conference
This book is created for the working people it celebrates. In a plain-spoken and engaging narrative style, it captures the events, and the personalities, that shaped the working people of Saskatchewan, and the life of the province that those workers built. The authors tell the fascinating tale of jobs, working conditions, and the attempts to effect meaningful changes in the condition of workers’ lives.
On the Side of the People
Slave labor in America
In his gripping investigative book Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy, John Bowe tells the story of workers who are literally or virtually enslaved to fatten the profits of dozens of American food and clothing chains, including Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Burger King, PepsiCo, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, and others. In this excerpt, he outlines the shocking facts about migrant farm workers.Nobodies by John Bowe.
Massachusetts Officials Say Corrosion Led to Fatal Boiler Explosion
Massachusetts safety officials have found that defective welding and corrosion led to a boiler explosion at the Salem Harbor Springs power plant that killed three workers.
Read the Report
Read the Report
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Just How Big is the Bakken?
Only a huge, but now diminishing oil field in Saudi Arabia is capable of pumping more conventional oil out of the ground right now. The Bakken play which stretches from Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and up into southeast Saskatchewan and southwest Manitoba is just beginning to tap its potential.
From Norm Park: Original Story
Still no Limits to the mad rush known as the Bakken
From Norm Park: Original Story
Still no Limits to the mad rush known as the Bakken
Green shift for a warming planet
Securing Saskatchewan's brightest future: The Green Shift levy on carbon pollution would apply at the wholesale level in the marketing process, which effectively spreads the impact broadly among both producers and consumers. It's not left to any one sector or region to carry the load.
But it's in the positioning of Saskatchewan as a brainy, progressive environmental performer that this province really stands to gain.
Ralph Goodale
Green Shift will make us efficient
But it's in the positioning of Saskatchewan as a brainy, progressive environmental performer that this province really stands to gain.
Ralph Goodale
Green Shift will make us efficient
The Wind at His back
‘Europe’s Al Gore’ has already revolutionized the energy grid in Germany. Now, Hermann Scheer is challenging Canada to do the same
From Vancouver Peak Oil Via: CHRIS TURNER
From Vancouver Peak Oil Via: CHRIS TURNER
Check credit rating annually
Reviewing your credit report on a regular basis can also be a good defence against identity theft. By reviewing your credit report you are able to see if there are any suspicious credit card accounts or loans that may be the result of someone obtaining your personal information fraudulently.
From Rick Soparlo,
From Rick Soparlo,
Workers, citizens miss potash profits
In fact, stock options held by top PCS executives are worth more than the wages paid to all PCS employees and royalties paid to the Government of Saskatchewan last year.
Read More from Ken Neumann HERE
Read More from Ken Neumann HERE
Is Nuclear the Answer to Global Warming?
Cost comparisons of nuclear vs. sustainable,
renewable alternatives should put the final nail in
the nuclear coffin. While the nuclear industry says
new reactors could produce electricity for 6-7 cents
per kWh, these estimates depend on the nuclear
industry continuing to be heavily subsidized by the
taxpayer. When the cost of borrowing money is
factored in, Ontario’s Energy Probe estimates that
subsidies to the AECL total around $75 billion.
Several studies (e.g. reported in New Scientist, and
discussed in Helen Caldicotts new book) have
shown that without these direct and hidden
subsidies, the cost of nuclear would increase threefold
(i.e. 300%) to the consumer. This holds true for
Ontario’s Hydro’s consumers who suffer from a
serious case of “nuclear dependence”, which has
created a public debt of $35 billion.
Read more from Jim Harding, HERE
renewable alternatives should put the final nail in
the nuclear coffin. While the nuclear industry says
new reactors could produce electricity for 6-7 cents
per kWh, these estimates depend on the nuclear
industry continuing to be heavily subsidized by the
taxpayer. When the cost of borrowing money is
factored in, Ontario’s Energy Probe estimates that
subsidies to the AECL total around $75 billion.
Several studies (e.g. reported in New Scientist, and
discussed in Helen Caldicotts new book) have
shown that without these direct and hidden
subsidies, the cost of nuclear would increase threefold
(i.e. 300%) to the consumer. This holds true for
Ontario’s Hydro’s consumers who suffer from a
serious case of “nuclear dependence”, which has
created a public debt of $35 billion.
Read more from Jim Harding, HERE
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Coalition members meet with ministers
Norm park - Estevan Mercury
Members of the Estevan and area Clean Coal Coalition travelled to Regina last Wednesday morning (July 9) to meet with members of the provincial cabinet. They came away from the session feeling a little more optimistic about a clean coal project in southeast Saskatchewan than they did going into the session.
The four members of the Estevan team consisted of coalition chairman Herb Padwick, Mayor Gary St. Onge, Greg Hoffort, secretary-treasurer for the RM of Estevan and Jim Wilson, member-at-large.
The foursome met with Ken Cheveldayoff, minister of Crown Corporations and Dan D'Autremont, minister of Government Services. MLA Doreen Eagles was unable to attend due to family concerns and Lyle Stewart, Minister of Enterprise and Innovation, who was also scheduled to meet with the local group, made just a brief appearance, informing them he had another appointment that conflicted with the Estevan group's assigned time.
"We received some assurances that coal and clean coal will figure into the future and our area is part of that mix," said Padwick on Thursday morning following the meeting.
He said the local group felt compelled to arrange the meeting for a couple of reasons. The recent announcement and follow-up rumours surrounding nuclear power options in Saskatchewan made the local group more than a little nervous as did the fact that there have been no announcements or decisions made regarding a proposed $1.4 billion clean coal, carbon dioxide sequestration project at Boundary Dam.
"We hadn't heard a thing since the project was re-announced this past winter," said Padwick.
The group said they heard from Cheveldayoff that Saskatchewan and Alberta are working on CO2 recovery projects using different technologies and will be sharing the information to determine which one can be used in the future.
"It was generally short on details, but he did tell us that Premier Wall had met with Premier Stelmach (Alberta) on the subject," said Padwick.
"We received some assurances, but at the same time heard that right now, everything is being considered. We're not necessarily anti-nuclear or anti-anything at this stage, we're just pro-coal and we need to protect some jobs here."
Padwick said that both ministers were very positive in terms of future coal based projects but so far nothing had been said about the possibilities of building a 300 to 450 megawatt addition to the Shand Power Station.
The Estevan group took a list of 10 questions with them and presented them to the ministers who promised them a written response to the queries within 10 working days. Padwick said those written responses could tell the local citizens a lot about the government's commitment to a clean coal project in southeast Saskatchewan.
Read More From Park HERE
Also
Answers on clean coal project start to emerge
NDP Trio Visits Energy City
Members of the Estevan and area Clean Coal Coalition travelled to Regina last Wednesday morning (July 9) to meet with members of the provincial cabinet. They came away from the session feeling a little more optimistic about a clean coal project in southeast Saskatchewan than they did going into the session.
The four members of the Estevan team consisted of coalition chairman Herb Padwick, Mayor Gary St. Onge, Greg Hoffort, secretary-treasurer for the RM of Estevan and Jim Wilson, member-at-large.
The foursome met with Ken Cheveldayoff, minister of Crown Corporations and Dan D'Autremont, minister of Government Services. MLA Doreen Eagles was unable to attend due to family concerns and Lyle Stewart, Minister of Enterprise and Innovation, who was also scheduled to meet with the local group, made just a brief appearance, informing them he had another appointment that conflicted with the Estevan group's assigned time.
"We received some assurances that coal and clean coal will figure into the future and our area is part of that mix," said Padwick on Thursday morning following the meeting.
He said the local group felt compelled to arrange the meeting for a couple of reasons. The recent announcement and follow-up rumours surrounding nuclear power options in Saskatchewan made the local group more than a little nervous as did the fact that there have been no announcements or decisions made regarding a proposed $1.4 billion clean coal, carbon dioxide sequestration project at Boundary Dam.
"We hadn't heard a thing since the project was re-announced this past winter," said Padwick.
The group said they heard from Cheveldayoff that Saskatchewan and Alberta are working on CO2 recovery projects using different technologies and will be sharing the information to determine which one can be used in the future.
"It was generally short on details, but he did tell us that Premier Wall had met with Premier Stelmach (Alberta) on the subject," said Padwick.
"We received some assurances, but at the same time heard that right now, everything is being considered. We're not necessarily anti-nuclear or anti-anything at this stage, we're just pro-coal and we need to protect some jobs here."
Padwick said that both ministers were very positive in terms of future coal based projects but so far nothing had been said about the possibilities of building a 300 to 450 megawatt addition to the Shand Power Station.
The Estevan group took a list of 10 questions with them and presented them to the ministers who promised them a written response to the queries within 10 working days. Padwick said those written responses could tell the local citizens a lot about the government's commitment to a clean coal project in southeast Saskatchewan.
Read More From Park HERE
Also
Answers on clean coal project start to emerge
NDP Trio Visits Energy City
Electrical union threatens walkout
Darcy Henton, The Edmonton JournalPublished: Thursday, July 17
EDMONTON - More than 450 workers who operate TransAlta's power plants plan to walk off the job Friday for five hours, but the utility says electrical generation in the province won't be disrupted.
The workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, served TransAlta with notice earlier this week of the planned walkout to back demands for a new collective agreement, said Local 254 assistant business manager Carter Woloszyn.
"We ran into some problems," he said. "We didn't feel we were getting a rich enough offer."
The union, which represents workers at Sundance, Wabamun and Keephills plants west of Edmonton as well as 13 hydro plants, says its members will also refuse to work overtime until a new deal is reached.
Woloszyn said TransAlta responded by announcing plans to lock out employees during the strike action.
Both sides planned to meet today to try to avert the brief walkout.
"Hopefully we can resolve our outstanding issues," Woloszyn said.
TransAlta spokesman Michael Lawrence said management will operate the plants during the walkout.
"This won't affect the safety or the reliability of the Alberta power grid in any fashion whatsoever," said Lawrence. "It's disappointing that the members voted to take this action, especially since we've been working with their leadership for the past eight months to provide them with a very competitive offer."
He said TransAlta remains confident it can reach an agreement with the union.
The union said the strike will be the first labour disruption in the 58-year history of negotiations with TransAlta.
Workers say they are looking for the same $13,000 bonus, paid out in $500 increments every two weeks, that Epcor workers are receiving.
Read More HERE
EDMONTON - More than 450 workers who operate TransAlta's power plants plan to walk off the job Friday for five hours, but the utility says electrical generation in the province won't be disrupted.
The workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, served TransAlta with notice earlier this week of the planned walkout to back demands for a new collective agreement, said Local 254 assistant business manager Carter Woloszyn.
"We ran into some problems," he said. "We didn't feel we were getting a rich enough offer."
The union, which represents workers at Sundance, Wabamun and Keephills plants west of Edmonton as well as 13 hydro plants, says its members will also refuse to work overtime until a new deal is reached.
Woloszyn said TransAlta responded by announcing plans to lock out employees during the strike action.
Both sides planned to meet today to try to avert the brief walkout.
"Hopefully we can resolve our outstanding issues," Woloszyn said.
TransAlta spokesman Michael Lawrence said management will operate the plants during the walkout.
"This won't affect the safety or the reliability of the Alberta power grid in any fashion whatsoever," said Lawrence. "It's disappointing that the members voted to take this action, especially since we've been working with their leadership for the past eight months to provide them with a very competitive offer."
He said TransAlta remains confident it can reach an agreement with the union.
The union said the strike will be the first labour disruption in the 58-year history of negotiations with TransAlta.
Workers say they are looking for the same $13,000 bonus, paid out in $500 increments every two weeks, that Epcor workers are receiving.
Read More HERE
Pensions in Canada inadequate
Talbot Boggs - July 29, 2008: Sympatico MSN
(Special) – A recent report has added still more depressing data to the growing plethora of evidence indicating Canadians aren't financially prepared for retirement.
The Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) says in a report the typical pension plans being offered to Canadian workers won't make a "meaningful" contribution to the creation of an adequate retirement income for them.
The report, Delivering the Potential of DC Savings Plans, says that only 25 per cent of people working for private employers have a registered pension plan of any sort, and employers are favouring group Retirement Savings Plans or no plans at all over defined contribution plans.
Other reports show that between 1991 and 2004, the number of paid workers in Canada covered by a Registered Pension Plan declined to 39 per cent from 45.3 per cent at the same time as the proportion of workers covered by defined benefit pension plans is declining.
Individual and group RSPs are defined contribution plans in which the amount of contribution is fixed at a certain level while benefits vary depending on the return from investments.
In some cases, employees make voluntary contributions into a tax-deferred account which may or may not be matched by employers. The level of contribution may be selected by the employee within a range set by the employer, usually between two and 10 per cent of annual salary.
Defined-contribution pension plans, unlike defined-benefit pension plans, give the employee options of where to invest, usually in stock, bond, and money market accounts.
A defined-benefit pension plan, however, promises to pay a specified amount (based on a predetermined formula) to each person who retires after a set number of years of service.
Defined-contribution plans have become increasingly popular in recent years because they limit a company's pension outlay and shift the liability for investment performance from the company's pension plan to employees.
A recent study by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the University of Waterloo concludes that two thirds of Canadian households expecting to retire in 2030 are not saving enough to meet necessary living expenses such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, health care and taxes.
Read More From Boggs HERE
(Special) – A recent report has added still more depressing data to the growing plethora of evidence indicating Canadians aren't financially prepared for retirement.
The Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) says in a report the typical pension plans being offered to Canadian workers won't make a "meaningful" contribution to the creation of an adequate retirement income for them.
The report, Delivering the Potential of DC Savings Plans, says that only 25 per cent of people working for private employers have a registered pension plan of any sort, and employers are favouring group Retirement Savings Plans or no plans at all over defined contribution plans.
Other reports show that between 1991 and 2004, the number of paid workers in Canada covered by a Registered Pension Plan declined to 39 per cent from 45.3 per cent at the same time as the proportion of workers covered by defined benefit pension plans is declining.
Individual and group RSPs are defined contribution plans in which the amount of contribution is fixed at a certain level while benefits vary depending on the return from investments.
In some cases, employees make voluntary contributions into a tax-deferred account which may or may not be matched by employers. The level of contribution may be selected by the employee within a range set by the employer, usually between two and 10 per cent of annual salary.
Defined-contribution pension plans, unlike defined-benefit pension plans, give the employee options of where to invest, usually in stock, bond, and money market accounts.
A defined-benefit pension plan, however, promises to pay a specified amount (based on a predetermined formula) to each person who retires after a set number of years of service.
Defined-contribution plans have become increasingly popular in recent years because they limit a company's pension outlay and shift the liability for investment performance from the company's pension plan to employees.
A recent study by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the University of Waterloo concludes that two thirds of Canadian households expecting to retire in 2030 are not saving enough to meet necessary living expenses such as food, shelter, clothing, transportation, health care and taxes.
Read More From Boggs HERE
Monday, July 21, 2008
Blood readings now online
Neil Scott, The Leader-PostPublished: Friday, July 11, 2008
A new high-technology service to record and transmit information about a patient's blood pressure and blood glucose levels was unveiled at a Regina press conference Thursday.
The LifeStat Monitoring and Health Management system is being offered through a partnership between SaskTel and a French-based multi-national company called Alcatel-Lucent, which together have created the Salveo partnership.
Ken Cheveldayoff, Saskatchewan's minister of Crown corporations, said the government was pleased to have SaskTel involved in the partnership to provide the service.
"Not only will it create economic spinoffs but it was also contribute to healthy people,'' Cheveldayoff said.
The new service will create 20 new high-technology jobs in the province and will offer a new service that will not compete with any existing service offered by strictly private sector companies, Cheveldayoff said.
It is "a tremendous success story for SaskTel, Alcatel-Lucent and the province of Saskatchewan,'' he added.
SaskTel and Alcatel-Lucent have both invested $3.5 million in the Salveo partnership. SaskTel will sell the service to Canadian customers while Alcatel-Lucent will market it internationally.
The service records a client's blood pressure and blood glucose readings and transmits the results to secure confidential computer files that can be read online by the client or by the client's authorized health-care professionals.
The information can be transmitted wirelessly, which means the blood pressure and blood glucose test results could still be transmitted even if somebody is away from home or on holidays.
The monthly fee for the service will be about $50.
But SaskTel president Robert Watson said the service will be beneficial and he hopes significant numbers of people will decide to use it.
"We're very excited to provide patients and caregivers with a powerful tool to aid in the effective management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension,'' Watson said.
Andrew Drobot, the assistant vice-president of sales with Alcatel-Lucent, said the LifeStat service fits in well with the future direction of health care "in keeping people healthy in the first place'' by tracking chronic conditions and preventing them from getting out of control and causing a health crisis.
"We're very excited about the prospects for the Salveo project,'' Drobot said.
It is anticipated the initial service related to monitoring blood glucose and blood pressure will eventually be expanded to include tests for congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary failure (breathing problems such as those caused by emphysema and asthma).
A new high-technology service to record and transmit information about a patient's blood pressure and blood glucose levels was unveiled at a Regina press conference Thursday.
The LifeStat Monitoring and Health Management system is being offered through a partnership between SaskTel and a French-based multi-national company called Alcatel-Lucent, which together have created the Salveo partnership.
Ken Cheveldayoff, Saskatchewan's minister of Crown corporations, said the government was pleased to have SaskTel involved in the partnership to provide the service.
"Not only will it create economic spinoffs but it was also contribute to healthy people,'' Cheveldayoff said.
The new service will create 20 new high-technology jobs in the province and will offer a new service that will not compete with any existing service offered by strictly private sector companies, Cheveldayoff said.
It is "a tremendous success story for SaskTel, Alcatel-Lucent and the province of Saskatchewan,'' he added.
SaskTel and Alcatel-Lucent have both invested $3.5 million in the Salveo partnership. SaskTel will sell the service to Canadian customers while Alcatel-Lucent will market it internationally.
The service records a client's blood pressure and blood glucose readings and transmits the results to secure confidential computer files that can be read online by the client or by the client's authorized health-care professionals.
The information can be transmitted wirelessly, which means the blood pressure and blood glucose test results could still be transmitted even if somebody is away from home or on holidays.
The monthly fee for the service will be about $50.
But SaskTel president Robert Watson said the service will be beneficial and he hopes significant numbers of people will decide to use it.
"We're very excited to provide patients and caregivers with a powerful tool to aid in the effective management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension,'' Watson said.
Andrew Drobot, the assistant vice-president of sales with Alcatel-Lucent, said the LifeStat service fits in well with the future direction of health care "in keeping people healthy in the first place'' by tracking chronic conditions and preventing them from getting out of control and causing a health crisis.
"We're very excited about the prospects for the Salveo project,'' Drobot said.
It is anticipated the initial service related to monitoring blood glucose and blood pressure will eventually be expanded to include tests for congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary failure (breathing problems such as those caused by emphysema and asthma).
Crown heads get big paydays
Angela Hall, Leader-PostPublished: Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Some top executives at Saskatchewan's Crown corporations had bigger paydays in 2007 as a new compensation plan took effect.
While some benefited from base salary adjustments, many high-ranking officials also earned performance-based incentives that, in a handful of cases, topped $40,000.
SaskTel president and CEO Robert Watson was among those at the highest-paid end of the list, with 2007 remuneration of $295,051 -- about $61,000 more than in 2006, based on data released by the government Monday.
In addition, Watson received a $45,811 incentive in early 2008 -- the highest amount among the 48 executives who received such a bonus based on their work in 2007.
The numbers reflect an overhaul of the Crown executive compensation plan in December 2006, when the then-NDP government cited a need to retain and attract senior executives.
The new pay package for senior officials meant an average salary increase of 5.5 per cent. Also introduced were new "short-term incentives" that, at the top end, allows some CEOs to earn a bonus of up to 16 per cent of their salary annually.
Read More From Hall HERE
Some top executives at Saskatchewan's Crown corporations had bigger paydays in 2007 as a new compensation plan took effect.
While some benefited from base salary adjustments, many high-ranking officials also earned performance-based incentives that, in a handful of cases, topped $40,000.
SaskTel president and CEO Robert Watson was among those at the highest-paid end of the list, with 2007 remuneration of $295,051 -- about $61,000 more than in 2006, based on data released by the government Monday.
In addition, Watson received a $45,811 incentive in early 2008 -- the highest amount among the 48 executives who received such a bonus based on their work in 2007.
The numbers reflect an overhaul of the Crown executive compensation plan in December 2006, when the then-NDP government cited a need to retain and attract senior executives.
The new pay package for senior officials meant an average salary increase of 5.5 per cent. Also introduced were new "short-term incentives" that, at the top end, allows some CEOs to earn a bonus of up to 16 per cent of their salary annually.
Read More From Hall HERE
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Pre-election debate heats up over tax proposal
Juliet O'Neill, Canwest News ServicePublished: Thursday, June 19, 2008
OTTAWA -- Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's proposal today for a national $10-a-tonne carbon tax sets the stage for a fierce political debate -- possibly the main issue in a federal election campaign -- over how much Canadians are willing to pay to reduce their reliance on fuels that cause climate change.
The Liberal carbon tax would rise $10 annually for four years, topping out at $40 per tonne. Income taxes would be lowered to compensate for higher prices for home-heating fuel, coal-fired electricity and other carbon sources. And a law would be proposed requiring every single penny of carbon-tax revenues be returned to taxpayers.
Gas at the pumps would not be raised, at least in the first year.
Taxpayers will be able to study the detailed plan and how it would affect them at http://www.thegreenshift.ca/ after Dion's anticipated announcement.
Read More From O'Neill HERE
Wall to promote carbon technology
Economic woes dampen G8 climate talks
Pros and cons of carbon tax
Carbon-tax plan may not cut emissions
Dion fouls the West for Grits
A bold attempt to shift us off our carbon addiction
OTTAWA -- Liberal Leader Stephane Dion's proposal today for a national $10-a-tonne carbon tax sets the stage for a fierce political debate -- possibly the main issue in a federal election campaign -- over how much Canadians are willing to pay to reduce their reliance on fuels that cause climate change.
The Liberal carbon tax would rise $10 annually for four years, topping out at $40 per tonne. Income taxes would be lowered to compensate for higher prices for home-heating fuel, coal-fired electricity and other carbon sources. And a law would be proposed requiring every single penny of carbon-tax revenues be returned to taxpayers.
Gas at the pumps would not be raised, at least in the first year.
Taxpayers will be able to study the detailed plan and how it would affect them at http://www.thegreenshift.ca/ after Dion's anticipated announcement.
Read More From O'Neill HERE
Wall to promote carbon technology
Economic woes dampen G8 climate talks
Pros and cons of carbon tax
Carbon-tax plan may not cut emissions
Dion fouls the West for Grits
A bold attempt to shift us off our carbon addiction
With two proposed reactors, Saskatchewan joins Ontario in nuclear renaissance
KAREN HOWLETT From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
June 18, 2008 at 3:41 AM EDT
Saskatchewan has joined the nuclear boom.
Two provincial cabinet ministers looked on yesterday as a proposal to put two 1,000-megawatt reactors in the province was unveiled by a privately owned nuclear operator.
Bruce Power said that it is doing a feasibility study examining options for Saskatchewan to meet its growing electricity needs, including building nuclear reactors to replace the province's pollution-spewing coal-fired plants.
The announcement was made a day after the Ontario government said that it will build two new reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Station east of Toronto as part of its ambitious plan to expand and refurbish its existing fleet...........
But sources in the nuclear industry said Saskatchewan is looking at building two 1,000-megawatt reactors. Bruce Power said it plans to work with SaskPower, the province's electricity utility, to evaluate power demand for the province and to examine what transmission capacity is needed to accommodate new nuclear plants. The company intends to complete its study by the end of the year.
"Saskatchewan is becoming the most nuclear-friendly province," said one industry executive.
The province is already the world's No. 1 producer of uranium, a key ingredient for nuclear plants. One of Bruce Power's shareholders is Saskatchewan-based uranium giant Cameco Corp.
SaskPower currently has a capacity to generate 3,056 megawatts, the bulk of which comes from three coal-fired plants.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall began talking about capitalizing on the province's resource riches shortly after he was elected last November.
"We would like to lead," Mr. Wall told The Globe and Mail earlier this year. "It's time for the country to have a new national vision on nuclear energy - and we want to aggressively pursue that."
Read Full Story From KAREN HOWLETT HERE
Nuclear option could be viable
Let's talk nuclear power
Sask. Party driving nuclear option
Battle brews over nuclear power
Power play needs a referee
June 18, 2008 at 3:41 AM EDT
Saskatchewan has joined the nuclear boom.
Two provincial cabinet ministers looked on yesterday as a proposal to put two 1,000-megawatt reactors in the province was unveiled by a privately owned nuclear operator.
Bruce Power said that it is doing a feasibility study examining options for Saskatchewan to meet its growing electricity needs, including building nuclear reactors to replace the province's pollution-spewing coal-fired plants.
The announcement was made a day after the Ontario government said that it will build two new reactors at the Darlington Nuclear Station east of Toronto as part of its ambitious plan to expand and refurbish its existing fleet...........
But sources in the nuclear industry said Saskatchewan is looking at building two 1,000-megawatt reactors. Bruce Power said it plans to work with SaskPower, the province's electricity utility, to evaluate power demand for the province and to examine what transmission capacity is needed to accommodate new nuclear plants. The company intends to complete its study by the end of the year.
"Saskatchewan is becoming the most nuclear-friendly province," said one industry executive.
The province is already the world's No. 1 producer of uranium, a key ingredient for nuclear plants. One of Bruce Power's shareholders is Saskatchewan-based uranium giant Cameco Corp.
SaskPower currently has a capacity to generate 3,056 megawatts, the bulk of which comes from three coal-fired plants.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall began talking about capitalizing on the province's resource riches shortly after he was elected last November.
"We would like to lead," Mr. Wall told The Globe and Mail earlier this year. "It's time for the country to have a new national vision on nuclear energy - and we want to aggressively pursue that."
Read Full Story From KAREN HOWLETT HERE
Nuclear option could be viable
Let's talk nuclear power
Sask. Party driving nuclear option
Battle brews over nuclear power
Power play needs a referee
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Bruce Power launches nuclear power feasibility study
Source: Bruce Power
Cassandra Kyle, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News ServicePublished: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
SASKATOON -- A feasibility study into the potential for a nuclear energy plant in Saskatchewan will be complete by the end of the year, according to the president and CEO of Bruce Power LP, a nuclear power producer in Ontario.
The announcement of the study on Tuesday is the first step in the company's Saskatchewan 2020 initiative, a plan to find potential plant locations, gauge public opinion, evaluate the customer base and decide whether or not to build the province's first nuclear power plant. Bruce Power's Duncan Hawthorne, who made the announcement in Saskatoon, said the province's growing need for energy and availability of uranium are key factors in the company's decision to look west.
"I think we take the view that the market can support the introduction of a nuclear plant. How much and how that plant enters the market is really a function of the feasibility study," Hawthorne said.
The company is already considering a 4,000 megawatt plant in Alberta's Peace Country, but Bruce Power's feasibility study in Saskatchewan doesn't mean its project in Alberta will not continue.
"People, I think, will read this as an either-or situation and I don't see it as that. When you look at the demand growth potential in both Alberta and Saskatchewan you can easily form the view that you can do both," Hawthorne explained, adding the company has not singled out any potential sites in Saskatchewan.
Read more from Cassandra HERE
Sask. seeks private power
Cassandra Kyle, Saskatchewan News Network; Canwest News ServicePublished:
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan is looking to the private sector to help increase the province's electricity supply, a program applauded by the Sask. Party government.
But critics of the plan say this is the first step towards private, for-profit power generation in Saskatchewan.
Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff announced on Monday a request for proposals from the private sector for electrical generation projects to help support the needs of the growing economy. The move is also intended to enhance the relationship between the province and the private sector by offering companies opportunities in the power market
"We believe not every dollar risked in power generation in Saskatchewan should be a government dollar; there is a role for the private sector as well," Cheveldayoff said at a morning news conference in Saskatoon.
"We're sending the message out to companies across Canada, across the world, that if they have ideas about Saskatchewan or want to undertake studies or any type of due diligence in Saskatchewan we would be welcome and open to that."
No options -- including nuclear, wind and hydroelectric projects -- will be excluded, Cheveldayoff said. As the provincial government works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Saskatchewan, preference will be given toward environmentally friendly proposals, he said.
The requests include baseload generation projects sized between 200 and 400 megawatts with an in-service date of December 2012 and peaking generation projects sized up to 100 megawatts in time for the 2011-12 winter months.
The ministry also announced it will add 141 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation to the provincial grid by the end of 2010 and replace 63 megawatts of retired generation at the Queen Elizabeth Power Station in Saskatoon with 105 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation by December 2009.
The projects will cost $290 million and $185 million respectively.
Kim Trew, NDP Crown Corporations critic, says the announcement marks the beginning of higher prices for consumers and opens the door to the privatization of the generating capacity at SaskPower.
"(Monday was) a very sad day for power consumers right throughout Saskatchewan. In one policy move the government has guaranteed there will be price increases for power consumers well into the future," Trew said.
"Prices are going to go up and it's not just Year 1, it's Year 2, three, five and 10 and ongoing and it's structurally built in with (Monday's) announcement."
SaskPower has had a long tradition of building, owning and operating its own systems, he said, an operation Cheveldayoff specifically said the Sask. Party government wants to move away from. While the NDP government did buy power from private suppliers, it was not at a baseload capacity, Trew explained. The critic said the minister should be ashamed of himself for suggesting at the news conference that the Sask. Party's new plan is a continuation of the NDP's system.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
SASKATOON -- Saskatchewan is looking to the private sector to help increase the province's electricity supply, a program applauded by the Sask. Party government.
But critics of the plan say this is the first step towards private, for-profit power generation in Saskatchewan.
Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff announced on Monday a request for proposals from the private sector for electrical generation projects to help support the needs of the growing economy. The move is also intended to enhance the relationship between the province and the private sector by offering companies opportunities in the power market
"We believe not every dollar risked in power generation in Saskatchewan should be a government dollar; there is a role for the private sector as well," Cheveldayoff said at a morning news conference in Saskatoon.
"We're sending the message out to companies across Canada, across the world, that if they have ideas about Saskatchewan or want to undertake studies or any type of due diligence in Saskatchewan we would be welcome and open to that."
No options -- including nuclear, wind and hydroelectric projects -- will be excluded, Cheveldayoff said. As the provincial government works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Saskatchewan, preference will be given toward environmentally friendly proposals, he said.
The requests include baseload generation projects sized between 200 and 400 megawatts with an in-service date of December 2012 and peaking generation projects sized up to 100 megawatts in time for the 2011-12 winter months.
The ministry also announced it will add 141 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation to the provincial grid by the end of 2010 and replace 63 megawatts of retired generation at the Queen Elizabeth Power Station in Saskatoon with 105 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation by December 2009.
The projects will cost $290 million and $185 million respectively.
Kim Trew, NDP Crown Corporations critic, says the announcement marks the beginning of higher prices for consumers and opens the door to the privatization of the generating capacity at SaskPower.
"(Monday was) a very sad day for power consumers right throughout Saskatchewan. In one policy move the government has guaranteed there will be price increases for power consumers well into the future," Trew said.
"Prices are going to go up and it's not just Year 1, it's Year 2, three, five and 10 and ongoing and it's structurally built in with (Monday's) announcement."
SaskPower has had a long tradition of building, owning and operating its own systems, he said, an operation Cheveldayoff specifically said the Sask. Party government wants to move away from. While the NDP government did buy power from private suppliers, it was not at a baseload capacity, Trew explained. The critic said the minister should be ashamed of himself for suggesting at the news conference that the Sask. Party's new plan is a continuation of the NDP's system.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Union argues new laws prevent anyone from striking
Angela Hall, Leader-PostPublished: Friday, June 13, 2008
A national union is lodging a formal complaint about Saskatchewan's new labour legislation with a specialized agency of the United Nations, alleging two new provincial laws violate workers' rights.
The announcement Thursday by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is the latest volley in the controversy over the laws passed in May, which have been criticized by organized labour and generally welcomed by business associations.
NUPGE national secretary-treasurer Larry Brown told a Regina news conference that the essential services law and changes to the province's Trade Union Act amount to a "rookie mistake" by a recently elected Saskatchewan Party government, and should be reconsidered.
"Both of these bills step over the line of what's acceptable in Canada," Brown said, explaining the union's request that the Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) find the provincial government in violation of accepted conventions.
Read More from Angela HERE
SFL Endorses ILO Complaint
Labour Code Changes an Attack on Worker Rights
A national union is lodging a formal complaint about Saskatchewan's new labour legislation with a specialized agency of the United Nations, alleging two new provincial laws violate workers' rights.
The announcement Thursday by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is the latest volley in the controversy over the laws passed in May, which have been criticized by organized labour and generally welcomed by business associations.
NUPGE national secretary-treasurer Larry Brown told a Regina news conference that the essential services law and changes to the province's Trade Union Act amount to a "rookie mistake" by a recently elected Saskatchewan Party government, and should be reconsidered.
"Both of these bills step over the line of what's acceptable in Canada," Brown said, explaining the union's request that the Geneva-based International Labour Organization (ILO) find the provincial government in violation of accepted conventions.
Read More from Angela HERE
SFL Endorses ILO Complaint
Labour Code Changes an Attack on Worker Rights
Friday, May 30, 2008
Mounting Costs Slow the Push for Clean Coal
By MATTHEW L. WALD Published: May 30, 2008 - New york times
WASHINGTON — For years, scientists have had a straightforward idea for taming global warming. They want to take the carbon dioxide that spews from coal-burning power plants and pump it back into the ground.
President Bush is for it, and indeed has spent years talking up the virtues of “clean coal.” All three candidates to succeed him favor the approach. So do many other members of Congress. Coal companies are for it. Many environmentalists favor it. Utility executives are practically begging for the technology.
But it has become clear in recent months that the nation’s effort to develop the technique is lagging badly.
In January, the government canceled its support for what was supposed to be a showcase project, a plant at a carefully chosen site in Illinois where there was coal, access to the power grid, and soil underfoot that backers said could hold the carbon dioxide for eons.
Perhaps worse, in the last few months, utility projects in Florida, West Virginia, Ohio, Minnesota and Washington State that would have made it easier to capture carbon dioxide have all been canceled or thrown into regulatory limbo.
Coal is abundant and cheap, assuring that it will continue to be used. But the failure to start building, testing, tweaking and perfecting carbon capture and storage means that developing the technology may come too late to make coal compatible with limiting global warming.
“It’s a total mess,” said Daniel M. Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.
“Coal’s had a tough year,” said John Lavelle, head of a business at General Electric that makes equipment for processing coal into a form from which carbon can be captured. Many of these projects were derailed by the short-term pressure of rising construction costs. But scientists say the result, unless the situation can be turned around, will be a long-term disaster.
Plans to combat global warming generally assume that continued use of coal for power plants is unavoidable for at least several decades. Therefore, starting as early as 2020, forecasters assume that carbon dioxide emitted by new power plants will have to be captured and stored underground, to cut down on the amount of global-warming gases in the atmosphere.
Yet, simple as the idea may sound, considerable research is still needed to be certain the technique would be safe, effective and affordable.
Scientists need to figure out which kinds of rock and soil formations are best at holding carbon dioxide. They need to be sure the gas will not bubble back to the surface. They need to find optimal designs for new power plants so as to cut costs. And some complex legal questions need to be resolved, such as who would be liable if such a project polluted the groundwater or caused other damage far from the power plant.
Major corporations sense the possibility of a profitable new business, and G.E. signed a partnership on Wednesday with Schlumberger, the oil field services company, to advance the technology of carbon capture and sequestration.
But only a handful of small projects survive, and the recent cancellations mean that most of this work has come to a halt, raising doubts that the technique can be ready any time in the next few decades. And without it, “we’re not going to have much of a chance for stabilizing the climate,” said John Thompson, who oversees work on the issue for the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental group.
The fear is that utilities, lacking proven chemical techniques for capturing carbon dioxide and proven methods for storing it underground by the billions of tons per year, will build the next generation of coal plants using existing technology. That would ensure that vast amounts of global warming gases would be pumped into the atmosphere for decades.
The highest-profile failure involved a project known as FutureGen, which President Bush himself announced in 2003: a utility consortium, with subsidies from the government, was going to build a plant in Mattoon, Ill., testing the most advanced techniques for converting coal to a gas, capturing pollutants, and burning the gas for power.
The carbon dioxide would have been compressed and pumped underground into deep soil layers. Monitoring devices would have tested whether any was escaping to the atmosphere.
Read More HERE
CO2 Capture Plan Moving forward
Wall doesn't like cap-and-trade system
Ont., Que. sign agreement
Cleaning up a dirty job
WASHINGTON — For years, scientists have had a straightforward idea for taming global warming. They want to take the carbon dioxide that spews from coal-burning power plants and pump it back into the ground.
President Bush is for it, and indeed has spent years talking up the virtues of “clean coal.” All three candidates to succeed him favor the approach. So do many other members of Congress. Coal companies are for it. Many environmentalists favor it. Utility executives are practically begging for the technology.
But it has become clear in recent months that the nation’s effort to develop the technique is lagging badly.
In January, the government canceled its support for what was supposed to be a showcase project, a plant at a carefully chosen site in Illinois where there was coal, access to the power grid, and soil underfoot that backers said could hold the carbon dioxide for eons.
Perhaps worse, in the last few months, utility projects in Florida, West Virginia, Ohio, Minnesota and Washington State that would have made it easier to capture carbon dioxide have all been canceled or thrown into regulatory limbo.
Coal is abundant and cheap, assuring that it will continue to be used. But the failure to start building, testing, tweaking and perfecting carbon capture and storage means that developing the technology may come too late to make coal compatible with limiting global warming.
“It’s a total mess,” said Daniel M. Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.
“Coal’s had a tough year,” said John Lavelle, head of a business at General Electric that makes equipment for processing coal into a form from which carbon can be captured. Many of these projects were derailed by the short-term pressure of rising construction costs. But scientists say the result, unless the situation can be turned around, will be a long-term disaster.
Plans to combat global warming generally assume that continued use of coal for power plants is unavoidable for at least several decades. Therefore, starting as early as 2020, forecasters assume that carbon dioxide emitted by new power plants will have to be captured and stored underground, to cut down on the amount of global-warming gases in the atmosphere.
Yet, simple as the idea may sound, considerable research is still needed to be certain the technique would be safe, effective and affordable.
Scientists need to figure out which kinds of rock and soil formations are best at holding carbon dioxide. They need to be sure the gas will not bubble back to the surface. They need to find optimal designs for new power plants so as to cut costs. And some complex legal questions need to be resolved, such as who would be liable if such a project polluted the groundwater or caused other damage far from the power plant.
Major corporations sense the possibility of a profitable new business, and G.E. signed a partnership on Wednesday with Schlumberger, the oil field services company, to advance the technology of carbon capture and sequestration.
But only a handful of small projects survive, and the recent cancellations mean that most of this work has come to a halt, raising doubts that the technique can be ready any time in the next few decades. And without it, “we’re not going to have much of a chance for stabilizing the climate,” said John Thompson, who oversees work on the issue for the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental group.
The fear is that utilities, lacking proven chemical techniques for capturing carbon dioxide and proven methods for storing it underground by the billions of tons per year, will build the next generation of coal plants using existing technology. That would ensure that vast amounts of global warming gases would be pumped into the atmosphere for decades.
The highest-profile failure involved a project known as FutureGen, which President Bush himself announced in 2003: a utility consortium, with subsidies from the government, was going to build a plant in Mattoon, Ill., testing the most advanced techniques for converting coal to a gas, capturing pollutants, and burning the gas for power.
The carbon dioxide would have been compressed and pumped underground into deep soil layers. Monitoring devices would have tested whether any was escaping to the atmosphere.
Read More HERE
CO2 Capture Plan Moving forward
Wall doesn't like cap-and-trade system
Ont., Que. sign agreement
Cleaning up a dirty job
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
by Naomi KleinIn The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein explodes the myth that the global free market triumphed democratically. Exposing the thinking, the money trail and the puppet strings behind the world-changing crises and wars of the last four decades, The Shock Doctrine is the gripping story of how America's "free market" policies have come to dominate the world- — through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.
At the most chaotic juncture in Iraq's civil war, a new law is unveiled that would allow Shell and BP to claim the country's vast oil reserves.... Immediately following September 11, the Bush Administration quietly out-sources the running of the "War on Terror" to Halliburton and Blackwater.... After a tsunami wipes out the coasts of Southeast Asia, the pristine beaches are auctioned off to tourist resorts.... New Orleans's residents, scattered from Hurricane Katrina, discover that their public housing, hospitals and schools will never be reopened.... These events are examples of "the shock doctrine": using the public's disorientation following massive collective shocks — wars, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters — to achieve control by imposing economic shock therapy. Sometimes, when the first two shocks don't succeed in wiping out resistance, a third shock is employed: the electrode in the prison cell or the Taser gun on the streets.
Based on breakthrough historical research and four years of on-the-ground reporting in disaster zones, The Shock Doctrine vividly shows how disaster capitalism — the rapid-fire corporate reengineering of societies still reeling from shock — did not begin with September 11, 2001. The book traces its origins back fifty years, to the University of Chicago under Milton Friedman, which produced many of the leading neo-conservative and neo-liberal thinkers whose influence is still profound in Washington today. New, surprising connections are drawn between economic policy, "shock and awe" warfare and covert CIA-funded experiments in electroshock and sensory deprivation in the 1950s, research that helped write the torture manuals used today in Guantanamo Bay.
The Shock Doctrine follows the application of these ideas though our contemporary history, showing in riveting detail how well-known events of the recent past have been deliberate, active theatres for the shock doctrine, among them: Pinochet's coup in Chile in 1973, the Falklands War in 1982, the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Asian Financial crisis in 1997 and Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Read More HERE
Politics of Bad Ideas: The Great Tax Cut Delusion and the Decline of Good Government in America
Province's goal is deunionization
Dr. Subba Muthu, The Leader-PostPublished: Thursday, May 29, 2008Elections fought over union representation are institutionally different from political elections; employee-voters do not have the basic rights of industrial citizenship that the citizens of, say, Canada, have under the rights and freedoms of the Charter.
While the political system has the benefits of separation of powers and a system of checks and balances, the free-enterprise corporate system does not have such separations and checks. Such rudimentary statutory checks and other self-regulations are found, in practice, to be ineffective. They are like the proverbial watchdog that seldom barks, let alone bites.
Notwithstanding the Labour Standards Act, nonunion establishments are almost at the border of "employment-at-will". Corporate governance is presumed to be a purely private matter. The idea of elections, of voting, of employees' freedom of speech, are never considered. But when a union knocks at the door, employers suddenly prefer a full-fledged election process similar to that of a national election. They argue that because employees must be able to make "informed choices", the employer must have an equal opportunity to make the case against unionization and to persuade the employees that they would fare better under the existing regime of individual employment relations.
In elections over unions, however, every single vote is open to manipulation; it is standard practice for employers to exploit this opportunity. For example, managers may inflate the size of the bargaining unit to a level that is too large or too geographically dispersed to be organized. Virtually every dimension of the workplace -- walls, bulletin boards, meeting facilities, leaflet distribution, compulsory captive audience meeting, supervisors' one-to-one gentle admonitions with employees on the dangers of unionization, monitoring washrooms, coffee lounges and even parking lots become a forum for constant anti-union tirades. But pro-union information is prohibited and avoided like the plague.
This in contrast to election for public office, where equal time and equal access is guaranteed.
Read More from Dr. Subba Muthu HERE
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sask. rules out of date - Political Funds
James Wood, Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Saskatchewan's Tax rules on political donations are increasingly out of step with the rest of the country and should be significantly tightened up, says a former provincial chief electoral officer.
Saskatchewan is one of only four provinces to have no limits on how much a contributor can give to a party or candidate.
Meanwhile, on the federal scene and in Manitoba and Quebec, corporations and unions have been banned from making political donations.
Those two provinces are joined by Alberta in banning contributions from out-of-province. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut, where there are no political parties, have also banned outside contributions to candidates................
The Saskatchewan Party had a huge financial advantage last year, raising $4.79 million, with $3.02 million from corporate donors and $1.6 million from individuals.
The NDP, which had beaten the Sask. Party in fundraising in each of the three years previous, raised $2.28 million. Of that amount, $1.28 million came from individuals, $585,502 from corporate donors and $166,000 from unions.
Last week, Premier Brad Wall continued a practice of the Sask. Party in opposition by attending a $400-a-plate party fundraising dinner in Calgary and a private fundraising reception in Edmonton.
Kuziak noted that such practices make it even easier to drum up corporate cash but there is an even greater inherent problem with out-of-province fundraising.
"People that don't vote and don't have a right to vote and shouldn't be able to meddle in Saskatchewan provincial affairs can do so by funding Saskatchewan political parties. That's the big problem," he said.
Read More HERE
Sask. Party: Energy industry donations top $1-million
Sask. Party government refuses to disclose contract and correspondence with MacPherson Leslie Tyerman lawyer Kevin Wilson; Norris dodges questions
Saskatchewan's Tax rules on political donations are increasingly out of step with the rest of the country and should be significantly tightened up, says a former provincial chief electoral officer.
Saskatchewan is one of only four provinces to have no limits on how much a contributor can give to a party or candidate.
Meanwhile, on the federal scene and in Manitoba and Quebec, corporations and unions have been banned from making political donations.
Those two provinces are joined by Alberta in banning contributions from out-of-province. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut, where there are no political parties, have also banned outside contributions to candidates................
The Saskatchewan Party had a huge financial advantage last year, raising $4.79 million, with $3.02 million from corporate donors and $1.6 million from individuals.
The NDP, which had beaten the Sask. Party in fundraising in each of the three years previous, raised $2.28 million. Of that amount, $1.28 million came from individuals, $585,502 from corporate donors and $166,000 from unions.
Last week, Premier Brad Wall continued a practice of the Sask. Party in opposition by attending a $400-a-plate party fundraising dinner in Calgary and a private fundraising reception in Edmonton.
Kuziak noted that such practices make it even easier to drum up corporate cash but there is an even greater inherent problem with out-of-province fundraising.
"People that don't vote and don't have a right to vote and shouldn't be able to meddle in Saskatchewan provincial affairs can do so by funding Saskatchewan political parties. That's the big problem," he said.
Read More HERE
Sask. Party: Energy industry donations top $1-million
Sask. Party government refuses to disclose contract and correspondence with MacPherson Leslie Tyerman lawyer Kevin Wilson; Norris dodges questions
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Working Harder for the Man
By BOB HERBERTPublished: January 8, 2007, New York Times
Robert L. Nardelli, the chairman and chief executive of Home Depot, began the new year with a pink slip and a golden parachute. The company handed him a breathtaking $210 million to take a hike. What would he have been worth if he’d done a good job?
Data recently compiled by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston offers a startling look at just how out of whack executive compensation has become. Some of the Wall Street Christmas bonuses last month were fabulous enough to resurrect an adult’s belief in Santa Claus. Morgan Stanley’s John Mack got stock and options worth in excess of $40 million. Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs did even better — $53.4 million.
According to the center’s director, Andrew Sum, the top five Wall Street firms (Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) were expected to award an estimated $36 billion to $44 billion worth of bonuses to their 173,000 employees, an average of between $208,000 and $254,000, “with the bulk of the gains accruing to the top 1,000 or so highest-paid managers.”
Now consider what’s been happening to the bulk of the American population, the ordinary men and women who have to work for a living somewhere below the stratosphere of the top corporate executives. Between 2000 and 2006, labor productivity in the nonfarm sector of the economy rose by an impressive 18 percent. But workers were not paid for that impressive effort. During that period, according to Mr. Sum, the inflation-adjusted weekly wages of workers increased by just 1 percent.
That’s $3.20 a week. As Mr. Sum wryly observed, that won’t even buy you a six-pack of Bud Light. Joe Six-Pack has been downsized. Three bucks ain’t what it used to be.
There are 93 million production and nonsupervisory workers (exclusive of farmworkers) in the U.S. Their combined real annual earnings from 2000 to 2006 rose by $15.4 billion, which is less than half of the combined bonuses awarded by the five Wall Street firms for just one year.
“Just these bonuses — for one year — overwhelmingly exceed all the pay increases received by these workers over the entire six-year period,” said Mr. Sum.
In a development described by Mr. Sum as “quite stark and rather bleak for the economic well-being of the average worker,” the once strong link between productivity gains and real wage increases has been severed. The mystery to me is why workers aren’t more scandalized. If your productivity increases by 18 percent and your pay goes up by 1 percent, you’ve been dealt a hand full of jokers in a game in which jokers aren’t wild.
Workers have received some modest increases in benefits over the past six years, but most of the money from their productivity gains — by far, it’s not even a close call — has gone into profits and the salaries of top executives.
Fairness plays no role in this system. The corporate elite control it, and they have turned it to their ends.
Mr. Sum, a longtime expert on the economic life of the American worker, said he is astonished at the degree to which ordinary workers have been shortchanged over the past several years. “Productivity has been exceptional,” he said. “And for most of my life, the way to get wages up was to be more productive. That’s how our economy was supposed to work.”
The productivity gains in the go-go decades that followed World War II were broadly shared, and the result was a dramatic, sustained increase in the quality of life for most Americans. Nowadays workers have to be more productive just to maintain their economic status quo. Productivity gains are no longer broadly shared. They’re barely shared at all.
The pervasive unfairness in the way the great wealth of the United States is distributed should be seen for what it is, an insidious disease eating away at the structure of the society and undermining its future. The middle class is hurting, propped up by the wobbly crutches of personal debt. The safety net, not just for the poor, but for the middle class as well, is disappearing. The savings rate has dropped to below zero, and more Americans are filing for bankruptcy than for divorce.
Your pension? Don’t ask.
There’s a reason why the power elite get bent out of shape at the merest mention of a class conflict in the U.S. The fear is that the cringing majority that has taken it on the chin for so long will wise up and begin to fight back.
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
Saturday, May 10, 2008
SaskPower prefers Lake Diefenbaker for nuclear plant
SaskPower report names site near Elbow as preferred location for nuclear reactorAngela Hall and James Wood, The Leader-Post and Saskatchewan News NetworkPublished: Thursday, May 08, 2008
REGINA -- The Saskatchewan Party government denied that the Lake Diefenbaker area has been picked as the home of any future nuclear reactor even as a 2007 SaskPower report naming a site near Elbow as the preferred location surfaced Wednesday.
The document, prepared under the previous NDP government, was leaked to CBC a day after Sask. Party Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said in Calgary the government would welcome development from private sector nuclear company Bruce Power LP, which has recently expressed interest in Saskatchewan.
But Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff said Wednesday the SaskPower document prepared under the NDP was of limited relevance because it was based on the idea of the Crown corporation itself building and operating a nuclear plant, which the government has ruled out.
"It underscores some of the needs of a reactor and some of the places it would make sense in Saskatchewan. But on further examination it's a very preliminary study and I'm told before a reactor would be contemplated an extensive study would have to be done," Cheveldayoff told reporters.He said there are numerous other potential sites for a nuclear plant in the province besides those mentioned in the report.
The 2007 report, which was prepared by Stantec Consulting, looked at potential candidates for a nuclear power plant either around Lake Diefenbaker or near Lac La Loche.
Read More HERE
Nuclear power splits Elbow residents
Gov't won't pick location
Expert favours Alberta over Sask. for reactor
Power politics
Project a long way off: Boyd
Defusing idea of nuclear power
Monday, May 5, 2008
Essential services: What is and Isn't, Across Canada
CBC NewsThe government of Saskatchewan is hoping to enact new essential services legislation that would require bargaining units and employers to determine at least 90 days in advance of a strike which workers must remain on the job and maintain services during a work stoppage. Following an April 2008 transit strike, the city of Toronto is considering making the TTC an essential service, forcing workers to remain on the job even in the event of a strike action.
What does an essential service designation mean:
Essential services are those necessary to prevent danger to life, health or safety and disruption of the courts. Employees who are designated as having essential positions must continue to provide services during a strike.
Who can and cannot strike?
Essential service designation is different from legislation that prohibits the right to strike. For example, across Canada police, firefighters, and hospital employees don't have the right to strike as stated in their collective agreements and their disputes must be settled through binding arbitration. But for most sectors considered essential, some workers can still go on strike while the employees whose positions are determined to be vital by their employer must continue to work.
Who decides what's essential?
The Public Service Labour Relations Act designates which federal public employees will continue providing service in the event of a work stoppage.
The Canada Labour Code ensures other federal services like telecommunications, railways, banks, ports and national security are staffed during a strike action.
Provincially, it starts to get a little tricky. Each province has varying legislation and collective agreements to determine what services are essential.
How does it work in each province and territory?
Nova Scotia recently passed the Trade Union Act that allows employers to designate essential positions during a strike action. Saskatchewan is proposing a similar act. Prior to 2007, neither province had any specific essential service legislation in place.
Manitoba enforces essential services through the Essential Services Act, which specifies which public sector employees must continue to provide service during a strike. The province considers services like the department of finance, air ambulances, community living and the department of highways and transportation as essential.
Quebec's Essential Services Council determines which employees are subject to restrictions barring them from withdrawing services completely. While public transit is not considered an essential service in Quebec, the council requires transit workers to provide normal service during rush hour and other times the council deems necessary.
In P.E.I. and Alberta, there is legislation that prevents hospital employees, the department of health and social services and police and firefighters from going on strike. Like many other provinces, including British Columbia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, their essential service legislation allows employers to designate positions that will continue to provide crucial services while a strike is taking place.
Legislation in Ontario requires that Crown employees and ambulance workers have an essential services agreement in place before a strike can begin so that certain services can continue.
In the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, the Public Service Act specifies that services deemed essential must ensure a continuation of minimal service in order to protect the health and safety of the public. The act also calls for senior employees of power plants to remain on the job.
The Yukon relies on federal legislation.
Is essential service designation bad for unions?
Unions worry about the implications of legislation and say that potentially undermines their bargaining power and takes away the right to strike. Critics of essential services legislation complain that a continuation of services lessens public pressure on the employer to end the work stoppage, resulting in longer strikes. However, lengthy strikes generally end in arbitration, which tends to yield more favourable contracts for employees than negotiations.
Is essential service designation good for taxpayers?
While the retention of essential services is beneficial for the public, lengthy strikes that end in arbitration can mean a bigger payout for union workers, which can be costly for taxpayers.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Sport full speed ahead at Estevan Motor Speedway
Greg Harder, The Leader-PostPublished: Saturday, May 03, 2008Estevan Motor Speedway is on the right track.
"We've been around since 2000 and we've basically run a full program right from the very first season," offered David Mack, president of the Estevan Auto Racing Association.
"We get a lot of visitors from out of town. There are a lot of dirt track fans from the Regina area and points north and east and west of us. The track is a 3/8-mile dirt oval and high bank, which means it's a very fast race track. The guys don't let off the gas very much. Sometimes with the bigger class of cars such as the modified late model sprint cars, they can just about go flat out all along this track."
The 12-event race season begins tonight at 7 p.m. and concludes Sept. 21 with a closing Enduro. The regular race days feature four classes: Pure stock, mini sprint, street stock and modified.
The schedule also includes four special events beginning July 7 with a stop on the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Dakota Classic Modified Tour. It features racers from all over North America.
On July 12, the World of Outlaws late model series Wild West Tour is slated to make its first-ever stop in Western Canada.
"These guys are full-time professional racers," said Mack. "They are coming to challenge the late model drivers in our area. And by our area I mean about a six to 10 hour radius of Estevan, primarily going into the U.S."
Read More HERE
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