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
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A bold attempt to shift us off our carbon addiction
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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
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