Max Fawcett
@maxfawcett
Lead columnist for Canada's National Observer. Also: Mariners fan, crypto skeptic and descendant of Canada's worst prime minister (no, not him)
Canada is sharing half of the bridge's operating *profits*, not revenues. And guess what: the operating profits in the early years of a new toll bridge aren't going to be very significant, since most of the revenues will be attached to paying down its costs. Kenney knows this, of course.
You will, I'm sure, see lots of this -- including from people who have been clamouring for the PM to make a deal, any deal, with Trump. Here's what they're not telling you:
Imagine how much higher the toll would be if Alberta was an independent country, Keith. And remember: Alberta collects the upstream royalty while BC takes the environmental risk associated with any spills.
From Peter Nicholson's recent essay, which echoes most of the points I've been making for a while now.
From Peter Nicholson, former deputy chief of staff for policy in the Paul Martin PMO:
It's extremely hard to take these supposed tech leaders seriously when they post stuff like this. This isn't rocket science. Trudeau was elected in late 2015, not late 2013 as this chart tries to argue. And yet. #cdnpoli
This all still feels like much ado about nothing to me. Most of our agriculture exports are going to be east and south. And the changes are pretty narrowly defined/drawn.
In case you're wondering why Cenovus doesn't break out the cost of the industrial carbon tax in its financial reporting: this is why. It's probably in a net-credit position, or close to it.
Interesting that they didn't put a byline on this piece. I have a couple of theories as to why.
LinkedIn is absolutely marbled with guys (and yeah, it’s almost always a guy) like this: self-employed oil and gas lifers who insist on blaming their failures on politicians they don’t like. So much for personal responsibility and a stiff upper lip.
When you have to deliberately misrepresent your opponent's argument, you're effectively admitting your own argument isn't very good. And no, Shell moving ahead with Phase 2 doesn't end the argument. That's a trailing indicator at this point. The real question is how much money they'll lose on it.
Just wait until the separatists find out about this. Jack Mintz, who's leading the Alberta government's panel studying the cost of separation, is also.....a Trudeau Foundation mentor.
This is incredibly, almost impossibly funny, given that the oil and gas industry in Alberta -- the one Kenney has always bent over backwards to serve -- has the *exact same* blind spot and lack of intellectual curiosity (and the same stunned response to arguments and facts they've never considered).