Pembina Institute

OTTAWA, ON — The Pembina Institute's Clare Demerse made the following statement in response to today's release of the Liberal Party platform:

"Overall, we're happy to see this platform put clean energy at the centre of Canada's economic future. While countries such as China and the U.S. are taking steps to succeed in the clean energy economy, Canada has been lagging behind. Strong action on climate change can create more jobs than 'business as usual,' so the Liberal Party's decision to make clean energy a priority would be good news for Canadian workers and for the environment.

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CALGARY, AB —As the world grapples with the challenge of climate change, the Alberta government is poised to grant approval to a new coal-fired power plant without even holding a public hearing.

The proposed power plant would be built 20 kilometres north of Grande Cache, Alberta, on the site of an existing 150 megawatt facility. The new power plant, a project of Maxim Power Corporation, would produce 500 megawatts of power and emit over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution each year for its 45-year lifespan, equivalent to adding 590,000 vehicles to the road. Read More

Nathan Lemphers, policy analyst with the Pembina Institute, responded to the Government of Alberta announcement of a new oilsands mine reclamation security policy.

On the new Mine Financial Security Program:

"Although this reclamation security policy has some improvements in transparency over the previous version, one of the fundamental principles of this policy is flawed — that the assets of the mine, which created these liabilities in the first place, can be used to pay for the cleanup.

 

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CALGARY, AB — Environmental groups are condemning the approval of the Total Joslyn North Mine project, which fails to meet legal requirements for cumulative impacts assessment and ignores growing concerns about lack of government oversight and monitoring.

The Oil Sands Environmental Coalition, represented by Ecojustice, opposed the project in provincial-federal joint review panel hearings last fall. Read More