Imagine, if you will, a Boxing Day sale where everything was free for everyone across every store at the same time, for several hours. And imagine if in early morning hours of Dec. 26, Best Buy, Staples, Walmart, and indeed every single store in the entire economy got...
Brian Zinchuk
Nova Scotia and Feds Kill Offshore Gas for Good
Nova Scotia and the feds kill an offshore gas project, while their bills are paid by Alberta and Saskatchewan oil and gas
The “Just Transition” Soviet Style Plans for Canada’s Oilpatch
The “Just Transition” legislation currently before the House of Commons Natural Resources Committee mentions unions a fair bit. It also mentions what are effectively five-year plans, which was a common practice for moulding the economies of the Soviet Union and China,...
Panama Canal Drying Up Woes Could Have Benefited Canadian LNG – If Only We Had Any
There’s a disturbance in the force of global shipping, as if a major transit point started slipping away. There’s a very serious problem occurring a few thousand miles to the south of us, one that Canada could have taken tremendous advantage of, if only we had built...
Featured News
Weaponizing the Law
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
“Looking At” Seizing Control Over Western Canada’s Natural Resources
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
Zinchuk: The Feds Greenhouse Gas Programs Mean this for Saskatchewan: Strangulation
Premier Scott Moe thinks the overwhelming mass of federal environmental programs in the name of preventing climate change is getting to be too much. So on Oct. 21, he released a white paper called Drawing the Line: Defending Saskatchewan’s Economic Autonomy. After...
Part 6: Devine’s Upgraders? Losers or Winners? The Conclusion
This is Part 6 of a 6-part series on the two heavy oil upgraders built in Saskatchewan is based on the book So Much More We Can Be: Saskatchewan’s Paradigm Shift and the Final Chapter on the Devine Government 1982-1991, by Edward Willett, Gerard Lucyshyn and Joseph...
Part 5: Were Devine’s Upgraders Worth It – Their Massive Impact on Provincial Revenue
This is Part 5 of a 6-part series on the two heavy oil upgraders built in Saskatchewan is based on the book So Much More We Can Be: Saskatchewan’s Paradigm Shift and the Final Chapter on the Devine Government 1982-1991, by Edward Willett, Gerard Lucyshyn and Joseph...
Coal – Not Wind – is Keeping Saskatchewan’s Lights On
While it’s not the same minute-by-minute data provided by the Alberta Electric System Operator for their grid, SaskPower has begun breaking down where its power is coming from on a daily basis. And the data from Oct. 3 and 4 showed wind generated an average of just...
Part 4: Regina NewGrade Upgrader has Processed 16 million Barrels of Heavy Oil per Year for 30 Years
This is Part 4 of a 6-part series on the two heavy oil upgraders built in Saskatchewan is based on the book So Much More We Can Be: Saskatchewan’s Paradigm Shift and the Final Chapter on the Devine Government 1982-1991, by Edward Willett, Gerard Lucyshyn and Joseph...
Part 3: The Lloydminster Bi-Provincial Upgrader Doubled the City in Size
Part 3 of a 6-part series examining the impact the construction of two heavy oil upgraders during Saskatchewan’s Grant Devine Government. The discussion hails from the recently published Frontier Centre book “So Much More We Can Be: Saskatchewan’s Paradigm Shift and...
Part 2: Grant Devine’s Motivation to Build Upgraders While They Had the Chance
This is part 2 of a 6-part series examining the impact the construction of two heavy oil upgraders during Saskatchewan’s Grant Devine Government. The discussion hails from the recently published Frontier Centre book “So Much More We Can Be: Saskatchewan’s Paradigm...
Grant Devine’s Two Heavy Oil Upgraders: A Tough Opening Act That Now Anchors Saskatchewan’s Boom Economy
The Regina NewGrade Upgrader, now known as Section III of the Regina Refinery Complex, was contentious at first as low oil prices cratered its economics. But three decades later, it’s integral to the 130,000 barrel per day refinery. Photo by Brian Zinchuk This is part...
Destroying High Paying Coal Power Jobs in Saskatchewan
There was an announcement by SaskPower on Aug. 10 that is very significant, especially for Estevan, one of the last places in Canada burning coal for power. SaskPower is going to beef up its power transmission interconnect with the U.S. Southwest Power Pool (SPP),...