Since then, provincial and federal ministers have sparred over the controversial decision, exposing tensions between Alberta, which favours natural gas for power generation, and the governing Liberals, who have the broader ambition to decarbonize electrical grids across the country by 2035.
Wow, damn.
I mean if it were nuclear, that’d be one thing as a stop-over. As in, you got the nuclear power plants, you were supposed to decommision X% by 202X, but since money is needed everywhere and only so many people exist to work on issues you’re pushing that out to focus on reforestation, decommissioning coal/gas plants, etc etc.
That’s one thing. In fact I wish Germany hadn’t in the wake of Fukushima omg-scare-closed our nuclear power plants and instead just hard-closed all gas and coal plants. But eh, bit late to worry about that one now. Still, opting for fossil over either nuclear or fully renewable is… a bit of an odd choice, yeah. To put it mildly.
It’s hard to describe the motivations, history and contemporary of Alberta’s decision making, but I’ll try in as few words as possible:
We have difficult to extract crude that makes our rednecks 6 figure a year rich when oil is high. When oil isn’t high those rednecks make us pay for it in every way possible.
For more info: If you understand that, and why everything outside of Edmonton/Calgary (the two cities) is boom/bust on oil, you understand the dichotomy of the voting blocs, and their respective parties.
Now understand that those right leaning parties has their sects of right and this nu-right, but lost an election (which didn’t go over well with those that don’t take well to losing elections). So the right parties formed a new party together.
This new party has been deeply unpopular outside of the people who vote for them, and have left the rest of Canada with their jaws hanging. Other conservative governments have been able to pass by nearly unnoticed during this time even while doing some deeply, deeply shady shit. Doug Ford’s (yes, brother of the famous crack smoking mayor of Toronto Rob Ford) Ontario conservatives recently sold of environmentally protected land with no environmental survey done to determine which would best be sold to friends of the Conservative Party who are at a particular gathering. But this is B news in Canada due to Alberta.
The Alberta government has already played with destroying public healthcare in several ways, lets gas companies skip out on their billions in gas well clean up, and is run by a literal, and I do mean literal, conspiracy theorist.
This area is one of the most gorgeous in the country along its west borders, has some amazing culture, better people, and is one of my favourite places to visit in Canada. They just have an issue with some unhappy people who want to kill us all for profit.
So Alberta’s conservatives are turning into Republicans from the US. Just a wretched party with no redeeming value.
Canadian conservatives saw how locked in American conservative voters are and said gotta get me some of that
Expect Poilievre to start raging about drag queens soon
And it’s not even just a few of them. I recently looked at the Wikipedia page for Stephen Harper (former Conservative PM) and he’s been on Ben Shapiro lately, and started ranting about “woke culture.” It’s become pervasive.
I propose that countries start adopting a “Do the opposite of what Germany is doing” energy policy. We’ll get this global warming thing fixed in a decade
Conservatism is a global plague of death. Even Canadians are suffering at the hands of conservatives.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The move comes as the country struggles with its worst wildfire season on record, a situation that experts agree is worsened by the climate crisis and a reliance on fossil fuels.
Since then, provincial and federal ministers have sparred over the controversial decision, exposing tensions between Alberta, which favours natural gas for power generation, and the governing Liberals, who have the broader ambition to decarbonize electrical grids across the country by 2035.
Acknowledging provinces’ responsibility for electricity infrastructure and delivery, the government also highlighted its own federal authority over environmental regulations and “strategic investments” to attain broader climate goals.
In recent years, the province has taken controversial decisions that have united unlikely groups, most notably Alberta’s short-lived plans to open coal mining in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Brouillette also pointed to longstanding issues over orphaned gas wells and leaks at tailings ponds that have left Indigenous communities fearing for the safety of their water supplies.
“To the premier, massive tailings spills that endanger Indigenous communities don’t constitute an emergency – but the potential for expanding cost-effective and proven climate solutions at a time when Canada is burning somehow poses a threat,” she said.
I’m a bot and I’m open source!
FURY!!!
