In light of news that the new Major Projects Office is due to be launched this week, and comments that prime minister Mark Carney and others have been making about the possibility of an LNG terminal at the Port of Churchill, Manitoba, it behoves me to once again bring up energy economist Andrew Leach, who has a giant reality check for everyone saying this is going to be a thing. It’s not—unless we want to spent billions of taxpayer dollars on a money-losing exercise, that is. Which is not what this whole drive toward expanding resource extraction is supposed to be about.
That said, I think that Leach is ultimately correct here—that Carney and his brain trust have spent too long reading the Conservatives’ talking points about resource development and have believed them to be true, which they obviously are not. But when you have legacy media in this country just completely uncritically regurgitating the talking points from the Conservatives and Danielle Smith, and reporters and political talk show hosts just uncritically mocking the “no business case” line about why we don’t have LNG terminals on the east coast without talking to a gods damned energy economist about why that didn’t happen, well, of course it becomes easy for someone like Carney to just uncritically believe this nonsense, because that’s all that’s being presented. Justin Trudeau and his Cabinet couldn’t actually articulate why there was no business case (because “if you’re explaining, you’re losing,” so they never explained anything), and trusted the media to do it for them, which media wasn’t going to do, and could barely be arsed to even both-sides that particular issue. And this is where we are today, and Carney is going to be forced to take the loss on this one, because Liberals refuse to take Conservatives to task for their bullshit.
Speaking of, Pierre Poilievre was in Charlottetown, PEI, to decry that the incoming clean fuel regulations are “Carney’s Carbon Tax 2.0,” even though Trudeau’s government put through those regulations years ago, they’re not a tax, and associated costs are not going into government coffers, but simply businesses passing along the costs of reducing their emissions. It’s the same brand of dishonest bullshit that he trades in, and even some Conservatives are getting tired of it, telling the National Post that he’s become a caricature of himself. So, way to go there.
Ukraine Dispatch
There was a massive Russian drone and missile attack on energy infrastructure across six regions of Ukraine in the early morning hours, looking in part to exacerbate an existing has shortage. Russia also says that they object to the European proposals around security guarantees, which is not a shock at all.
Good reads:
- Mark Carney visited Canadian troops at the Ādaži Military Base in Lativa as his last stop on his European tour.
- Dominic LeBlanc is leaving Washington ahead of schedule, saying that there has been progress on trade talks (not that there is a deal to be had).
- Sean Fraser, Gary Anandasangaree and our Fentanyl Commissioner were also in Washington to meet with Pam Bondi about border measures.
- Tim Hodgson says that Trans Mountain optimisation is “not of national interest,” which is absolutely boggling.
- Here is a look at our military equipment gaps facing our deployment in Latvia.
- The Privacy Commissioner says that Google is refusing to comply with certain orders to delist certain specific kinds of search results.
- Denmark has summoned their US envoy over the discovery of at least three US citizens engaging in influence operations in Greenland.
- Poilievre also said yesterday that temporary foreign workers are stealing the jobs of young Canadians, which is both a gross generalisation and fuelling xenophobia.
- It appears that NDP MP Heather McPherson and activist Avi Lewis are each preparing leadership bids.
- Doug Ford says he’s maintaining the LCBO’s ban on American liquor until a new trade agreement is reached (which could mean never!)
- Here is a look at how far-right groups in Alberta are training operatives to take over school trustee positions, using the spectre of homophobia/transphobia.
- BC Lottery Corp. is taking FINTRAC to Federal Court after receiving a million dollar fine for not taking money laundering reporting obligations seriously.
- Anthony Moser writes a delightful rebuke of digital asbestos, and why he hates it rather than is merely critical.
- Nikhil Kalyanpur outlines how offshore tax havens are not only about lower taxes but also about choosing your own legal system, and weakening democracy at home.
- Kevin Carmichael tries to rationalise the capitulation on counter-tariffs as chess versus hockey (but really, we’re dealing with a low-rent mobster).
- Stephen Saideman runs down the dictator checklist as it applies to Trump.
- My column points out how Danielle Smith is hoping to gerrymander the next provincial election, and keep the province a one-party state for another generation.
Odds and ends:
Two of my favourites, Paul Wells and @anneapplebaum.bsky.social, in conversation.
— Dale Smith (@journodale.bsky.social) 2025-08-27T22:46:26.376Z
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