The oil and gas sector in Alberta has decided that with the situation in Iran going on, and the federal government’s stated desire to export more in order to be the so-called “energy superpower,” that they are going to flex their muscles more, and demand that carbon pricing or other regulatory measures need to go. It’s a load of bullshit, however there are a whole lot of people who will uncritically believe that the sector are just widdle babies who are so hard done by and that any carbon pricing is just too much for them to handle.

Energy economist Andrew Leach is calling bullshit, because if they are so fragile that they can’t withstand pennies on a barrel (because remember, they are also generating a tonne of credits under Alberta’s carbon pricing system) then it’s incredibly suspect. And these are the companies who also insisted that Pathways was their future, and that with that technology, they could increase production without emissions. Now they’re claiming it’s impossible to do without the federal government paying for the whole thing, which is pretty much just tearing off the fig leaf—either they were lying the whole time (which is why they panicked when greenwashing legislation came into effect), or they simply think they can get away with crying poor and that the federal government needs to pay for everything. Neither case looks good on them, but they figure they have the leverage, and they fully intend to use it.

May the 4th

In past years, a lot of government departments got in on the action. This year? Hardly any. StatsCan used the opportunity to launch the census, and CSIS of all departments put out a tweet, but that seemed to be it. Which is too bad. Departments used to really get into it, and you had some really good tweets, and some abysmal ones, and it was fun to rank them. (Also, valiant effort by CSIS, but they got the wrong photo. That’s not Cracken—this is. They got Blount. And yes, I am a Star Wars nerd).

Ukraine Dispatch

A mid-morning Russian missile attack hit the Kharkiv region, killing two and wounding over thirty. Russia also hit five energy facilities in the past day. Data shows Russia has targeted port facilities ten times more than the past year. Russia claims they will observe a ceasefire for their Victory Day festivities, and Ukraine says they will abide by it.

Good reads:

• In Armenia, Carney committed another $270 million to Ukraine’s military capabilities, as well as spoke about the “new world order” being centred in Europe.
• Carney is expected to announce the next Governor General today, and it is said that it’s going to be a woman who is bilingual in French and English.
• The federal government announced another $1 billion in low-cost loans for businesses affected by tariffs, plus $500 million in aid for small businesses.
• Evan Solomon says that his digital asbestos strategy is coming soon, and that he is shifting away from adoption to safety and social impact. (We’ll see if that’s true).
• Citizenship and Immigration finally released details on the programme to transition temporary residents to permanent, and advocates say it was not as advertised.
• The department also plans to track the exits of students with expiring visas.
• Ground was finally broken for a long-awaited Afghan War memorial, after a controversial design process.
• The federal Intelligence Commissioner issued the most decisions last year since his office was created, regarding authorizations for intelligence activities.
• The Auditor General released three reports, including on First Nations funding, disability accommodations, avian flu vaccines.
• The environment commissioner says the government’s flood map portal doesn’t actually work yet, and doesn’t contain information on future climate risks.
• The commissioner also says the government’s plans to harden critical infrastructure against climate impacts is falling behind, particularly in three key departments.
• Federal civil service unions call the government’s wage offer “insulting” (but I doubt they’ll find much sympathy under Carney).
• Mélanie Joly told a committee that she accepts the UN findings that there is forced labour in China, but wouldn’t comment on whether it’s in EVs headed for Canada.
• David Eby is grousing that the federal government isn’t paying enough attention to the plight of the softwood lumber sector.
• Jared Wesley calls for a public inquiry into the voters list breach in Alberta.
• Susan Delacourt warns that the voter list leak in Alberta is a sign of the shenanigans to come with the pending referendums in that province.
• Jen Gerson suggests that if Danielle Smith is actually a federalist, and not just playing the part, she should use the voters list breach to call off any referendum.
• Paul Wells listens to the new PBO’s first major criticisms of the Spring Economic Update, and finds a common theme to what she had to say.

Odds and ends:

For National Magazine, I delve into the other Supreme Court of Canada decision on Friday, and why it might have an effect on Alberta’s redistricting process.

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