Economy
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says Alberta’s debt is the elephant in the room.
The Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Kris Sims recalled the Simpsons episode where the peanut factory manager is vindicated for his repeated safety drills when Stampy storms through the door? What’s Alberta’s debt situation?
“The United Conservative government posted a $10.3-billion surplus in this February’s budget,” said Sims
“Alberta is still about $79 billion in debt. That costs us about $2.8 billion in annual interest charges.”
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Read MoreThe Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is happy that the Mission Cultural Fund has been cancelled. This fund, part of Global Affairs, used taxpayers’ money wastefully, such as on a sex toy show in Germany and a photography exhibit for a rock star.
“This is a big win for taxpayers and it’s long overdue,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the CTF.
“Paying for a sex toy show in Germany and flying chefs around the world was a huge waste of taxpayers’ money and Global Affairs should have shut this down years ago.”
The federal government released a statement without much attention stating that the Mission Cultural Fund had “expired on March 31, 2023.”
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Read MoreKEY POINTS
Target lost $10 billion over the last 10 days after launching its Pride-themed clothing line
Target’s stock price sank to $138.93, the lowest in nearly three years
Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz didn’t believe the boycott vs. Target would be impactful
Target, one of the largest U.S. retailers, has been targeted by a boycott over its LGBTQ-friendly kids’ clothing, wiping out billions of dollars worth of stocks.
New York Post reported that Target lost $10 billion in market valuation over the last 10 days due to the backlash it received from its LGBTQ-themed kids’ clothing line.
Last Wednesday, Target’s stock value was at $160.96 a share, but its value sank and closed Friday at $138.93 a share — the retailer’s lowest stock price in nearly three years.
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Read MoreConservatives yesterday resumed a filibuster of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget bill. MPs sought more testimony from witnesses.
“I don’t know why these Liberals want to make things so difficult for Canadians just to simply get the facts and understand the reality of the budget,” said Conservative MP Philip Lawrence (Northumberland-Peterborough South, Ont.). “It’s almost as if they are allergic to transparency.”
“We want to hear from Canadians,” said MP Lawrence. “We were willing to sit whether it be Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to get this done,” he added. “We were absolutely clear on this. I would put my honour on it.”
“You guys are not my boss,” said Lawrence. “The Canadian people, the people of Northumberland, that’s who I get my marching orders from. That’s who I get instructions from, not from the Liberal government. My power does not come from you, it comes from the people, and I am here as their representative. I owe no one an apology for speaking.”
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Read MoreTheir declaration comes just five weeks before more environmental regulations and taxes come into effect, as dictated by Trudeau’s climate czar – the CN Tower scaler himself – Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
The Clean Fuel Regulations and yet another carbon tax increase are set for July 1, which P.E.I Premier Dennis King said will cost citizens 17 cents extra per litre for home heating fuel.
“Consumers here have been hit hard with inflation and we can’t take any more cost at the pump, and to have a double whammy like this will impact our economy,” King said.
“And that’s going to be difficult for Islanders and for Atlantic Candians to absorb,” he added.
King further said that, on top of inflation hitting Atlantic provinces hard, “we don’t have a whole lot of options in terms of we have one major refinery that produces most of the fuel that we use for the region.”
The Atlantic Premiers met with climate change Minister Guilbeault virtually on Wednesday. They also expressed worry that the regulations would impact the cost of imported goods, and fuel prices and supplies.
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Read MoreTalk about biting the hand that feeds.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the world’s largest — is set to support climate resolutions at the shareholders meetings of Exxon and Chevron even as its state oil company expands oil and gas exploration in what climate activists describe as giving “the middle finger” to the Paris Accord.
Government Pension Fund Global — the Norwegian equivalent of the CPP — told London’s Financial Times, it will support resolutions to introduce Scope 3 emissions targets at AGMs in Irving, TX and San Ramon, CA next week.
It comes even as the Norwegian energy ministry announced this month it would step up oil exploration in the Barents Sea to improve Europe’s energy security in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last year the country overtook Russia to become the EUs largest supplier of oil and gas.
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Read MoreFossil gas, marketed as “natural gas” and its liquefied form used for long-distance maritime transport, “liquefied natural gas” (LNG), have been proposed as a middle ground between more carbon-intensive fossil fuels and renewable energy.
This report covers the science on the climate impacts of gas, the necessary reductions in gas supply and demand under the Paris Agreement and how this disqualifies Canadian LNG as a climate solution. Possible incremental reductions in global GHG emissions resulting from Canadian LNG are not enough to be part of a Paris-aligned energy transition. Canadian energy would be better directed at promoting a direct transition to renewable energy at home and abroad.
Exporting B.C. LNG makes the climate crisis worse, not better. It’s time for the province to pull the plug on any further LNG expansion and to cease providing public financing, infrastructure support or preferential treatment for the sector.
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