The Governor of the Bank of Canada Steven Poloz has dropped our interest rates to help avoid the threat of deflation.  In doing so he gave his judgment that the dropping price of a barrel of oil was unequivocally bad news for the Canadian economy.  Finance minister Joe Oliver has so lost his way in the face of a relatively minor fiscal impact of reduced oil prices that he has postponed the budget to April, or maybe even May.

On Sunday, December 14 at 3:30 AM the 20^th Conference of the Parties (COP20) in Lima Peru limped across the finish line. The “official” adjournment had been scheduled for Friday afternoon.  The Peruvian Environment Minister Manuel Pulgar-Vidal had chaired a session that attempted innovative approaches.  

Unlike our current prime minister’s attack on climate policy and push for every pipeline and tanker in sight, this one is flying under the radar.  In fact, Conservative Party talking points make great claims of having expanded the national park system.

As the debate rages south of the border about the Keystone pipeline, there are some key facts to bear in mind.  Every pipeline currently being promoted – whether Alberta to the Pacific (Enbridge and Kinder-Morgan) or Alberta to the Atlantic (Energy East) or Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico (Keystone) – are all about one thing: getting raw, unprocessed bitumen to tidewater.  All of them.