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Montreal student protest: Chaos and Violence – Montreal Gazette

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

MONTREAL – Montreal is waking up to a morning of smashed windows, vandalized cars and questions about how a protest degenerated into yet another violent clash between police and demonstrators.

Anger over a short-lived effort to put an end to the tuition crisis through negotiations bubbled over Wednesday night when a hastily-organized demonstration turned ugly and police used batons, pepper spray and percussion bombs to disperse the crowd.

After two hours of peaceful protest, police declared the march illegal and the situation unravelled quickly.

Percussion bombs and pepper spray exploded at the corner of Peel and Ste. Catherine Sts., a car was set on fire at the corner of Stanley and Ste. Catherine Sts. and chaos ensued as the police started to [Continue reading in new window...]

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What if the U.S. becomes an oil exporter? – The Globe and Mail

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Since the middle of the last century, the United States has been a net importer of oil (and not many years ago, it imported about two-thirds of its yearly consumption). The assumption of continued U.S. dependence on “foreign” oil provided one foundation stone for future Canadian prosperity. Canada, a self-described “energy superpower,” would always be able to send ever-larger quantities of oil to slake our neighbour’s insatiable thirst.

But what if the U.S. becomes an oil exporter, no longer needing anyone else’s oil? The change – or threat, if you prefer – for Canada would be immense. Indeed, it’s not too far-fetched to say that all the assumptions on which Canada has based its fossil-fuel industries can no longer be taken as axiomatically correct.

For the bitumen oil in Alberta, the future could be particularly murky. The oil resources there are immense, but finding markets for that oil might be very hard, indeed [Continue reading in new window...]

 

 

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As ice cap melts, militaries vie for Arctic edge – Associated Press

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — To the world’s military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts.

By Arctic standards, the region is already buzzing with military activity, and experts believe that will increase significantly in the years ahead.

Last month, Norway wrapped up one of the largest Arctic maneuvers ever — Exercise Cold Response — with 16,300 troops from 14 countries training on the ice for everything from high intensity warfare to terror threats. Attesting to the harsh conditions, five Norwegian troops were killed when their C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed near the summit of Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest mountain.

The U.S., Canada and Denmark held major exercises two months ago, and in an unprecedented move, the military chiefs of the eight main Arctic powers — Canada, the U.S., Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland — gathered at a [Continue reading in new window...]

via Associated Press.

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Canada ups retirement age in bid to balance budget – Yahoo! News Canada

March 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Canada’s center-right government called for the retirement age to be raised and for major public service cuts Thursday, in an austerity budget that aims to balance the books by 2016.

Tackling unpopular measures that many industrialized countries are being forced to consider as their populations age, the Canadian government said its budget would help the country move a step ahead.

“Other Western countries face the risk of long-term economic decline. We have a rare opportunity to [Continue reading in new window...]

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Canadian Military Leak to Russia Riles Allies – WSJ.com

March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A Canadian naval officer allegedly leaked a large cache of military communications data to Russia, causing a serious breach between U.S. and Canadian intelligence officials, said people familiar with the situation.

Though U.S. and Canadian officials have now patched up their differences, the fallout underscored the seriousness with which Washington has taken the incident despite Canadian insistence that allies haven’t been overly concerned.

One person familiar with the matter described the breach as roughly matching in volume the U.S. data loss to WikiLeaks, the document-sharing group whose work has riled governments world-wide.

In January, Canadian officials alleged a Canadian naval intelligence officer, Lt. Jeffrey Paul Delisle, illegally passed sensitive national-security information to a [Continue reading in new window...]

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Obama’s Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Look to China Sales – Bloomberg

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

President Barack Obama’s decision yesterday to reject a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline may prompt Canada to turn to China for oil exports.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in a telephone call yesterday, told Obama “Canada will continue to work to diversify its energy exports,” according to details provided by Harper’s office. Canadian Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver said relying less on the U.S. would help strengthen the country’s “financial security.”

The “decision by the Obama administration underlines the importance of diversifying and expanding our markets, including the growing Asian market,” Oliver told reporters in Ottawa.

Currently, 99 percent of Canada’s crude exports go to the U.S., a figure that Harper wants to reduce in his bid to make Canada a “superpower” in global energy markets.

Canada accounts for more than [Read full story...]

 

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