Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won't bend on his obsession with getting Canada's electrical grid to net-zero emissions by 2035..His prime henchman, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is threatening to impose emission caps on Alberta's oil and gas industry if the province doesn't meet the impossible emission targets. .The great Canadian green dream is to have the entire country free of oil and gas use within decades. Energy will come solely from electrical generation and from non-emitting sources..The cost for upgrading the national grid to meet those goals will be in the hundreds of billions of dollars..Crushing Western Canadian oil and gas production won't help meet those targets but it will make for some great virtue signaling from the Trudeau Liberals. They will be saving the planet through shutting down those greedy, fossil-fuel producing Albertans..Meanwhile, the Liberal government is financing the construction of nuclear reactors in Romania to the tune of $3 billion Canadian tax dollars. .The Romania/Canada nuclear partnership is not a new thing..In the late 1980s, Canada made a deal to supply Romania with five CANDU nuclear reactors. The deal turned into an utter debacle. Of the five reactors, only two were completed and brought into service and it was over a decade behind schedule. The remaining three reactors stand partially built to this day. .Undeterred, the Canadian government has decided Romania is a safe credit risk and will be loaning them billions to build fresh, new reactors. .While Romania's economy has been slowly but surely improving since it shed the yoke of communist rule, it remains one of the most corrupt countries in all of Europe. To say they are a high credit risk would be an understatement..If Romania was a safe place to lend funds to, they wouldn't need the Canadian government to step up and lend them the funds. .The new Romanian deal has all the makings of a debacle. .So why would the federal government sink billions of tax dollars into this deal? .Candu Energy Inc. is a Canadian wholly-owned subsidiary of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Inc. In 2014, SNC Lavalin, signed a co-operation agreement with China Nuclear Power Engineering Company Ltd. for the construction of two nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant in Romania. It's not clear if the latest $2 billion loan is for this project or a new one. .In other words, the deal will be carried out by a Quebec company that already has a reputation for corrupt dealings overseas. It's no wonder SNC-Lavalin and Romania can see eye-to-eye on such deals. .It was recently reported the government of Canada had to write off an undisclosed amount it had lent a Mexican airline to purchase engines from Quebec's Pratt and Whitney facility. It sure would be refreshing if we could sell products from Quebec on their own merit rather than coaxing sales through financing with our own money. .If the Trudeau government was serious about decarbonizing Canada's environment, they would be supporting the construction of nuclear reactors across the country..The Canadian economy is currently a mess as GDP per capita continues to drop while inflation crushes household budgets. If indeed the way to battle those economic challenges is through government spending, why on earth is the government investing billions into reactors in Romania while spending nothing on them within Canada?.The deal stinks to high heaven and is sure to turn into yet another white elephant for taxpayers to bail out. .Meanwhile, the West is producing what oil and gas it can to finance federal follies through taxes.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won't bend on his obsession with getting Canada's electrical grid to net-zero emissions by 2035..His prime henchman, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is threatening to impose emission caps on Alberta's oil and gas industry if the province doesn't meet the impossible emission targets. .The great Canadian green dream is to have the entire country free of oil and gas use within decades. Energy will come solely from electrical generation and from non-emitting sources..The cost for upgrading the national grid to meet those goals will be in the hundreds of billions of dollars..Crushing Western Canadian oil and gas production won't help meet those targets but it will make for some great virtue signaling from the Trudeau Liberals. They will be saving the planet through shutting down those greedy, fossil-fuel producing Albertans..Meanwhile, the Liberal government is financing the construction of nuclear reactors in Romania to the tune of $3 billion Canadian tax dollars. .The Romania/Canada nuclear partnership is not a new thing..In the late 1980s, Canada made a deal to supply Romania with five CANDU nuclear reactors. The deal turned into an utter debacle. Of the five reactors, only two were completed and brought into service and it was over a decade behind schedule. The remaining three reactors stand partially built to this day. .Undeterred, the Canadian government has decided Romania is a safe credit risk and will be loaning them billions to build fresh, new reactors. .While Romania's economy has been slowly but surely improving since it shed the yoke of communist rule, it remains one of the most corrupt countries in all of Europe. To say they are a high credit risk would be an understatement..If Romania was a safe place to lend funds to, they wouldn't need the Canadian government to step up and lend them the funds. .The new Romanian deal has all the makings of a debacle. .So why would the federal government sink billions of tax dollars into this deal? .Candu Energy Inc. is a Canadian wholly-owned subsidiary of Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Inc. In 2014, SNC Lavalin, signed a co-operation agreement with China Nuclear Power Engineering Company Ltd. for the construction of two nuclear reactors at the Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant in Romania. It's not clear if the latest $2 billion loan is for this project or a new one. .In other words, the deal will be carried out by a Quebec company that already has a reputation for corrupt dealings overseas. It's no wonder SNC-Lavalin and Romania can see eye-to-eye on such deals. .It was recently reported the government of Canada had to write off an undisclosed amount it had lent a Mexican airline to purchase engines from Quebec's Pratt and Whitney facility. It sure would be refreshing if we could sell products from Quebec on their own merit rather than coaxing sales through financing with our own money. .If the Trudeau government was serious about decarbonizing Canada's environment, they would be supporting the construction of nuclear reactors across the country..The Canadian economy is currently a mess as GDP per capita continues to drop while inflation crushes household budgets. If indeed the way to battle those economic challenges is through government spending, why on earth is the government investing billions into reactors in Romania while spending nothing on them within Canada?.The deal stinks to high heaven and is sure to turn into yet another white elephant for taxpayers to bail out. .Meanwhile, the West is producing what oil and gas it can to finance federal follies through taxes.
