Roundup: The “watered down” oil and gas emissions cap

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The federal government unveiled their oil and gas emissions cap while at COP28, and the predictable reactions happened—the Greens, Bloc and NDP decried it as being too weak and watered down (never mind that there are recent court decisions that the government has to consider when it comes to just how far they can go); Danielle Smith and Scott Moe were performatively angry, even though it pretty much aligns with Alberta’s existing targets; and the oil and gas lobby decried how much money this was going to lose them. Economists point out that this undermines the carbon pricing system even further.

The cap is only on the pollution, not the production, because that would be provincial jurisdiction, so theoretically these companies could continue to increase production if they better control and capture emissions. (Also, refinery emissions are not in these because that’s part of the clean fuel standard). There is also a cap-and-trade system attached to this emissions cap, so that if a facility goes over their targets, they can buy offsets from a company below their cap, as well as pay into a decarbonisation fund.

Now we wait for the inevitable court challenges, and those dragging their feet to comply because they hope that the polls stay true and that Poilievre will form government in two years and they can ignore all of this then, as though climate change isn’t still the biggest threat to our lives, well, ever.

Ukraine Dispatch:

Russians struck the Danube River port infrastructure once again, killing a driver and damaging grain infrastructure. Ukrainians are starting to use rail to bypass the blockade by Polish trucks at their border. And the Ukrainian government has come to an agreement with two American firms to jointly manufacture 155 mm shells in Ukraine, but it could be two or three years before that production can come on line.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau has named Manon Jeannotte, an indigenous woman from Gaspé, to be the new lieutenant governor in Quebec.
  • Mélanie Joly put out a statement condemning Hamas’ raping of Israeli women, after weeks of pressure to do so.
  • Mark Holland announced $2 million to help speed the processing of international medical graduates, and $3.5 million for health workers’ wellbeing.
  • Mark Miller announced tighter rules around international students and vowed to crack down on fraudulent “degree mills” that exploit these students.
  • Manitoba regional chief Cindy Woodhouse has been elected as the new AFN national chief; she supports the Ontario First Nations carbon price court challenge.
  • A group of MPs and senators are calling for better tracking of emissions from the logging industry, which has been difficult to track.
  • Pierre Poilievre moved over 100 amendments to Estimates votes, which would lead to some 30 hours of voting—then left town to attend a fundraiser in Montreal.
  • Jasraj Hallan and company were shouting at Chrystia Freeland at a committee appearance for the sake of getting their social media clips. (Decorum!)
  • Two grocery CEOs told the agriculture committee that signing onto the Grocery Code of Conduct would actually raise prices. (Sure, Jan).
  • The Commons heritage committee has summoned CBC president Catherine Tait to answer questions about executive bonuses amidst cuts and layoffs.
  • Former justice minister and special envoy for antisemitism Irwin Cotler is under 24-hour police protection after threats on his life.
  • R.J. Simpson was chosen as the next premier of the Northwest Territories.
  • Susan Delacourt is unconvinced by the Conservatives’ declared respect for Parliament when they are only using it to generate clips for their socials.

Odds and ends:

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