With the news out of Ukraine becoming more pressing, we’re once again seeing some bad faith takes in Canada about how we should be displacing Russian gas with our LNG, which is never going to happen. Ever. And people should know this, but they keep clinging to this fantasy because it sells to a particular base, but lying is lying, whether it’s to yourself or to your voters.

Receipts? Flows at Niagara and Iroquois. We've moved from 'baseload' exports to the US to seasonal via Iroquois and to 'baseload' imports from the US at Niagara. pic.twitter.com/83DvRixYpI

— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 3, 2024

Line 9 was built, reversed, and reversed again in Quebec. And Quebec has no legal authority (ask BC) to stop a federal pipeline. They have political clout though, so the person you should ask is Pierre Poillievre: would you force a major project through over the objections of QC?

— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 3, 2024

Asking is one thing. Signing long-term offtake contracts is another. And, if you know the history of Canadian LNG, it's a lot of talk of booming economies and export markets, and a dearth of long-term contracts and/or Canadian producer equity participation. Waiting for the NEP?

— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 3, 2024

We don't have a national oil company, Lori. And, there were projects proposed for Canada's east coast that never secured more than a single long-term offtake contract nor any equity participation from major Canadian producers.

— Andrew Leach (@andrew_leach) March 3, 2024

As always:

pic.twitter.com/zY3hBpWlWB

— Effin' Birds (@EffinBirds) March 3, 2024

Ukraine Dispatch:

A Russian drone attack hit an apartment building in Odesa over the weekend, and the final tally shows twelve people were killed, including a baby. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is calling on Western allies to summon the political will to get them the aid they need (speaking mostly to the Americans for that one). Veterans across Ukraine have been disavowing medals in support of a gay soldier whose medal was rescinded by the church.

Odesa. The rescue operation at the site of the Russian "Shahed" strike is ongoing. A total of 215 people are on the scene, including rescuers, police, and utility workers. I am grateful to every volunteer who helps.

So far, ten people have been reported killed, including three… pic.twitter.com/FU3Qtv28Tt

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 3, 2024

⚡️Occupation authorities shut down Crimean Bridge second night in a row.

The closure marks the second consecutive night that occupation authorities shut down the bridge. Officials blocked traffic overnight on March 3, amid reports of explosions.https://t.co/QrLLi21HzR

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 4, 2024

Good reads:

• Justin Trudeau met with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni in Toronto on Saturday, but their planned reception was shut down by pro-Palestinian protesters.
• It’s the Durham by-election today, and the Star has a look at the campaign in the riding, where the Liberals have been making a concerted effort.
• Mélanie Joly has announced a new round of sanctions on Russia in response to the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
• The Post has a full timeline of the firing of the two scientists from the Winnipeg Lab.
• Emily Laidlaw and Taylor Owen have conditional praise for the online harms bill.
• Kevin Carmichael calls out Poilievre and modern conservatives for not taking the actual economic lessons from the Mulroney era and instead engage in revisionism.
• Stephen Saideman hears about some of the shifting perspectives in Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what that means for the future of NATO.
• Philippe Lagassé looks back to the Mulroney-era defence white paper and sees the things that still haven’t changed over the intervening decades.
• Susan Delacourt and Matt Gurney discuss how politics became so stupid.

Odds and Ends:

For National Magazine, I took a closer look at Friday’s Supreme Court of Canada decision around IP addresses deserving a reasonable expectation of privacy.

New episodes released early for C$7+ subscribers.
This week I’m answering viewers’ #cdnpoli questions. https://t.co/dJ8Xsl8aJ8

— Dale Smith (@journo_dale) March 3, 2024

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