by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Environment, Government and Regulation, Other, Other Stories, Theo van de Kletersteeg
By Theo van de Kletersteeg
With carbon taxes and concern over climate change once again in the limelight, I thought it might be opportune to update an article that was published in Canadian Sailings in November of 2017.
Scientists and green supporters have explained to us during the past decade or so that global temperature increases must be kept well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, if we wish to avoid the more egregious consequences of climate change. Accordingly, the 2015 Paris Agreement requires that signatories to the Agreement implement programmes to reduce national carbon emissions to levels that are thought to result in global temperatures to be kept in check, and to “pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C”, compared to the 0.9°C temperature rise that has taken place since 1870. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Business and Economy, Government and Regulation, Other, Other Stories, Theo van de Kletersteeg
By Theo van de Kletersteeg
By now we all know that somewhere along the line, the Trudeau government decided to abandon its 2015 election campaign promise to balance the federal budget by the time voters go to the polls again in 2019. Instead, Liberals plan to continue their deficit spending and related borrowing, with Bill Morneau, our Finance Minister, saying that “Every responsible leader knows that a good plan has to be flexible enough to absorb the changes in circumstances because circumstances always change.” Really! With an economy that, to be sure, has its problems, but which nonetheless has produced ever-decreasing rates of unemployment and great corporate profits, the only “changes in circumstances” that I see are higher than anticipated revenues for the federal government and most provincial governments. So how could we go from a projected federal balanced budget to an $18.1 billion federal budget deficit that is now projected for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019? And why is it that deficits are now projected “forever”? (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Business and Economy, Ports and Terminals, Theo van de Kletersteeg, Top Stories
By Theo van de Kletersteeg
Canadian Sailings has recently completed another annual study comparing financial and other performance data related to federally-operated Canadian Port Authorities from 2016 to 2017 (Data for 2018 will not be available until July or August).
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by Canadian Sailings | Mar 5, 2019 | Business and Economy, Other, Theo van de Kletersteeg
By Theo van de Kletersteeg
There would be major public benefits from construction and operation of a pipeline like Energy East, or through other arrangements that could result in higher volumes of U.S. oil being purchased for use in Eastern Canadian refineries, in exchange for higher export volumes of Western Canadian oil. But, and this is a big but, pipelines need long term commitments, and refineries want the flexibility of buying crude globally at the lowest possible price. Perhaps Energy East never had a viable future after all, after from bureaucratic bungling, regulations changing on the fly, and public opposition. Does that mean that the idea of lessening our dependence on U.S. markets is dead? No, far from it. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Aug 29, 2018 | Business and Economy, Other, Theo van de Kletersteeg
By Theo van de Kletersteeg
In this world of political correctness, it’s hard to find supporters of Donald Trump who are willing to speak out, particularly in Canada where trade-related issues have taken on serious emotional overtones. I would like to offer an additional perspective that might help us understand how we in Canada found ourselves in trade conflicts with Mr. Trump almost from the moment he was inaugurated. (more…)
by Canadian Sailings | Feb 25, 2018 | Other, Theo van de Kletersteeg
By Theo van de Kletersteeg
Canadian Sailings has recently completed another annual study comparing financial and other performance data related to federally-operated Canadian Port Authorities from 2015 to 2016 (Data for 2017 will not be available until July or August).
Toronto Port Authority
Because its financial statements include the operations of Toronto Island Airport, they are not comparable to those of other ACPA ports. Accordingly, Port of Toronto was not included in the study (except as noted).
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