Alberta
US lawmakers and citizens voice preference for Canada to replace Russian imports via Keystone XL revival
President Biden cancelled major pipeline from Canada on his first day in office
From The Canadian Energy Centre Ltd.
On the heels of President Biden’s ban on the import of all Russian oil and gas products, a new poll shows that 71 per cent of Americans think Biden should reverse his decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, while 64 per cent believe Canadian production should replace Russian oil.
The U.S. bought 640,000 barrels per day on average of oil and petroleum products from Russia between July and December, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The Keystone XL pipeline would have had capacity to ship 830,000 barrels per day from Western Canada to the U.S. refineries, starting in 2023.
Instead of looking to America’s largest trading partner, Canada, to increase oil exports, the White House is turningto regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela.
Maintaining a secure and reliable supply of energy products has never been more important.
US leaders continue to challenge the year-old decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline expansion project, calling for its reinstatement.
Here’s what they had to say this week:
Senator John Boozman (AR) tweeted:
Pulling the plug on the Keystone XL Pipeline hurt Americans. It cost 1000s of jobs—many in Arkansas—and a cleaner, faster energy supply. Restarting this project & opening up domestic oil & gas deposits will benefit American consumers & our allies abroad.
Senator Shelley Moore Capito (WV) tweeted:
Why are West Virginians paying more at the pump?
– No domestic production on federal lands
– Cancelation of Keystone XL pipeline
– Anti-fossil fuel policies
– Record inflation
– Pipeline buildout prevention
Decisions have consequences, @potus, and it’s time to take responsibility.
Senator Bill Hagerty (TN) tweeted:
Biden should be announcing today that we’re reopening the Keystone XL Pipeline, that we’re going to be drilling on federal lands. We need to become energy independent again now—not driving up prices around the world & fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Instead of ineffective green energy fanaticism, the Biden Administration needs to come out and clearly state that we’re going to reopen the Keystone XL pipeline, that we’re going to get back in the energy business, and that we’re going to become energy independent again.
Biden’s work with our adversaries for energy has to stop! And we could stop it—re-open the Keystone XL pipeline, DRILL, get back in the energy business, & remove this massive lever that Vladimir Putin has over the American economy. Biden could and should do this TODAY.
Senator Ron Johnson (WI) tweeted:
When President Biden got into office, he canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline, ignored the crisis at the southern border, and pushed for out-of-control government spending that sparked inflation rates we haven’t seen in decades. Democrat policies have weakened America.
Senator Rick Scott (FL) tweeted:
Joe Biden’s war on American energy is why gas prices have skyrocketed. Does he care that this hurts working families? Nope.
Biden has been bragging about his failed policies, like killing the Keystone Pipeline. Americans can’t afford this shameful indifference. #BidensPriceHike
RT: @MikeKBerg “Joe Biden on the campaign trail: “I guarantee you, I guarantee you we are going to end fossil fuel.” Now gas prices are at record highs and Biden says his policies aren’t to blame?
Senator Roger Wicker (MS) said:
President Biden’s hostile plans for American energy came into view in 2019 when he told his far-left supporters, “I guarantee you, we are going to end fossil fuel.” Since taking office, he has been working overtime to cut production of U.S. oil, natural gas, and coal. Last year, he ended the Keystone XL pipeline project, halted new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, banned drilling in oil-rich parts of Alaska, and rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, all of which will kill American energy jobs. These decisions have driven up energy costs and made it harder for us to absorb recent price surges stemming from Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA) said:
Under President Biden’s leadership, energy imports from Russia increased by 34%. This administration has not only stalled oil and natural gas exports to our allies, but has blocked further energy transportation infrastructure in the U.S., like the Keystone XL Pipeline, while supporting projects abroad, like Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline. With investments in our own pipeline infrastructure, American refineries could have easy access to Canadian crude oil instead of Russian oil.
Rep. Troy Balderson (OH) tweeted:
Bad for American energy independence:
❌ Canceling Keystone XL Pipeline
❌ Halting energy leases on federal lands
❌ Greenlighting Russia’s Nord Stream 2
❌ Begging OPEC for oil
❌ Punishing producer w/ new taxes and fees
Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO) tweeted:
My bill, H.R. 7012, restarts the Keystone Pipeline, allows responsible drilling in ANWR, expedites LNG exports, restarts O&G leasing, provides ammo to Ukraine, and actually bans oil and gas imports from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela. This is the real solution America needs!
Rep. Kat Cammack (FL) tweeted:
There was no funding for authorizing the restart of the Keystone pipeline, and this administration has not approved a single permit since they took office.
We need to get serious about domestic energy production.
Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA) tweeted:
During my 39 county tour stops, Iowans tell me they want America to be energy independent again. We should build the Keystone XL Pipeline and increase ethanol and biodiesel. It’s time to end our reliance on foreign energy! #IA04
Rep. Mark Green (TN) tweeted:
By blocking our own pipeline but allowing others, Joe Biden has made it clear that both climate change and American jobs are just a political game to him.
Rep. Lisa McClain (MI) tweeted:
One of President Biden’s first actions in office was to shut down the Keystone XL pipeline.
As much as gas prices right now are a result of Putin’s war, they’re also a direct result of Biden’s poor policies.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY) tweeted:
On his first day in office, Joe Biden made his anti-energy agenda clear.
He ended the Keystone XL pipeline and launched his war on American energy independence.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY) tweeted:
What should Biden do to increase energy production?
✅ End his freeze on new oil and gas projects
✅ Restart construction of Keystone XL Pipeline
✅ Fast-track pending export permits for liquified natural gas (LNG)
Rep. Bruce Westerman (AR) tweeted:
@POTUS can’t gaslight the American people into believing Putin is the only reason for increased gas prices.
Gas prices started to rise from Biden’s first day in office when he launched his war on American energy.
He made this bed. Now we have to lie in it.
Governor Greg Abbott (TX) tweeted:
New poll: Large majority of Americans unhappy with Biden’s handling of high gas prices.
Ya think?
He caused it when he closed pipelines & canceled oil & gas permits.
If you stop production and transportation of oil, the price of gas goes up.
Alberta
Alberta mother accuses health agency of trying to vaccinate son against her wishes
From LifeSiteNews
Alberta Health Services has been accused of attempting to vaccinate a child in school against his parent’s wishes.
On November 6, Alberta Health Services staffers visited Edmonton Hardisty School where they reportedly attempted to vaccinate a grade 6 student despite his parents signing a form stating that they did not wish for him to receive the vaccines.
“It is clear they do not prioritize parental rights, and in not doing so, they traumatize students,” the boy’s mother Kerri Findling told the Counter Signal.
During the school visit, AHS planned to vaccinate sixth graders with the HPV and hepatitis B vaccines. Notably, both HPV and hepatitis B are vaccines given to prevent diseases normally transmitted sexually.
Among the chief concerns about the HPV vaccine has been the high number of adverse reactions reported after taking it, including a case where a 16 year-old Australian girl was made infertile due to the vaccine.
Additionally, in 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration received reports of 28 deaths associated with the HPV vaccine. Among the 6,723 adverse reactions reported that year, 142 were deemed life-threatening and 1,061 were considered serious.
Children whose parents had written “refused” on their forms were supposed to return to the classroom when the rest of the class was called into the vaccination area.
However, in this case, Findling alleged that AHS staffers told her son to proceed to the vaccination area, despite seeing that she had written “refused” on his form.
When the boy asked if he could return to the classroom, as he was certain his parents did not intend for him to receive the shots, the staff reportedly said “no.” However, he chose to return to the classroom anyway.
Shortly after, he was called into the office and taken back to the vaccination area. Findling said that her son then left the school building and braved the sub-zero temperatures to call his parents.
Following his parents’ arrival at the school, AHS claimed the incident was a misunderstanding due to a “new hire,” attesting that the mistake would have been caught before their son was vaccinated.
“If a student leaves the vaccination center without receiving the vaccine, it should be up to the parents to get the vaccine at a different time, if they so desire, not the school to enforce vaccination on behalf of AHS,” Findling declared.
Findling’s story comes just a few months after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised a new Bill of Rights affirming “God-given” parental authority over children.
A draft version of a forthcoming Alberta Bill of Rights provided to LifeSiteNews includes a provision beefing up parental rights, declaring the “freedom of parents to make informed decisions concerning the health, education, welfare and upbringing of their children.”
Alberta
Alberta’s fiscal update projects budget surplus, but fiscal fortunes could quickly turn
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
According to the recent mid-year update tabled Thursday, the Smith government projects a $4.6 billion surplus in 2024/25, up from the $2.9 billion surplus projected just a few months ago. Despite the good news, Premier Smith must reduce spending to avoid budget deficits.
The fiscal update projects resource revenue of $20.3 billion in 2024/25. Today’s relatively high—but very volatile—resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is helping finance today’s spending and maintain a balanced budget. But it will not last forever.
For perspective, in just the last decade the Alberta government’s annual resource revenue has been as low as $2.8 billion (2015/16) and as high as $25.2 billion (2022/23).
And while the resource revenue rollercoaster is currently in Alberta’s favor, Finance Minister Nate Horner acknowledges that “risks are on the rise” as oil prices have dropped considerably and forecasters are projecting downward pressure on prices—all of which impacts resource revenue.
In fact, the government’s own estimates show a $1 change in oil prices results in an estimated $630 million revenue swing. So while the Smith government plans to maintain a surplus in 2024/25, a small change in oil prices could quickly plunge Alberta back into deficit. Premier Smith has warned that her government may fall into a budget deficit this fiscal year.
This should come as no surprise. Alberta’s been on the resource revenue rollercoaster for decades. Successive governments have increased spending during the good times of high resource revenue, but failed to rein in spending when resource revenues fell.
Previous research has shown that, in Alberta, a $1 increase in resource revenue is associated with an estimated 56-cent increase in program spending the following fiscal year (on a per-person, inflation-adjusted basis). However, a decline in resource revenue is not similarly associated with a reduction in program spending. This pattern has led to historically high levels of government spending—and budget deficits—even in more recent years.
Consider this: If this fiscal year the Smith government received an average level of resource revenue (based on levels over the last 10 years), it would receive approximately $13,000 per Albertan. Yet the government plans to spend nearly $15,000 per Albertan this fiscal year (after adjusting for inflation). That’s a huge gap of roughly $2,000—and it means the government is continuing to take big risks with the provincial budget.
Of course, if the government falls back into deficit there are implications for everyday Albertans.
When the government runs a deficit, it accumulates debt, which Albertans must pay to service. In 2024/25, the government’s debt interest payments will cost each Albertan nearly $650. That’s largely because, despite running surpluses over the last few years, Albertans are still paying for debt accumulated during the most recent string of deficits from 2008/09 to 2020/21 (excluding 2014/15), which only ended when the government enjoyed an unexpected windfall in resource revenue in 2021/22.
According to Thursday’s mid-year fiscal update, Alberta’s finances continue to be at risk. To avoid deficits, the Smith government should meaningfully reduce spending so that it’s aligned with more reliable, stable levels of revenue.
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