Tag: coal

Someone noticed

Baiting The Left Climate Cult 2 Comments

Also: Fireside chat about the coal injunction

The people behind the injunction are against the expansion of natural gas-fired power generation, against the continuation of coal-fired power generation, and also against nuclear power. So what’s left?

And – Wind in Alberta bottoms out three times over the last week

Coal Injunction Part 4: Manitoba activist farmer and Saskatoon environmental podcaster

Climate Cult 19 Comments

The Coal Injunction, Part 4: Affidavits of a Manitoba activist farmer and a Saskatoon environmental podcaster

Okay, I can see the very much adult Saskatoon podcaster having some standing. She is at least and adult and in Saskathcewan, so likely uses power SaskPower produces. But if she lives in certain parts of the city, she could actually be a Saskatoon Light and Power customer.

The National Farmers Union activist farmer, on the other hand, is neither a Saskatchewan resident nor a SaskPower customer, unless he has a very long extension cord from east of Winnipeg to Moosomin.

Coal Injunction, Part 2: their arguments against coal

Climate Cult 9 Comments

The Coal Injunction, Part 2: Arguments against continued coal use made in injunction filings

A 12-year-old child, a podcaster and a Manitoban as well as Saskatchewan Environmental Society and Citizens for Public Justice have filed for an injunction to stop Saskatchewan’s recently announced plants to rebuild its coal fleet in its tracks. In Part 1, the stage is set. In Part 2, Pipeline Online digs into the legal filing, known as the “orginating application,” itself, laying out their arguments to end coal-fired power generation for good.

Lawfare engaged to kill Saskatchewan coal revival

Baiting The Left Climate Cult 5 Comments
Boundary Dam Power Station

Pipeline Online does one of its deepest dives yet into the injunction application meant to shut down Saskatchewan’s coal-fired generation fleet, just as this province begins its rebirth. At stake are 1100 jobs, billions of dollars, and keeping 44% of Saskatchewan’s lights on. And just who gets to govern around here, anyhow?

The Coal Injunction, Part 1: Do a 12 year old, a podcaster and someone who doesn’t even live here get to kill 1100 coal-related jobs?

I spent five days working on this five part series which starts Monday. The Saskatchewan Environmental Society and Citizens for Public Justice have put forward a 12-year-old non-binary child from Regina who has been in national headlines now three times in two years (attention seeking, perhaps?) as the Saskatchewan version of Greta Mark II as part of this. And be forewarned, the lawyer who did that said that if anyone said nasty things online about the child he put forward, there could be legal consequences. Is he using the child as bait? I dig into this in Part 3.

The other inviduals are a Saskatoon environmental podcaster who is taking a poli sci degree in her 50s. And the third is a Manitoba farmer who neither lives in Saskatchewan nor is a SaskPower customer.

And it was only at the end of this process I realized the lawyer filing the case has run unsuccessfully for office five times. Is he trying to accomplish through the courts what he failed at the ballot box?

This is lawfare, pure and simple.

I’ll have a piece each day. Watch for it and share if you’re willing.

What’s a hundred grand when we’re saving an non-existent EV industry?

Climate Cult 15 Comments

Quick Dick McDick says the canola tariffs just cost his farm $100,000 overnight. Want to know what he thinks about that? That’s just ONE FARM, by the way. Just one.

Coal injunction:

I am working on a major five-part series to run next week on the efforts by some activists to use a court injunction to block Saskatchewan’s coal revival efforts before it even gets going. Among them is a Greta Mark II, a 12-year-old non-binary child who has been in the headlines at age 10 for the pronoun issue, then at age 11 for skipping school because of climate anxiety. Another doesn’t even live in Saskatchewan. You can’t make this up. As a prelude to that series, read Bronwyn Eyre’s column on judicial activism and lawfare. It ties directly into this coal injunction nonsense and is a good primer for what’s to come.

 

Podcast on Sask NDP’s take on coal, minister response

Climate Cult 4 Comments

Pipeline Online Podcast: Aleana Young Ep. 15: Would the Sask NDP reverse the coal decision? And what about nuclear?

It was a pretty lively and interesting podcast.

And here’s the minister’s response to this text story: Coal Revival: Would the NDP reverse the coal decision? And why are they now big on nuclear power?

Minister’s comments:

Coal Revival: Harrison says NDP will shut down coal plants immediately if they were to form government.

Living on borrowed time, Ring of Fire and a pipeline to where??

Climate Cult Drill, Baby, Drill 8 Comments

Coal Revival: From living on borrowed time to once again having a future: United Mine Workers of America Local 7606. This is a powerful story about coal, Estevan, Saskatchewan, SaskPower and Westmoreland.

Pipeline Online Podcast Ep. 13: Greg Rickford, Ontario Minister for the Ring of Fire. Are we Can’tada?

Danielle Smith and Doug Ford gave a press conference just before Bronwyn and I went online with Monday’s podcast, conveniently with the Ontario minister responsible for the Ring of Fire. Something came out of Ford that REALLY caught my eye.

He was talking about a deepwater port on James Bay. That’s the dangly part of Hudson Bay that happens to be really close, relatively speaking, to Ring of Fire.

No details have come out yet, but we have to remember this – there is no road, no railroad, no pipeline, NOTHING to James Bay. That area of northern Ontario might as well be the moon, which is why it has been so hard to get a GRAVEL road built to the Ring of Fire. I was shocked, yes, gravel. A multi billion dollar development to rival Fort McMurray and you’re going to have a gravel road???? And they talked about possibly a pipeline to said port, which will be conjured up from thin air. (Maybe they should build a paved road, first?)

What does this mean for Saskatchewan? Now there are potentially three ports in play on Hudson/James Bay? As I wrote last week, without a fleet of icebreakers at over $3 billion a pop, any port on Hudson Bay is a fool’s errand, at least for shipping oil.

But it seems Ontario is now serious about a new oil pipeline, entirely in Canada, to replace Enbridge Line 5.

And Premier Moe spoke a while back about any pipeline through Saskatchewan being automatically approved. Not sure what he meant by that, but is that why he didn’t need to take part in this press conference, since he was present at Stampede?

I didn’t have time to dig into all of this, but maybe I’ll do a column on it later this week. Here’s the Canadian Press stories about it.

Premiers Danielle Smith and Doug Ford agree to study new energy corridors, more trade

Ontario Premier Doug Ford pitches railway to Ring of Fire, Alberta is on board – Note, this is the first major rail project I’ve heard about, well, since I was born. Is this why the Sask NDP talk about rail projects, using EVRAZ steel?

Alberta to hold nuclear power consultations as reactor companies weigh opportunities

That column about Hudson Bay I referred to: Brian Zinchuk: Let’s get serious about shipping oil from Hudson Bay

I updated it with an animation of sea ice from last year to show how serious of an issue it is. https://pipeline-online-v1750862700.websitepro-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Hudson-Bay-Ice-Gif.gif

“We are over the top happy”

Drill, Baby, Drill No Comments
Boundary Dam Power Station

 

Coal Revival: RM of Estevan Reeve Jason LeBlanc gave a speech in the snow on Parliament hill in support of coal, now it has been saved.

Coal Revival: Revisiting Jason LeBlanc’s 2019 speech on Parliament Hill in support of coal and against the carbon tax

Coal Revival: RM of Estevan lauds practical and common-sense decision

I should note that Jason LeBlanc is VERY well known in the Saskatchewan farming community from his many years as an auctioneer. In 2019 when former Sask NDP Leader Ryan Meili disparaged LeBlanc for that very speech from the relative safety of in the legislature, registrations for the protest truck convoy heading to Regina in the next few days doubled overnight. The phone rang off the hook. Over 800 trucks showed up a few days later for that rally.

Aerial photos taken by Kevin Cooke from Dennis Mainil’s airplane, flying over the convoy from Weyburn to Regina.

You can watch the video of Mieli in question period here. Go to time index 2:03:00. The Hansard written record of the debate can be found here on Page 5646.

 

First good sleep in years

Drill, Baby, Drill 5 Comments

Coal Revival: “I’m going to stay,” one coal worker told IBEW

Coal Revival: “I’m going to stay,” one coal worker told IBEW. This is one union that is over the moon with the right wing government that just saved their industry and jobs.

More formal letter of support from IBEW:

Coal Revival: IBEW says coal announcement will ‘have a meaningful impact on the lives of our members and their families’

Part 5 of Upgrader series:

Regina Refinery at 90 and Devine’s Upgraders, Part 5: Were the Regina and Lloydminster upgraders worth it? The two upgraders’ massive impact on provincial revenue

Pick up your jaws…

Drill, Baby, Drill 18 Comments

Coal Revival: United Mine Workers say federal mandate to phase out coal-fired electricity posed existential threats to entire communities

Here’s a union supporting a right-wing government’s move to rebuild its coal fleet. It has everything to do with the left wing wants their industry to disappear, and the SaskParty is moving to keep it going for decades to come. Interesting, that. As in the musical Hamilton – The World Turned Upside Down.

“Saskatchewan’s leadership in asserting provincial jurisdiction over its energy future deserves recognition. While the federal mandate to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030 posed existential threats to entire communities, this new direction offers hope and continuity.”

I’ll have a more in-depth interview with the union in coming days, as well as a similar story from the other union involved, and a similar tale.

Also, in my series on the upgraders:

Regina Refinery at 90 and Devine’s Upgraders Part 3: The Lloydminster Bi-Provincial Upgrader doubled the city in size

 

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