Canada:
How Canada’s Mining Sector Impacts the Economy
Canada is a mining nation.
From the Rockies to the Canadian Shield, and from the Plains and to the North, the variety of geology that exists in the country is immense – and this has created a large and unique opportunity for groundbreaking mineral discoveries.
As a result, Canada is one of the world’s largest exporters of minerals and metals, supplying approximately 60 different mineral commodities to over 100 countries.
AN INTRO TO CANADIAN MINING
Today’s infographic comes to us from Natural Resources Canada and it highlights an industry that has given Canada a competitive advantage in the global economy.
Canada moves towards imposing potential new tariffs on steel imports amid dumping fears
Justin Trudeau’s government is taking a key step toward imposing potential new tariffs and quotas on certain steel imports, with his finance chief saying a surge in foreign steel may be disrupting the market.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced a 15-day consultation on potential safeguard measures on seven types of steel imports. The provisional measures would be applied if the consultation shows producers are being harmed, Morneau said Tuesday, signaling there’s already evidence that’s happening.
20 major upcoming industrial and water treatment construction projects – Canada – August 2018
The accompanying table shows 20 of the largest upcoming industrial and water treatment construction projects in Canada. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations.
Hydro power storage project to be built near retired open pit coal mine
A clean power developer has received regulatory approval for a stored hydro project to be built on the site of a retired open pit coal mine about 60 kilometres east of Jasper National Park.
Turning Point Generation says it can now proceed with raising capital to build the Canyon Creek Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Project, the first large-scale storage project in the province, following approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission.
To solve interprovincial conflicts, first find common ground, says new minister
OTTAWA — The key to unlocking an ever-tightening knot of policy disputes between the provinces and the federal government will be to focus on those areas where everyone can agree, says the minister whose new job is to help do exactly that.
U.S. & International:
Macquarie funds to sell ownership interests in Puget Sound Energy
Funds controlled by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners Inc. are selling their ownership interest in Washington state utility Puget Sound Energy Inc. Puget Sound Energy on Aug. 8 said it would file with Washington state regulators for approval of the transaction, under which the Macquarie funds’ 44% noncontrolling interest in the utility would be disbursed to four parties, in September. Two existing owners will increase their holdings. Alberta Investment Management Corp. will increase its ownership interest to 13.6% and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. will boost its holdings to 20.9%.
Before Fixing the Infrastructure We Need to Address the Labor Issues
For a moment, dream of a world where the President and Congress have agreed on a funding mechanism for an ambitious overhaul of our nation’s infrastructure. Then watch the dream dissolve into a nightmare of labor-related roadblocks. This is the threat—both now and in the future—if employers can’t overcome the labor-related risks already in place, according to attorneys David Laurent, Min Suh and Kimberly Arouh of the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Canada:
Canada needs to focus on infrastructure in the North, Nunavut tells ministers’ conference
Canada says it wants to increase mining and development in the North, as discussed at a conference in Iqaluit this week, but Nunavut is calling for better infrastructure to make it happen. Ministers responsible for energy and mining from across the country met in Iqaluit for the Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference from Aug. 12 to 14.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Canada:
B.C. declares provincial state of emergency due to wildfires
The B.C. government has now declared a provincial state of emergency due to the wildfires burning around the province. This state of emergency will be in place for 14 days but may be extended or rescinded as necessary.
Solar Eclipsed Future looks cloudy for booming Manitoba solar power industry
An array of solar panels fastened to a rocky face above a cluster of cabins in the Canadian Shield is one of several record-shattering projects underway in Manitoba. The nearly 200 kilowatt, 588-panel system on a hill overlooking the rustic cabins at Tallpine Lodges in West Hawk Lake is just one of dozens of record-tying solar projects planned to come online within the next year. But this boom year for solar power could quickly go bust, after a subsidy program expired in April with nothing planned to replace it.
Swiss utility in LNG supply talks with Canada’s Goldboro project
Axpo, a Swiss utility and energy trader, said on Thursday it was in talks with a Canadian company planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the country’s East Coast for a 10-year supply deal. If the talks lead to a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA), they would help boost the chances of the C$10 billion ($7.6 billion) Goldboro project being built by Pieridae Energy to become the first LNG export terminal on Canada’s East Coast.
U.S. & International:
Nevada women in construction see some hiring progress
Miranda Ruff, project engineer at construction company McCarthy Building Cos. in Henderson, works with about six other women on a 29-person team renovating the Palms. It may not seem like much, but she’s impressed; there were only two women on the team when she started a little over a year ago. “More girls are coming into the field,” Miranda Ruff said. “I think they’re starting to realize how lucrative it is.”
Fixing the Construction Industry’s Skilled Labor Shortage
For the past several years, the construction industry has been suffering from a shortage of skilled laborers. This is adversely affecting both commercial and
residential construction projects, leading to drawn-out project completion timelines and higher costs for those looking to buy or rent property.
Idaho is 7th-highest state for percent of minimum wage earners
Idaho was tied for seventh-highest in the nation for its percentage of hourly wage-earners making the federal minimum wage or less in 2017. The data, released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, show Idaho tied with North Carolina; in both states, 3.3 percent of workers made $7.25 per hour or less, compared to a national average of 2.3 percent. The figures are much higher for women working in Idaho. While just 1.7 percent of Idaho’s male hourly workers earned $7.25 an hour or less in 2017, 4.6 percent of Idaho’s female hourly workers fell at or below that mark.
U.S. & International:
Unions, tribes back Clean Water Act changes to boost pipelines, energy projects
Proposed legislation to rein in the states’ use of their Clean Water Act authorities to block energy infrastructure would help natural gas pipeline projects that support thousands of labor jobs, a trade union official told a Senate committee. But Democrats pointed to concerns that such an approach could impair states’ ability to protect water quality. A Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Aug. 16 gave vent to industry frustration that mounted over high-profile denials by New York regulators of water quality certifications for interstate gas pipelines, including the Williams Cos. Inc.-led Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC project and National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and Empire Pipeline Inc.‘s Northern Access project.
Workers who opt out of union dues are freeloaders
Unionized labor has helped bring about major improvements in workplace practices in this country, including the 40-hour work week, paid vacations, better pay, health care and pensions. But labor unions have been under attack since they formed because they help workers stand up for their rights. The latest attacks have been through the court system, with the Supreme Court ruling that workers in the public sector who are represented by unions do not have to pay union dues if they opt out.
The workers who don’t pay their fair share are placing the burden of support for the union staff who negotiate workplace wages and benefits onto the rest of their fellow workers. The opt-outs get a free ride at the expense of their colleagues. They will get the same wages, holidays, vacation and health care as their fellow workers who pay for the labor union staff.
In the long-term, everyone will suffer for the greed of those who opt out, because wages and working conditions will deteriorate. The Supreme Court ruling creates a new welfare society of freeloaders in the labor force.
