Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Lorna Stefanick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781771990301
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 426

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Book Description
Prior to May 2015, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta had, for over four decades, been a one-party state. During that time, the rule of the Progressive Conservatives essentially went unchallenged, with critiques of government policy falling on deaf ears and Alberta ranking behind other provinces in voter turnout. Given the province's economic reliance on oil revenues, a symbiotic relationship also developed between government and the oil industry. Cross-national studies have detected a correlation between oil-dependent economies and authoritarian rule, a pattern particularly evident in Africa and the Middle East. Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada sets out to test the "oil inhibits democracy" hypothesis in the context of an industrialized nation in the Global North. In probing the impact of Alberta's powerful oil lobby on the health of democracy in the province, contributors to the volume engage with an ongoing discussion of the erosion of political liberalism in the West. In addition to examining energy policy and issues of government accountability in Alberta, they explore the ramifications of oil dependence in areas such as Aboriginal rights, environmental policy, labour law, women's equity, urban social policy, and the arts. If, as they argue, reliance on oil has weakened democratic structures in Alberta, then what of Canada as whole, where the short-term priorities of the oil industry continue to shape federal policy? The findings in this book suggest that, to revitalize democracy, provincial and federal leaders alike must find the courage to curb the influence of the oil industry on governance.

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Lorna Stefanick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781771990301
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 426

Get Book Here

Book Description
Prior to May 2015, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta had, for over four decades, been a one-party state. During that time, the rule of the Progressive Conservatives essentially went unchallenged, with critiques of government policy falling on deaf ears and Alberta ranking behind other provinces in voter turnout. Given the province's economic reliance on oil revenues, a symbiotic relationship also developed between government and the oil industry. Cross-national studies have detected a correlation between oil-dependent economies and authoritarian rule, a pattern particularly evident in Africa and the Middle East. Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada sets out to test the "oil inhibits democracy" hypothesis in the context of an industrialized nation in the Global North. In probing the impact of Alberta's powerful oil lobby on the health of democracy in the province, contributors to the volume engage with an ongoing discussion of the erosion of political liberalism in the West. In addition to examining energy policy and issues of government accountability in Alberta, they explore the ramifications of oil dependence in areas such as Aboriginal rights, environmental policy, labour law, women's equity, urban social policy, and the arts. If, as they argue, reliance on oil has weakened democratic structures in Alberta, then what of Canada as whole, where the short-term priorities of the oil industry continue to shape federal policy? The findings in this book suggest that, to revitalize democracy, provincial and federal leaders alike must find the courage to curb the influence of the oil industry on governance.

Petropolitics

Petropolitics PDF Author: Alan J. MacFadyen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781552385401
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
Winner of the 2014 Book of the Year Award from the Petroleum History Society!The importance of energy to the functioning of any economy has meant that energy industries are amongst the most regulated of industries. What might appear to be purely private decisions are made within a complex and evolving web of government regulations. Petropolitics: Petroleum Development, Markets and Regulations, Alberta as an Illustrative History provides an economic history of the petroleum industry in Alberta as well as a detailed analysis of the operation of the markets for Alberta oil and natural gas, and the main governmental regulations (apart from environmental regulations) faced by the industry. The tools used within this study are applicable to oil and gas industries throughout the world.

Developing Alberta's Oil Sands

Developing Alberta's Oil Sands PDF Author: Paul Anthony Chastko
Publisher: University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 1552381242
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
Alberta's oil sands represent a vast and untapped oil reserve that could reasonably supply all of Canada's energy needs for the next 475 years. With an estimated 300 billion barrels of recoverable oil at stake, the quest to develop this natural resource has been undertaken by many powerful actors, both nationally and internationally. Using research that integrates the economic, political, scientific, and business factors that have been influential in discovering and developing the sands, this book provides a comprehensive history of the oil sands project and a window on the nature of the complex relationships between industry, government, and transnational players. This book is the first comprehensive volume that examines the origins and development of the oil sands industry over the last century.

Ethical Oil

Ethical Oil PDF Author: Ezra Levant
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 077104643X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Canada's "no. 1 defender of freedom of speech" and the bestselling author of Shakedown makes the timely and provocative case that when it comes to oil, ethics matter just as much as the economy and the environment. In 2009, Ezra Levant's bestselling book Shakedown revealed the corruption of Canada's human rights commissions and was declared the "most important public affairs book of the year." In Ethical Oil, Levant turns his attention to another hot-button topic: the ethical cost of our addiction to oil. While many North Americans may be aware of the financial and environmental price we pay for a gallon of gas or a barrel of oil, Levant argues that it is time we consider ethical factors as well. With his trademark candor, Levant asks hard-hitting questions: With the oil sands at our disposal, is it ethically responsible to import our oil from the Sudan, Russia, and Mexico? How should we weigh carbon emissions with human rights violations in Saudi Arabia? And assuming that we can't live without oil, can the development of energy be made more environmentally sustainable? In Ethical Oil, Levant exposes the hypocrisy of the West's dealings with the reprehensible regimes from which we purchase the oil that sustains our lifestyles, and offers solutions to this dilemma. Readers at all points on the political spectrum will want to read this timely and provocative new book, which is sure to spark debate.

Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board

Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board PDF Author: David Breen
Publisher: University of Alberta
ISBN: 9780888642455
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 872

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Book Description
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board, created by the Alberta government in 1938, ensured that the province's petroleum resources were utilized in a manner that protected the long-term public interest.

The Values of Working in the Alberta Oil Sands

The Values of Working in the Alberta Oil Sands PDF Author: Matthew E. McLaren
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1496947142
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 131

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Book Description
This book is an open house that will allow the world to view my experience working in the Alberta oil sand industry. I am a retired senior, who has been working in this phenomenal industry for many years and who has seen and experienced the technological changes that have been engineered to provide a safer and more productive environment for the exploration of Northern Alberta buried treasure. Distribution of wealth is a loaded statement in our democratic society. In the Alberta oil sand, I can safely use this statement because I have experienced the distribution of wealth in this remarkable industry. Oil sand companies are developing the oil sand industry, providing opportunity, where seniors like me and others, can become a member of the industries working family and share in the distribution of health and wealth. Equal opportunity does not mean equal pay. However, we are all given the opportunity to work and share in the development and distribution of this industrys most valuable buried treasure.

Heavy-oil and Oil-sand Petroleum Systems in Alberta and Beyond

Heavy-oil and Oil-sand Petroleum Systems in Alberta and Beyond PDF Author: Frances J. Hein
Publisher: AAPG
ISBN: 0891810706
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
Hardcover plus CD

Alberta Oil Sands

Alberta Oil Sands PDF Author: Kevin E Percy
Publisher: Newnes
ISBN: 008097760X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 570

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Book Description
At 170 billion barrels, Canada's Oil Sands are the third largest reserves of developable oil in the world. The Oil Sands now produce about 1.6 million barrels per day, with production expected to double by 2025 to about 3.7 million barrels per day. The Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) in northeastern Alberta is the largest of the three oil sands deposits. Bitumen in the oil sands is recovered through one of two primary methods - mining and drilling. About 20 per cent of the reserves are close to the surface and can be mined using large shovels and trucks. Of concern are the effects of the industrial development on the environment. Both human-made and natural sources emit oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, trace elements and persistent organic compounds. Of additional concern are ground level ozone and greenhouse gases. Because of the requirement on operators to comply with the air quality regulatory policies, and to address public concerns, the not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder Wood Buffalo Environmental Association (WBEA) has since 1997 been closely monitoring air quality in AOSR. In 2008, WBEA assembled a distinguished group of international scientists who have been conducting measurements and practical research on various aspects of air emissions and their potential effects on terrestrial receptors. This book is a synthesis of the concepts and results of those on-going studies. It contains 19 chapters ranging from a global perspective of energy production, measurement methodologies and behavior of various air pollutants during fossil fuel production in a boreal forest ecosystem, towards designing and deploying a multi-disciplinary, proactive, and long-term environmental monitoring system that will also meet regulatory expectations. Covers measurement of emissions from very large industrial sources in a region with huge international media profile Validation of measurement technologies can be applied globally The new approaches to ecological monitoring described can be applied in other forested regions

The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin

The Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mineral industries
Languages : en
Pages : 1092

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Book Description


Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada

Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy in Canada PDF Author: Meenal Shrivastava
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 1771990295
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
In Democracy in Alberta: The Theory and Practice of a Quasi-Party System, published in 1953, C. B. Macpherson explored the nature of democracy in a province that was dominated by a single class of producers. At the time, Macpherson was talking about Alberta farmers, but today the province can still be seen as a one-industry economy—the 1947 discovery of oil in Leduc having inaugurated a new era. For all practical purposes, the oil-rich jurisdiction of Alberta also remains a one-party state. Not only has there been little opposition to a government that has been in power for over forty years, but Alberta ranks behind other provinces in terms of voter turnout, while also boasting some of the lowest scores on a variety of social welfare indicators. The contributors to Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy critically assess the political peculiarities of Alberta and the impact of the government’s relationship to the oil industry on the lives of the province’s most vulnerable citizens. They also examine the public policy environment and the entrenchment of neoliberal political ideology in the province. In probing the relationship between oil dependency and democracy in the context of an industrialized nation, Alberta Oil and the Decline of Democracy offers a crucial test of the “oil inhibits democracy” thesis that has hitherto been advanced in relation to oil-producing countries in the Global South. If reliance on oil production appears to undermine democratic participation and governance in Alberta, then what does the Alberta case suggest for the future of democracy in industrialized nations such as the United States and Australia, which are now in the process of exploiting their own substantial shale oil reserves? The environmental consequences of oil production have, for example, been the subject of much attention. Little is likely to change, however, if citizens of oil-rich countries cannot effectively intervene to influence government policy.