As the oilsands continue to expand — clearing forest, digging earth and pooling effluent — there’s more than just nature that is being shunted aside. According to journalist Andrew Nikiforuk, we’re also burying debates about what it all means in the process. And so, in his new book, The Energy of Slaves , he revives … Continue reading You are a slave owner: Andrew Nikiforuk on energy consumption
Staunching the flow: As Alberta reviews its pipelines, critics cry foul
On Thursday, June 7, approximately 475,000 litres of oil started pouring into the Red Deer River from a ruptured pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada. By the next day, Premier Alison Redford was on scene, eager to show she cares. Just over a month later, a coalition of 54 groups penned an open letter to … Continue reading Staunching the flow: As Alberta reviews its pipelines, critics cry foul
The AGC vs Valerie Cooper
Long suspected of wrong doing, Valerie Cooper is being sued by the gallery she once ran for almost $500,000 in allegedly falsified expenses.
Questioning Calgary’s arts party
The federal government kicked in $1.6 million, the city one-upped them with $2 million and the province gave $250,000, with another $500,000 set aside to match corporate donations. It’s a tidy sum of money, all earmarked for arts and culture after Calgary was named the cultural capital of Canada (okay, one of the cultural capitals; … Continue reading Questioning Calgary’s arts party
Oil and government
When Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), walked into a conference room in Kananaskis to observe the meeting of energy ministers from across Canada in July, he expected to find a seat in the section reserved for environmental groups, or concerned citizens groups. There was no such section. Looking around the … Continue reading Oil and government
Ethical oil and China
A great deal of attention has been paid to two pipeline projects — one that will see Alberta’s oilsands bitumen transported across the U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico (Keystone XL), and one that will run it through the Great Bear Rainforest in B.C. for shipment to Asia (Northern Gateway). The projects have serious implications, … Continue reading Ethical oil and China
Broken brand or new beginning at the AGC?
Some members of Calgary’s arts community say the Art Gallery of Calgary (AGC) is a dysfunctional space, where art is physically compromised, working relationships are difficult and corporate events and fundraisers are considered more important than the work on the walls. The gallery counters that fundraising is a necessary exercise, accounting for 79 per cent … Continue reading Broken brand or new beginning at the AGC?
Drew Anderson 