True North

Teck Resources Ltd pulled its application for the proposed Frontier oil sands mine on Sunday evening.

The federal government was expected to make a decision on whether or not to approve the $20.6-billion project next week.

Had the project moved forward, the Teck Frontier mine would employ 7,000 people during its construction and 2,500 during its expected 40-year lifespan. Teck expects that the government would earn $70 billion in tax revenue from the mine during its lifetime.

In a letter to the government, Teck CEO and President Don Lindsay said investors and customers increasingly want jurisdictions to have a framework in place that accommodates resource development and climate change.

Lindsay says that “does not yet exist here today” and that the growing debate around the issue has placed the project and Teck “squarely at the nexus of much broader issues that need to be resolved.”

Senior officials with Teck called Indigenous leaders in Wood Buffalo to inform them of the decision on Sunday. Teck officials told them it wasn’t the right time to move forward on the project.

In response to Teck’s decision, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said, “This decision is clearly the result of federal regulatory uncertainty and the current lawless opposition to resource development.”

In a call with analysts on Friday, Teck CEO Don Lindsay said that without improvements in the Canadian energy sector, Teck may have to sell their stake in Frontier and the existing Fort Hills mine, exiting Alberta’s oil sands if Frontier mine was not approved by the federal government.

“We would look at doing something to realize that value, whether it’s a spinoff or some sort of transaction,” Lindsay said about Fort Hills.

“If we did that, then probably Frontier would go with it,” he added.

Liberal MPs have been urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reject the proposal despite approval of all 14 First Nations communities in the area where the mine would’ve been built. 

Teck Resources Ltd. said they could withdraw from the Albertan oil sands completely as the federal government may not approve their $20.6 billion Frontier oil sands mine. 

In a call with analysts on Friday, Teck CEO Don Lindsay said that without improvements in the Canadian energy sector, Teck may have to sell their stake in Frontier and the existing Fort Hills mine.

“We would look at doing something to realize that value, whether it’s a spinoff or some sort of transaction,” Lindsay said about Fort Hills.

“If we did that, then probably Frontier would go with it,” he added.

The Trudeau cabinet has until the end of the month to approve the Teck Frontier oil sands mine.

On Friday, Teck Resources Ltd. took a $900-million writedown on its Fort Hills oil mine due to the low price of Canadian oil. Teck also said they will be forced to take a $1.1-billion writedown on the proposed Frontier mine is not approved by the end of the month.

Teck’s shares fell by 15.5% on the Toronto Stock Exchange Friday.

If approved, the Teck Frontier mine would employ 7,000 people during its construction and 2,500 during its expected 40-year lifespan. Teck expects that the government would earn $70 billion in tax revenue from the mine during its lifetime.

The Frontier mine has been under regulatory review since 2011, with a joint review panel giving the project their approval in July 2019.

Liberal MPs have been trying to pressure cabinet to withhold approval for the project, saying that if Frontier is approved Canada will not be able to meet its 2050 carbon emissions target.

In February, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney wrote to Trudeau to warn him that cancelling the Frontier mine may be the “boiling point” for Western alienation.

“There is quite simply, no reason specific to this project that would justify denying federal cabinet approval for the Frontier project,” wrote Kenney.

“[A rejection] of our most important industry could raise roiling Western alienation to a boiling point.”

The Trudeau government has not indicated if it will approve the Frontier mine. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has said Alberta’s current efforts to fight climate change will be considered in their decision.

Conservative Leadership Candidate Marilyn Gladu isn’t bothered by the fact she doesn’t bring the same strong political background to the race as fellow candidates Peter MacKay and Erin O’Toole, both longer serving MPs who were cabinet ministers in the Stephen Harper government.

In fact, Gladu sees the two candidates as facing a serious liability.

Check out True North’s Anthony Furey’s latest at the Toronto Sun!

As first reported by Brian Lilley, a sign was spotted at the teachers’ protest at the Ontario PC Policy Conference which consisted of a picture of Ontario PC MPP Sam Oosterhoff and the phrase “a problem an abortion could have solved.”

Oosterhoff currently serves as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Education and is known for his pro-life beliefs.

Within metres of the man holding the sign were protesters holding Catholic school flags.

This isn’t the first time protesters targeted the Niagara West MPP. In late January teachers protested outside of Oosterhoff’s constituency office in Beamsville.

Ontario teachers have been engaging in rotating strikes since mid-January after months of negotiations between the union and the government of Ontario failed to reach an agreement.

In January, Toronto and Peel school boards announced they will not be providing report cards this winter for students in grades one to eight, and some school boards have been forced to postpone Grade 9 standardized tests. 

Education Minister Stephen Lecce says that the teachers’ unions’ demands would cost the taxpayer $7 billion.

On Friday, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association announced they will end rotating strikes and enter into mediation with the government. 

Ontario public school teachers are among the highest-paid teachers in the world, with the average high school teacher earning $92,000 a year.

The Supreme Court of Canada will be deciding whether to offer a retrial to two men convicted of plotting a terrorist attack on Via Rail passenger trains. 

In 2015, Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier were convicted of several terrorism charges for their al-Qaeda-affiliated attack plan.

The pair were granted a retrial by the Ontario Court of Appeal in August of 2019 after the court ruled that a legal error was made by the original trial judge. 

“The trial judge’s error here took one of the three options, the exclusion of unsworn jurors while using rotating triers, away from Jaser,” wrote the three justices involved in the decision to offer a retrial. 

The two terrorists were arrested in 2013 after a year-long investigation into their terrorist activities. 

Jaser and Esseghaier were both charged with two counts of participating in terrorist activity and conspiracy to commit murder for the benefit of a criminal organization. Additionally, Essaghaier was charged with conspiracy to derail a Via Rail train.

Investigators at the time stated that the two had already decided on a train route and were believed to be receiving assistance from al-Qaeda.  

“Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured,” said RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia.

Since being granted the appeal, the two terrorists have requested to receive a retrial without a jury. 

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada took the appeal court’s decision to the Supreme Court and if it is upheld, crown prosecutors intend to prosecute the two again for terrorism offences. 

BC Premier John Horgan has said that cancelling the province’s LNG pipeline project is “not an option.” 

The pipeline, which has passed through all proper regulatory hurdles, is at the centre of a national crisis. All across Canada, activists have blockaded railways, threatening to cripple Canada’s economy.

The nationwide protests were sparked by five hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs who oppose the pipeline.

Horgan told the chiefs that he is open to meet and discuss the issues at hand but he would not budge on the pipeline’s construction.

“I have no shortage of other [First] Nations, first of all, within B.C. that have exciting opportunities. And they want to work with the province, and the federal government, and their local communities to find the prosperity that we all want for ourselves and our neighbours,” said Horgan.

Despite the small number of chiefs who oppose the project, First Nations groups along the pipeline’s route overwhelmingly support it, including 20 elected First Nations bands who want to see its construction completed. 

In the last week, protesters blockaded the BC Legislature, prompting an investigation by Victoria Police into alleged assaults on government staff trying to get into the building.

Horgan’s own home was blockaded after Extinction Rebellion radicals tried to “arrest” the premier. 

By the time the protesters arrived, Horgan had already left his residence but was prompted to return due to concerns over his wife’s safety. 

In response, the police arrested three activists from the group.