Environmentalists fear conservation in the Western Arctic has been paralyzed by a federal review that has frozen spending at the Canadian Wildlife Service - just as the northern area comes under increased pressure from energy and mining claims.

“The existence of a review or a restructuring couldn’t happen at a worse time, when we’re trying to accelerate and embed conservation preparedness into northern development plans,” said Pete Ewins of the World Wildlife Fund.

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA, Sept. 21 /CNW Telbec/ - The Harper government, having finally figured out that being seen to be “green” could translate into votes, is in the process of sacrificing other vital Environment Canada programs in a misguided attempt to focus almost exclusively on climate change.

CNW Group

Looks like Harper is too busy focusing (or not focusing) on climate change, to take care of wildlife in Canada. The budget for the National Wildlife Areas is one of the many cuts being issued to Environment Canada. It has been slashed from $1.9 million to zero. According to the Minister of the Environment’s office, they are too busy focusing on climate change to properly fund all of Environment Canada.

A full list of cuts:

• The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Network, which observes changes in ecosystems, has lost 80 per cent of its budget.
• The Migratory Bird Program, which monitors the health of bird populations, has seen its budget cut by 50 per cent.
• The budget for the National Wildlife Areas, a program that protects nationally significant habitats for wildlife and birds, has been slashed from $1.9 million to zero.

CBC

UPDATE: 9:46 PM - Wednesday September 19

Join the facebook group I created to express your disgust with these budget cuts.

According to a report commissioned by the province of Alberta, a higher royalty is needed in the oil sands. Although I do not agree with the report completely, specifically not altering the 1% royalty for new projects, I believe it is a good start. Now let’s just hope that Stelmach actually implements the findings in this report… unlike what he did with the task force on affordable housing.

Globe and Mail

This cap is completely unjustified. We are the only place in Canada that has such a ridiculous cap. This cap needs to be removed.

The announcement of this increase is joke as well. We are limiting ourselves by only allowing half of the already planned wind projects to get started. Renewable energy is the future, and it’s too bad that these dinosaurs up in Edmonton don’t see that.
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The Stelmach government foresees nearly doubling the amount of wind-power generation allowed in Alberta, even as the province remains the only jurisdiction in Canada to cap the production of wind energy.

“There is every possibility that (the cap) could move to, in the interim, someplace around 1,500 megawatts,” said Energy Minister Mel Knight. “As we move along and Alberta’s system becomes more robust, and we’re able to integrate more wind, I can see it moving beyond that.”

The wind power industry is demanding the province go further than raising the amount of production permitted and remove the cap outright.

Alberta’s Electric System Operator introduced last year a limit of 900 megawatts of wind-energy generation, saying it was uncertain about whether wind conditions and patterns could be properly forecast — something needed to produce a reliable stream of power.

The decision enraged wind-energy producers, which have thousands of megawatts in the queue. The rules made Alberta the only jurisdiction in Canada to impose such a cap.

“Replacing it with a higher cap is not a preferred option,” said Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association. “A cap sends a signal that a door is closed, and for investors in the industry, that sends a negative signal.”

Knight said increasing the cap to 1,500 megawatts could make room for between six and 10 new wind farms.

That could be big news for southern Alberta wind-energy producers, with more than a dozen new projects in the queue.

But Hornung said maintaining a cap system will leave industry in the same position it faces today.

A recent report from the electric system operator indicates conditions could soon be ripe to remove the cap on wind-power generation, he said.

There are well over 3,000 megawatts of wind-energy projects being “actively pursued” in Alberta, Hornung said, most of them in southern Alberta from Medicine Hat in the east to the B.C. border in the west.
Canada.com

Read more on this:

Blowing in the Wind - Vue Weekly
Scrap cap on wind power, says Mason - Alberta NDP