SNC-Lavalin is in the news today in a big way: “RCMP raids SNC-Lavalin’s Montreal headquarters.” Thought I would raise an angle on this that might be overlooked. Recall the Government of Canada’s rationale for selling off Atomic Energy of Canada Limited’s commercial reactor division to said SNC Lavalin: The Government
Continue readingTag: AECL
Impolitical: Harper at the Wilson Center
Harper spoke at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington yesterday following the meeting with Obama and Calderon. The C-Span video at the first link is just under an hour and gives you a bit of insight into Harper’s thinking on a range of issues facing Canada. Some of the moments
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Parliament In Review: October 5, 2011
After the previous day’s relatively non-partisan and specific focus, October 5 saw a return to broad debate on the economy – thanks to both a day of debate on the Cons’ budget bill and a number of queries in question period.The Big IssueUnder the econo…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Deep thought
I’m sure it’s utterly preposterous to even suggest that it’s theoretically possible that the Harper Cons might want to torch public money just for the sake of torching public money.
Continue readingAbout that Chalk River Fiasco…
Remember the thoroughly abusive Stephen Harper knifing at Linda Keen over the nuke facility at Chalk River? Well, now there’s some interesting stuff written about the Chalk River reactor. This pdf, from Dr. Gordon Edwards, President of the Canadi…
Continue readingLeDaro: Conservatives have no business in government
Photo from the Toronto Star.That is what the Toronto Star’s Thomas Walkom says. The Conservative government plans to sell AECL for $15 million while giving SNC-Lavelin $75 million to buy it – I thought Stephen Harper was an economist by training, doesn…
Continue readingBlunt Objects: Saturday News Smash-Up
Sorry about my absence for the last five days, but I’ve been going to “school” and attempting to learn basic Spanish. Suffice to say, yo no hablo espanol, pero poco a poco, yo aprendo.Anyways, it hasn’t been an exactly major week anyways, not after the…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your weekend reading.- Janice Kennedy highlights the consequences of turning back the clock 80 years when it comes to collective bargaining rights:In the world of Stephen Harper and Co., big business rules. Period. The concep…
Continue readingThey Call Me "Mr. Sinister": Socialism, Conservative Style
Lemon socialism that is. It is a wonderful brand of socialism wherein profits are private and losses are nationalized. It is also called “bend over taxpayers” in certain circles.
Continue readingImpolitical: More on the AECL farce
From the smart folks at Enviralment:Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin has begrudgingly stepped up to buy the commercial arm of the crown corporation. The firm is no stranger to CANDU technology, having worked closely with AECL in the past, he…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Andrew Jackson points out and sums up a Statistics Canada study showing how much possible revenue is lost to the underground economy:Statscan have produced interesting and important new estimates of the upper b…
Continue readingLeDaro: AECL: Harper Government Sells to SNC-Lavalin
The gist of the story is that the seller – the Government of Canada – will pay $75 million to SNC-Lavalin for some new initiatives, and the buyer will write a cheque for only $15 million to buy AECL. That’s a great deal, eh. It does not end the…
Continue readingDriving The Porcelain Bus: Conservatives give away Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd and pay the new owners $60 million
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. sold to SNC-Lavalin Group for $15 million – Winnipeg Free PressYesterday, the federal government sold crown corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., to the Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Group. The price tag was $15 million. …
Continue readingImpolitical: $15 million for AECL
“Ottawa sells AECL to SNC-Lavalin.” The federal government is selling Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s Candu division for $15-million and future royalties, after pouring billions of dollars into the troubled nuclear company to get it ready for privatiz…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On selloffs
Sure, it takes some effort to pull a sweetheart deal out of the wreckage of AECL. But we probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Cons seem to have pulled off the feat:Versant Partners analyst Neil Linsdell told CBC News there’s still a market for the …
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On radioactive deals
Yes, there are plenty of reasons for concern about the sale of AECL to SNC-Lavalin. But let’s add another by raising the other issue that has put SNC-Lavalin in the news recently:Hon. Jack Layton (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): Mr. Speaker, people wou…
Continue readingImpolitical: 24 hours in post-election & post-parliamentary session developments
A few items from the past 24 hours that have that air of careful timing to them for a government that would prefer such things to occur beyond the parliamentary session.1. “Axe hits Industry Canada amid questions about timing of Tory cuts.” “…the tim…
Continue readingPoliTeching: A New Innovation Center for Progress; Nuclear Debate
I’ve been following the nuclear debate online. I have not blogged anything about Japan’s nuclear plant crisis because there is not enough information coming out (as far as the plant’s condition is concern). Some people on both sides of the nuclear debate have wasted no time in using the crisis to express their nuclear sentiments. […]
Continue readingMore Nuke News
Not a lot of people liking President O’s greenwashing of nukes. This most excellent article in the Guardian dispels the myth that nukes are green. The argument that nuclear is “carbon-free” conveniently omits the entire process of m…
Continue readingA stream of nuke news
Grab a coffee or tea. Find a snack. Lots of linky news today so this could take a while! First up: A Calgary nuke company, Kirrin Resources, is not going to expand its exploration for uranium in Quebec. That’s good news for Quebec’s…
Continue reading