#oilpatch workers

[worklabournewsresearch]

Opinion: Ottawa's "Just Transition" Needs to be Challenged for Encouraging Fantasy Around Oil and Gas

Exner-Pirot, H. (2022, May 17). Opinion: Ottawa's "just transition" needs to be challenged for encouraging fantasy around oil and gas. Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-ottawas-just-transition-needs-to-be-exposed-as-a-flawed-fantasy UTL Link: http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fblogs-podcasts-websites%2Fopinion-ottawas-just-transition-needs-be%2Fdocview%2F2665521692%2Fse-2%3F

Heather Exner-Pinot writes: “A fantasy has emerged in Canada called a ‘just transition.’ In this paradigm, the transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy in the form of solar panels and windmills will create a prosperous, low-carbon future with a thriving green economy. Taking action now will make our economy stronger and more competitive. The catch is that workers and communities who depend on the oil and gas sector will be disadvantaged. The ‘just transition’ ensures no one is left behind, with workers given the supports to succeed in other, more sustainable, fields. So committed is the federal government to this version of reality, that it is planning to introduce legislation in its name, to codify its ‘people-centred just transition principles.’”

“Global demand for oil and gas is as high as it has ever been. ... Years of underinvestment in production, now topped with sanctions on Russia, mean that prices for LNG and refined products are at record levels. Energy experts think crude oil will soon hit $180 a barrel or higher. Even if demand does eventually match up with supply, it still makes sense for the western world to maintain some production of its own, instead of relying on OPEC and Russia.”

“It seems almost farcical to dedicate legislative effort and taxpayer dollars to training programs for unemployable oilpatch workers, or to help oil and gas regions become economically viable. Canada has never exported more crude and bitumen than it does now, buoyed by the recent completion of the Line 3 pipeline, the reversal of the Capline pipeline, and global markets taking whatever we could muster. But labour, especially experienced labour, is a constraining factor, and is hampering growth, even with wages at three times or more the Canadian average. ... The more immediate question, however, is if we will stop using hydrocarbons for fuel. Here, the pragmatist must concede that that problem with fossil fuels is not the fuel per se, but the emissions. It is going to be far cheaper and faster to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into carbon capture, than it will be to replace tens of trillions of dollars worth of fossil fuel infrastructure with brand new energy systems.”

Additional Information

Wang, S., & Lloyd, J. (2022, March). What will Canadian green jobs really look like? Macdonald-Laurier Institute. https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mar2022_Canadian_green_jobs_Wang_Lloyd_COMMENTARY_FWeb.pdf

Photo source: Korol, T. [Photograph]. Reuters. https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-ottawas-just-transition-needs-to-be-exposed-as-a-flawed-fantasy

[canadanewsblog]

Open letter to PM urges oilpatch bailout money go to unemployed workers, not energy companies https://canada.birblog.net/news/local/open-letter-to-pm-urges-oilpatch-bailout-money-go-to-unemployed-workers-not-energy-companies/ The request comes in an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, released Tuesday morning and signed by environmental organizations, faith and labour groups that the signatories say represent about 1.3 million people. #canada #canadanews #corona #canadaslondon #toronto #torontonews #torontonewspaper #torontoblog #canadablogger #canadabloggers #canadablog #canadapolitics #canadaschools #canadasports #canadasport #canadacity #canadacollege #worldnews #worldnewstonight #worldpolitics Open letter to PM urges oilpatch bailout money go to unemployed workers, not energy companies | CBC News

[stevemaclellan]

Wood Buffalo, which includes the town of Fort McMurray, declared a state of emergency, CBC reports, and Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Wednesday Alberta would send a shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the area. The municipality was reporting 1,064 active cases earlier this week, the highest per capita rate in the province, with its classrooms shut down and its only hospital intensive care unit at capacity.

Those numbers are a major concern for First Nations in the area. “It’s out of control,” said Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam, who attributed the surge in new cases to the number of fossil workers flying in and out of the area.

“I am more worried about our health care system,” Adam told Bloomberg. “If that collapses, then all hell breaks loose.”

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The words may not have been explicit, but oilpatch contractor Matthew Linnitt says he read between the lines: lie on official documents about an incident that could have killed him, or someone would be fired.

The tacit threat, he alleges, was handed down by his supervisor at Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) after a close call with hydrogen sulfide on a northwestern Alberta well site on May 2, 2016.

Hydrogen sulfide, also known as H2S or sour gas, is a toxic substance that can be fatal in high concentrations, and is sometimes leaked from the wellheads, pump jacks, pipes, tanks and flare stacks of oilfields.

At the time, Linnitt considered himself lucky to have escaped with his life — he was working alone on a remote site in Karr Creek, Alta., when a geyser of fluids and poisonous sour gas erupted from its depths. A valve hadn’t been properly shut down.

He searched for the site’s emergency breathing equipment, only to find that the workers who had improperly sealed the valve had also taken the air packs off site. Without cell service, Linnitt ran far away from the fumes and stayed away until his air monitor told him the sour gas levels no longer posed a threat.

He later faced a difficult choice: he could report what happened and risk being fired for revealing that CNRL had violated safety protocols, or he could lie to save his job.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @ontarionewsnow @abpoli @politicsofcanada

[abpoli]

For more than a decade, James Kirstein had an excellent relationship with the company that operates a well pad on his property north of Fort Assiniboine, Alta., about 150 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

The company produced natural gas and Kirstein received an annual payment as compensation for the use of his land.

The cheques always came in February, except this year, when nothing showed up in the mail. Kirstein got a hold of the company, and it only offered 50 per cent of the scheduled payment because of its poor financial health.

As a semi-retired oilpatch worker, Kirstein sympathized and accepted $2,700 rather than the $5,400 he was due.

The company, Trident Exploration, has since ceased operations, leaving Kirstein and other landowners in a difficult position. Trident's assets may be sold to another company, or else transferred to the Orphan Well Association to be reclaimed.

Continue reading

[careerxlsstudyabroad]

Innovation Energy: The hot new fuel that could bring jobs and growth back to Canada’s oilpatch

~CXL~

Cheap, renewable geothermal power has the potential to meet the country's energy needs and put thousands of laid-off oil and gas workers back to work The energy industry gets a bad rap when it comes to innovation, yet the oilpatch is by far the largest spender on clean tech in Canada, to the tune of $1.4 billion a year. As part of its continuing coverage of the innovation economy, the Financial Post reports on the intersection of technology and energy, from the oilpatch in Alberta, off the shores of Nova Scotia to the plains of Saskatchewan.

In Calgary

A rig crew in late November 2018 arrived on a patch of prairie near Torquay, Sask., in the heart of the province’s most active oilfield to drill the deepest well in provincial history at 3,530 metres.

But the crew wasn’t trying to hit oil or gas. They were targeting a hot sedimentary aquifer for steamy, briny water to be used for Canada’s first geothermal power project.

“I think they truly enjoyed the challenge of drilling for something very, very different,” said Kirsten Marcia, chief executive of Saskatoon-based Deep Earth Energy Production Corp., which is developing the power project.

Marcia said the results of that well were so encouraging that the company will return later this year to drill a deeper well for the still-under-development, five-megawatt geothermal electric generating station that she hopes will be the first of many such plants in the country.

Read More at   https://business.financialpost.com/commodities/energy/innovation-energy-the-hot-new-fuel-that-could-bring-jobs-and-growth-back-to-canadas-oilpatch

[kayla1993-world]

Varcoe: Oilpatch avoids rumble with Ottawa as Alberta girds for 'vicious battle' over emissions cap

The Trudeau government pledges in Canada will increase oil and gas production to assist Europe’s shift away from Russian energy imports. It’s also pursuing a new plan to slash emissions from the Canadian oilpatch.

In response, the Kenney government has lambasted the federal emissions reduction strategy as “insane,” a “poor joke,” and “a full-frontal attack” on thousands of energy workers.

Not much ambiguity there.

But how does the Canadian oil and gas sector view these conflicting signals?

Carefully, I suspect.

On the opening day of the annual Scotiabank CAPP Energy Symposium, industry leaders said they’re committed to meeting energy security needs by increasing production to help our European allies move away from oil and gas from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

They also prepared the sector to sit down with the federal government to help Ottawa turn its emissions reduction plan into reality, rather than escalate the issue into a full-scale donnybrook.

“We have a commitment from the federal government to work with us,” Crescent Point Energy CEO Craig Bryksa, who is also chair of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, told reporters on Tuesday.

“It’s sitting down and working through it collaboratively — and that commitment is there.”

That’s a much different message than the combative stance from Premier Jason Kenney after Ottawa rolled out its national emissions reduction blueprint last week, which forecast a 42 percent reduction from the Canadian oilpatch by 2030.

A separate mandatory cap on emissions for the oil and gas industry is coming.

The federal report also contains economic modelling that has caught the province’s attention. It shows they forecast Canadian oil production to continue growing by the end of the decade, but eight per cent below its reference case scenario.

They expected natural gas output to fall by almost 16 percent.

Energy Minister Sonya Savage said Tuesday the federal plan isn’t fair as it could limit future production, which falls under provincial oversight.

If federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault implements a hard legislated cap on the industry, “that walks entirely into the zone of provincial jurisdiction, and that’s going to be a vicious battle,” she warned.

In an interview, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson seemed unperturbed with the province’s response, noting he had “an entirely constructive conversation” with Savage on Monday. He also sat down with oilpatch players during a visit to Calgary.

“It’s important for all of us to dial down the rhetoric a bit and look to engage each other collaboratively,” Wilkinson said.

“I would just encourage Premier Kenney to have a conversation with a lot of the folks in the sector that I’ve been speaking with.”

The difference in tone on the matter is striking.

As one government source put it: “A lot of folks are tiptoeing around the actual issue. There’s a dance going on right now, and it’s in the early stages.”

The reality is the industry is spending money — and making commitments — to lower its emissions, but the 2030 plan will require even larger investments and significant technological improvements in less than eight years.

Wilkinson dismissed Kenney’s assertion the emissions reduction plan is an attack on energy workers. And boosting production in the short term for energy security reasons while cutting emissions over the long term isn’t at odds, he insisted.

“We want to work with the sector, and the sector today told me they want to work with us.”

One of the first steps of such co-operation could come in Thursday’s federal budget. They to release details on an investment tax credit for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects, allowing heavy industry to bury emissions deep underground.

The tax credit will be critical for the sector to move ahead on such large projects to lower emissions significantly by 2030 — and reach Canada’s net-zero target by 2050. Six of the largest oilsands operators have already embraced that goal, but are waiting to see details.

The industry also wants a renewed federal focus on getting liquefied natural gas projects built in Canada. Only one project is under construction and they have marooned more than a dozen proposals over the past decade.

Building additional LNG facilities would enable the export of Canadian gas to markets in Asia and Europe, potentially displacing higher-emitting sources of energy, such as coal.

“We have the resource to help the world become cleaner and fight climate change, and also help our neighbours in Europe from an energy security perspective,” ARC Resources CEO Terry Anderson told the symposium.

Building additional LNG facilities would enable the export of Canadian gas to markets in Asia and Europe, potentially displacing higher-emitting sources of energy, such as coal.

“We have the resource to help the world become cleaner and fight climate change, and also help our neighbours in Europe from an energy security perspective,” ARC Resources CEO Terry Anderson told the symposium.

Yet, it still doesn’t want to see the Keystone XL pipeline built, which it killed last year.

Concerns about energy security are likely to linger for quite a while.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, marks a “pivot point,” sparking a division between countries that will buy energy from Russia and those that won’t, Jim Burkhard, a vice-president with energy consultancy IHS Markit, told the symposium.

“We are seeing the partitioning of the global oil market. Don’t expect it to go back to the way it was before,” Burkhard said.

“This is the beginning of this story, the beginning of this new era.”

[worklabournewsresearch]

Searching for the American Dream? Go to Canada

"Even as millions of Americans intentionally relocate to more spacious homes to capitalize on the trend toward remote work, remember that millions more have been forced into mobility since the 2008 financial crisis, as firms collapsed and they were forced to downsize. ... The American Dream needs to be redefined. Instead of owning a home, the new ideal should be mobility – enabling every American to go wherever they need to go, to where their skills are needed and they can earn more. Research by Harvard economist Raj Chetty shows that over the course of a generation, socioeconomic performance improves once families move to places with greater economic opportunity. Physical mobility, then, is the best pathway to economic mobility."

"Coming out of the pandemic, perhaps ever more of them will ... find the American Dream in Canada. After all, the 'Canadian Dream' is much more attainable. Canada is a policy lab for experiments in reducing inequality. The country is far from perfect, but it ranks far higher than the U.S. in social mobility: Almost 20 per cent of Americans are born below the poverty line, a figure that’s less than 10 per cent in Canada. America is also going through its second eviction crisis within a decade, worsening both poverty and hunger. ... What Canada is also more clear about than America is its commitment to systematic mass migration and assimilation. ... Canada has entered the immigration big leagues, setting a clear target of 400,000 migrants annually to add to its 38 million population – a far higher annual percentage than the U.S."

"Canada embodies the reality that immigration policy is economic policy. Its aging population requires caregivers; its eastern and Maritime provinces need to be rejuvenated with new industries, from IT to hydropower; its thawing frontiers require hearty workers to cultivate the bounty, and connecting its oilpatch and farmlands to global markets requires new pipelines and a vast freight rail network. There aren’t nearly enough Canadians to do it all."

The Globe and Mail, October 15, 2021: "Searching for the American Dream? Go to Canada," by Parah Khanna

The Conference Board of Canada, October 29, 2021: Valued Workers, Valuable Work: The Current and Future Role of (Im)migrant Talent by Yilmaz Dinc (27 pages, PDF)

Pendakur, R. (2020) Settlement and labour force outcomes for Afghan immigrants and their children in Canada. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1724423

Graham, N., & Pottie‐Sherman, Y. (2021). The experiences of immigrant entrepreneurs in a medium‐sized Canadian city: The case of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Canadian Geographer 65(2), 184–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12627 (Available to U of T community here)

Photo Source: Jaillet, G. (2017). [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/EIWCd0414xQ

[sachkiawaaj]

Layoffs from Cenovus-Husky oilpatch merger expected to begin today

Layoffs from Cenovus-Husky oilpatch merger expected to begin today

The fallout from the merger of two oilpatch majors — Cenovus Energy and Husky Energy — is expected to land in downtown Calgary today as workers begin to receive layoff notices.  The companies announced the $3.8-billion deal in October, with the aim of creating a single business that is stronger and more resilient. However, Cenovus has said that 20 to 25 per cent of the combined workforce would…

[stevemaclellan]

The Liberals’ proposed Future Funds program for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador is part of a larger promise to ensure workers aren’t left behind as Canada pursues its climate change commitments, The Canadian Press reports. The party’s platform contains a promise to create a Clean Jobs Training Centre to help oilpatch workers upgrade or gain new skills.

In Cold Lake, Alberta—where more than 2,000 of the city’s 15,000 residents are employed at nearby tar sands/oil sands operations—Mayor Craig Copeland said he doesn’t believe most people working in the sector want to switch jobs.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Oil companies can’t just choose to “pollute less” as if they flip a switch. As tough as these businesses are for the environment, your response to the recent ask about the carbon tax’ affect on the trades is incredibly telling of just how removed you are from the workings and daily lives of people in the oilpatch. You have to admit it would benefit you to be more aware of this community, their lingo, their struggles and experiences without writing them off based on *some* abstract hard data. (1)

(2) Like yes we get the rebates back, but 1, they come back at the end of the year. That doesn’t help families out when they’re feeling the ding of it every month. Find me an electric truck charger in rural Alberta by worksites, camps and rigs? You can’t yet, because there’s isn’t any yet - not as there would need to be. Houses are still for sale in loooots of places (stop denying this lived reality, I witness it everyday), and families sell their WEDDING BANDS to cover for bills! (2/3)

(3) In conclusion, you’re right about long term goals and the need to act on climate and people can transition jobs etc etc etc. But please stop downplaying the effect of this tax during the recession’s legacy (it’s official over, yes, but the we’re still climbing out of it here in a concrete sense) on working fam. It isnt alarmism, but it sure isnt as peachy as youre saying it is. If you were insensitive to other groups you would apologize; your flippancy towards us in our pain sucks 2 (3/3)

–

Oil Companies actually can choose to pollute less.

These companies make billions upon billions of dollars AND receives billions of dollars in subsidies from both provincial and federal governments.

The skills these companies have are completely applicable to renewable energy. There is absolutely nothing stopping Shell or Exxon from investing the same billions they use for oil into renewables.

Also that rebate comes 4X a year, not once a year. Thanks @the-king-is-a-woman for that info.

And I’ve said time and time again that I support giving oil workers funding to pay all their expenses and cover any costs associated with retraining so that they can work in high paying renewable energy jobs. I’ve never suggested throwing oil workers out into the cold. That’s not a renewable transition. That’s cruel and immoral.

Also its not as if these oil companies are helping their workers. If Oil Companies got their way they’d fire all their workers and replace them with robots so that they’d bring in more money:

Union outcry as automation eats up 400 oilsands jobs – and it’s just the beginning

Leaner oilpatch emerges from recession as new technology replaces jobs

Why do we listen to oil execs when they talk about jobs?

The only people at fault for Alberta’s current oil based clusterfuck is the Conservative party’s who have developed Alberta’s economy that is so dependent on oil prices that a drop in the price of oil can crash their economy, and those who keep voting for these parties.

Alberta is not in a recession. Alberta has the highest minimum wage. The highest incomes and the lowest taxes in Canada.

A weak carbon tax is not significantly impacting Albertans, and I refuse to apologize for speaking the truth.

[islandtransformations]

Sustainable Future

This Calgarian ditched the oilpatch for a career in sustainable energy By Patricia Lane | National Observer| December 28th 2020

"Nick Kendrick graduated from university in 2011 in Nova Scotia with significant student debt. Like a lot of his friends, he went to work in Alberta’s oilsands. Now, at 31, he has a master of science in sustainable energy development and a LEED Green Associate certificate in sustainable building practices. He is part of a project management team that supports a First Nations-run solar energy installation at Fort Chipewyan."

Source: 

He says; "The people at Iron & Earth are themselves former oil and gas workers who understand that if we are going to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, we have to provide workers with good, steady jobs that pay well. They offer training for the transition and lobby governments to provide better funding for workers interested in switching."

ITO Comment: The same transformation is occuring in the Transportation World, from cycles to air travel.  All contributing to the health of the World.

[news-chhondomela]

Resource sector workers call on Nova Scotia to follow N.B.’s lead on coronavirus self-isolation

Resource sector workers call on Nova Scotia to follow N.B.’s lead on coronavirus self-isolation

Matthew Lake, a lifelong Nova Scotian who works shifts in Alberta’s oilpatch, says the most exciting thing he’s done since the start of the coronavirus pandemic is take his trash to the end of his driveway.

He’s worked on drilling rigs for eight years but always comes home to Kingston, N.S., where he’s been isolating at the end of each of his two-week rotations.

He said it’s not the lack of…

[kayla1993-world]

'We're very, very fortunate': Alberta town enjoying a mini-boom thanks to Keystone XL

Afternoon traffic in Oyen moved slowly along Main Street in the waning days of summer, relaxing along the weathered asphalt, near the city office's low brick exterior, farm equipment dealer, and a cafe promising fresh pie and hot coffee. But the activity picked up again as evening approached on a mid-September day.

They are only a fraction of the hundreds of workers who have recently arrived here, roughly doubling the population of the town to around 2,000. In years, Alberta hasn't felt the heat of a boom.

But Oyen and the friends have been getting a taste of what may feel a bit like the good old days for some Albertans for the last month or two. Approximately 850 employees have come to work on the Canadian leg of TC Energy Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline, comprising skilled professionals, engineers and managers.

Alberta is indeed a region in need of some improvement, with the unemployment rate rising about 12%. The mini-boom in Oyen, however, is underpinned by state investment.

The province is taking a gamble on this early Keystone XL construction, given that Joe Biden, the US Democratic presidential nominee, has said that if he won the presidency, he would kill the pipeline. In addition, Keystone XL remains a controversial project that faces legal battles, environmental protests and celebrity scorn (and still faces the others).

The pipeline aims to be in service in 2023 in the best-case situation, which means the construction boost has a firm timeline. So people are making the most of the opportunity.

Workers assist in building hotel rooms, RV parks and suites to rent. For the food bank and other programs, crews have collected over $15,000.

The pipeline is expected to provide the municipalities along the right of way in Alberta with far more than $4 million in annual property taxes once it's in service. After it has been built, some work along the pipeline route will also continue for a while.

That's good news in this community, where the oilpatch still feels like the home team, pipeliners are welcome, and people seem to appreciate it all the more knowing that this small boom has a shelf life. Positioned about 300 kilometers north of Calgary, Oyen is not far from the border to Saskatchewan.

Overlooking Main Street is the clock tower of the town, a metal-framed monument celebrating the founding of the community more than a century ago. This is a place focused on farming, as well as with connections to the oil patch.

During the previous decade, pipeliners arrived to work on the original Keystone pipeline. But after years of political and legal headwinds, people were uncertain of when, or if, they should host Keystone XL work crews.

After the United Conservative Party government announced that this would invest $1.1 billion US as equity and guarantee a $4.2 billion project loan in an effort to get things moving, workers finally began arriving over the summer to work on the 269 mile Alberta leg. The prudence of such a big bet on a single project has also been questioned by some, but the Kenney government has remained committed.

It was the end of a busy day at the Fountain Tire-NAPA Auto Parts store as the afternoon wound down. The owners are Dale Walker and Troy Maclean.

Business is good, and so is the market of rent. Rental properties in the town are in demand, and employees and their families have opened their homes to some residents.

Kari Kuzmiski, a resident, rented out a home to one worker. From the tire shop, walk down the street and you smell the aroma of Chinese food which contributes to the door of The 90's Restaurant.

A brightly lit pub with sports on every TV, hockey and football logos on the walls, and the bar is decorated with a metal plate. Another block on, and you're at Overtime. All walking in sanitizes their hands, and every physically distant table is soon occupied for the night of the wing.

Pub manager Charlene Carlson has lived a lot of her life in Oyen, raising two children. The pipeline too has provided a bit of a moral boost, beyond the financial lift, Carlson said.

Over the course of the evening, there haver been more workers coming and leaving. A few were talking about roots becoming put down.

But she said how her heart remains with the locals, who’ve been likely to be in it long after the pipeline work is done. They'll make the most of things in the meantime.

Doug Dingman knows the oilpatch's ups and downs. He lived thru it.

In the wake of the global crude price collapse a few years ago, Dingman was among the thousands of Albertans who lost their oil-patch jobs. He's now the owner of Fresh Foods' T&D Store, just off Main Street.

Dingman continues to be a supporter of the energy sector, believing strongly that, while recognizing the push for renewable energy, Alberta's oil will be needed for a long time. These days, it's something you're hearing around the province, an acknowledgement of the developments in the energy industry and an eventual transition to things like renewables.

As the world seeks ways to address climate change, there are many issues and challenges that lie ahead for the future of energy. It seems the final fate of the Keystone XL pipeline is among the unknowns for Alberta's oil industry.

And there is an economic boost right now in Alberta, with construction jobs in places like Oyen, Washington and the results of the next US presidential election in November will also have plenty of eyes on it. Donald Trump is also a supporter.

When asked for her thoughts on the future in Alberta back at the Overtime pub, Carlson said it was a debate she had in her own home. She's called a realist herself.

As for now, Carlson shared the wisdom of somebody who has previously seen good times.

[sachkiawaaj]

With Keystone XL back on the shelf, oilpatch pressure mounts on Trudeau and Trans Mountain

With Keystone XL back on the shelf, oilpatch pressure mounts on Trudeau and Trans Mountain

The town of Oyen in southeastern Alberta has been enjoying a rare thing in the province these past few months: an economic boom.  The community has been bustling with pipeline workers who arrived by the hundreds last summer to help build the Canadian leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. Doug Dingman, who owns a grocery and liquor store in the community, said his business has been up 20 per cent with…