Features

I had the pleasure recently of sitting down with Darren Chu, Managing Director of UTILITYnet and its retail arm, Spot Power, for a Q&A about an Albertan business that has consistently found ways to deliver exceptional value to customers. 1. Spot Power, and its parent company UTILITYnet, have a long history of innovation and business excellence in Alberta. What has been the recipe for success?

If headlines and political proclamations are any indication, Canadians are upset about current grocery prices.[1] One recent article by the BBC[2] highlighted examples of high prices in Canada versus similar items in the United Kingdom and United States from specific grocers.

Over the last couple of years, inflation has been the main concern for investors. The massive monetary stimulus after March of 2020 that mostly caused this high inflation has been withdrawn: interest rates are higher and central banks are engaging in quantitative tightening as opposed to quantitative easing, which is what they were doing before.

Giving credit where credit is due right up front – this article is based largely on a recent report by University of Manitoba Emeritus Professor and energy guru Vaclav Smil – “Halfway between Kyoto and 2050: Zero Carbon is a Highly Unlikely Outcome”, published by Canada’s Fraser Institute.

It seems that a lot of people are worried that Canada's Online News Act (Bill C-18), which went into effect in June, will make it more difficult for Canadians to find out what is going on in the world. But the truth is, if Meta, Google, and other big players prevent you from reading content produced by Canadian news agencies, in almost all cases the tech firms will be doing you a huge favour.

As public discourse about climate change and climate crisis escalate to the point that the Secretary General of the United Nations talks about “global boiling”, we hear more and more about lawsuits launched against organizations accused of creating or failing to stop greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). As the story usually goes, by promoting GHGs, these agents have exacerbated climate change, damaged the environment, and the physical/mental health of plaintiffs so extremely that legal remedies are required.

As a father of 7 in the media industry (but, sigh, not Google, Meta, or Amazon), I do not fly on airplanes often. And when I do, it is generally the randomly chosen middle seat — perfect for my long legs. — in row 32. However, last week, through a stroke of luck and a very generous person, I was given the opportunity to fly business class. What a treat!

Many people see hydrogen as a foundation of the zero emissions energy sources envisioned for later this century. Hydrogen burns to create energy, producing only water vapour as a combustion product. So – no carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas produced by burning oil and gas, which so many worry about causing climate change.

We are reminded daily that plastics are the bane of humanity, and that something must be done. We demand action at the voting booth, and we vote with our wallets when we make purchasing decisions. Politicians have acted with bag bans, and companies have created new products to replace evil plastic. It is a time to rejoice, as justice has been done. Or has it?