Nelson Bennett

Canadian journalist covering energy, resources and economics.

[Resource Works @Resource_Works]

A $6 billion mine expansion in northwest B.C. that could run for 70 years.

@NewmontCorp and Imperial Metals are closing in on a funding decision for Red Chris, which would be the second-largest mining investment in Canada and lift the country’s copper output by about 15%. Built on a Tahltan Nation consent agreement, and block caving would cut emissions ~80% by ditching diesel haul trucks.

@nbennett_ca on a mine with its finger on the trigger:

https://t.co/eUsLNq7ZBD

#BCPoli #Mining #CriticalMinerals

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

@BlairKing_ca I understand there's a technology called Organic Rankin Cycle that can take low heat energy and covert it to electricity and that it could be used at natural gas thermal power plants to squeeze out a bit more electricity.

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

That is indeed a lot of heat. And given the winters northern Alberta gets, they could probably use a bit of extra heat. Waste heat from both natural gas power plants and AI datacentres could be captured and used for things like greenhouses or district heating.

[Heather Exner-Pirot @ExnerPirot]

This headline is so sensational and misleading and embarrassing for the CBC. You’re Canada’s taxpayer-funded public broadcaster for god’s sake, exercise some judgement.

“Proposed data centre would release ‘23 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs worth of energy’ a day, physicist says”

https://t.co/RJ0JFVIDFI

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

You are name-checked here too in my substack "Let Them Eat Cake: Generational inequality and the welfare state." But admittedly, Bill Maher's segment is a lot funnier.
https://t.co/RBC6eslCVs

[Niall Ferguson @nfergus]

This really is one of @BillMaher’s best-ever monologues, and I don’t say that just because I got a namecheck. Tldr: Socialism is what old people already get and young people want a piece of it.

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

And for reference, here is Maher's New Rules segment. https://t.co/7Xis3np95o

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

I no sooner finished writing this substack about France, in which I cite Niall Ferguson and Michael Moore's Sicko, when I saw Bill Maher making similar references in a New Rules segment to both Ferguson and Moore. Admittedly, Maher's piece is funnier.
https://t.co/fH9IB0hJy0

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

@Margare7a Congratluations Margareta. What's it like to ride a landslide?

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

@LKrauss1 Wait what? You live in BC now? If so welcome, glad to have such an esteemed physicist here in our province. Your book A Universe From Nothing still stands out as one of most mind-blowing books I've ever read.

[Rob Shaw @RobShaw_BC]

BREAKING - @Conservative_BC has won a majority government in BC.
@Dave_Eby's snap election gamble appears to have failed in spectacular fashion.
First Conservative government elected since 1928-1933.

[CTV News @CTVNews]

#BREAKING: B.C. Conservatives win majority government. Live real-time election updates here. https://t.co/5RfYtwMxjg

[James Moore @honjamesmoore]

Gross, insulting and absurd all at the same time.

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

More to come on this. I am at this morning's press event with PM and LNG Canada officials.
https://t.co/Yega3og68L

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

Interesting to see Andrew Weaver taking another shot at BC politics but not for the Greens this time - the party he once led.

[Andrew Weaver @AJWVictoriaBC]

Day 6 of the campaign. @VoteCentreBC is emerging as the home for orphaned @LPCBC supporters of @MarkJCarney . Let's bring stability back to #bcpoli https://t.co/2Xg4r99lKm

[Aaron Pete @Aaronpete_]

I am so frustrated by this.

Our audience desperately wants debates on Canadas most pressing issues.

Yet, I can’t get participants.

I’ve tried to organize good faith, Nuanced Debates on:
- Housing
- The Economy
- MAID
- Taxes

Yet again and again, I hear from professors, experts, and commentators that their side is right - and the other side is evil, bad intentioned and not worthy of debate.

I thought once we did the first, people would see that we’re not looking for a food fight we’re looking for honest disagreements.

I just want to recognize @MarkJaccard and @ExnerPirot for coming on and having the conversation.

It takes courage to have your ideas challenged - and I wish more would follow in their footsteps.

[Resource Works @Resource_Works]

B.C.'s forest economy is half the size it was 10 years ago.

Sawmill output has fallen from 2.5 million cubic metres a month to 1.2 million. The sector went from 5% of provincial GDP to 1.6%. And a third pulp mill may close this year, Domtar's Port Mellon idling puts 400 more out of work. Central 1's economist calls it a "breaking point" that may be past turning around.

@nbennett_ca on the death spiral: https://t.co/7KlbfIJ13v

#BCPoli #Forestry #Cdnpoli @COFI_INFO

[Heather Exner-Pirot @ExnerPirot]

This tweet from the Japanese Prime Minister went viral yesterday:
“This procurement of crude oil is a concrete success story of cooperation between Japan and Canada in the field of energy security, following LNG and small modular reactors, and it is a matter of great joy; from the perspective of ensuring Japan's energy security, it is also profoundly significant.”

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

@BlairKing_ca He said one true thing: "I really don't understand why..." (fill in the blanks). He doesn't understand anything about energy.

[Aaron Pete @Aaronpete_]

We are living through a strange moment in Canada.

As an Indigenous person and a First Nations Chief, I can say things that many Canadians feel they are no longer allowed to say.

That should concern all of us.

People should not fear losing their careers, reputations, or relationships simply for expressing what they sincerely believe to be true.

I do not believe land acknowledgements are always productive. I do not believe reconciliation is moving in the right direction. I believe reconciliation needs a destination, not an endless process with no measure of success.

I say these things because I believe them. I also say them to create room for others to speak honestly.

@karenrestoule and I share that willingness. We challenge ideas that are treated as untouchable, including within our own communities. We do not do it for attention. We do it because silence does not create progress.

We are criticized by Indigenous people and by Canadians more broadly. That comes with the territory.

But public leadership is not about saying what is safest. It is about saying what you believe is true—clearly, respectfully, and without fear.

Watch our full conversation here:
https://t.co/cfttFBvJn4

[Nelson Bennett @nbennett_ca]

Good profile here by @dkennedyglans of @Aaronpete_ whose podcast, Nuanced, is fast becoming my favourite Canadian political affairs podcast. Particularly interesting to learn why this young First Nations leader and influencer thinks UNDRIP and DRIPA aren't working.

[Donna Kennedy-Glans @dkennedyglans]

“I don’t want my politicians to be cool, hip, or woke,” Pete summarizes. “I want them to do good policy.”

https://t.co/xZij4UBGdv via @nationalpost

[Blair King @BlairKing_ca]

Rachel and the IISD conveniently ignore that the TMX generates $5 billion in additional royalties yearly thanks to the reduction in the WCS discount. The govt generates revenue via taxes and royalties which Rachel and the IISD deliberately ignore to maintain their false narrative