Harper sets out on Arctic tour - Energy Projects loom large

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s annual northern tour started Monday and comes at a critical time for energy development in the North, with the Mackenzie Valley pipeline project languishing and bids about to close on a huge tract of Arctic offshore petroleum exploration rights. The federal government has already awarded more than $600 million worth of oil and gas exploration rights in northern Canada in the past 14 months alone. Moreover, the Conservative government has also just called for bids to develop a five-year strategic plan for oil spill research in the Arctic (specifically the Beaufort Sea), including filling “knowledge gaps in oil spill countermeasures capability.” Read more at: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Energy+development+looms+large+Harper+sets+Arctic+tour/7113751/story.html