2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday authorized the release of oil reserves with the hopes of curbing high energy costs, but one Canadian expert says it won't be enough to turn around rising gas prices and may in fact be followed by a small increase.
The U.S. Department of Energy will release 50 million barrels of oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), according to the White House, which is the largest release in the reserve's history.
Yet the market responded to the announcement by bumping up the price of oil on the day by US$1.75 up to US$78.50 per barrel as of 5 p.m. EST.
"Biden's gambit did not pay off," Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, told CTVNews.ca on Tuesday. "It's fair to say his strategy blew up in his face."
Based on the market's reaction and existing trends, he said it could mean that Canadians see a small increase of a few cents at the pumps this week.
McTeague also said the amount of U.S. oil being released simply isn't enough to have a noticeable impact on consumer prices.
"When we think 50 million barrels, you know, the world consumes almost double that in a given day," he said. "So it's really a drop in the bucket."
Thirty-two million barrels of the oil will be released with the intent of it being returned in the coming years, essentially making it available for loan, while the remaining 18 million will be part of a sale that was previously approved by U.S. Congress.
McTeague said that recently there had been rumblings of the U.S. planning to dip into the SPR, and therefore such considerations may have already been baked into the price of oil prior to Tuesday's news.
"Reserves are meant for extraordinary times, and these are not extraordinary times," he said. "We didn't have a hurricane. There's not a war that's inhibiting supply."
He blames a shortfall in crude oil production for surging prices at the pump, suggesting policymakers re-evaluate green energy policies currently in effect to allow for increased supplies in fossil fuels.
"If you want to cure high prices, you've got to allow high prices to curb demand," he said. "You can't turn around and suddenly decide, 'Hey, I found a way to get a short fix here to drop energy prices by flooding the market with a simple reserve of product,' which, you know, if nothing else dropped prices increase demand. It's very counterintuitive. This is a supply problem, not a demand problem."
With files from The Associated Press
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Saskatchewan RCMP are set to provide an update on what the service calls a 'significant' sexual assault and internet child exploitation investigation.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.