Tausi Insider

A pumpjack works at an oil and gas installation near Cremona, Alta. on Oct. 29, 2016. The Alberta government is considering a controversial plan that would provide incentives to oil and gas companies to clean up their wells. The Canadian Press The Alberta government is considering a controversial plan that would provide incentives to oil and gas companies to clean up their wells, but critics say it amounts to a royalty giveaway that would essentially compensate industry for work it is mandated to do. Alberta Energy Minister Peter Guthrie told Tausi Insider this week that details of a new site liability program haven’t yet been finalized, but the government is looking at something along the lines of the RStar program – an idea Danielle Smith floated to the United Conservative Party government before she became Alberta premier. Ms. Smith laid out the details in a July, 2021, letter to then-energy minister Sonya Savage, when Ms. Smith was president of the Alberta Enterprise Group, a non...

This sometimes seems like the Age of Anger, as people let loose their frustrations and vitriol on social media. But anger also might be on the rise in the workplace – and our own psyche. Liz Fosslien, head of content and communications at Humu, and organizational consultant Mollie West Duffy found tensions high in the pandemic era while researching their book Big Feelings . People revealed that they had recently lost their cool over seemingly small triggers such as inconsistent WiFi, an e-mail from their boss that just read “?,” or a co-worker pinging them at 4:45 p.m. asking for a “quick favour.” Anger can drive us into a frenzy, but it can also lead us to work harder and accomplish more. To channel your anger, they say you have to start by recognizing that a violation took place. You don’t want to take your emotions out on another person. And despite the belief that venting is cathartic, they say research shows that it leads your anger to escalate rather than diminish. “Chronic ven...

Alfred E. Neuman, the legendary figurehead for Mad Magazine, was best known for his phrase, “What, me worry?” You may want to adopt that motto. Consultant Kevin Eikenberry argues that worrying is folly. But most of us do, in fact, worry and we often believe it’s helpful. He sets out some of the benefits we perceive: Worrying might prevent negative events from happening, it reduces our guilt because we are doing something, it gets us thinking about the problem, it shows we care, and it can keep us from being surprised should the fear come true. He adds on LinkedIn one reason we might not want to admit: “We worry because we worry, even if we aren’t sure why.” But how many of those justifications make sense? How many would change the outcome? His review of the research on worry finds, depending on the study, that between 85 and 92 per cent of our worries never come true. Worrying, he sums up, “makes you feel bad, raises your stress and worsens your mood. This activity rarely can change...

Environmental, social and governance investing has been engulfed by suspicion and acrimony this year. That could be for the best. If anything, the turmoil in ESG has helped investors and the public better understand what it is, and what it is not, as the world grapples with social inequity and a climate crisis. At its core, ESG is a series of measures used to determine if a company or fund is protected against non-financial and policy-related risks tied to climate change, worker safety, boardroom diversity and other factors. It is slowly becoming more specifically categorized. “I think these are much-overdue growing pains,” said Alexandria Fisher, an Edmonton-based ESG risk-management expert. “It’s a clear signal that the area is maturing from something that is kind of greenwashing into something that is more robust and is creating a better picture for risk management.” As ESG-themed investment chilled in 2022, questions emerged about just how effective it is in transforming the busi...

The OPEC Fund for International Development, a development institution established by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ member governments nearly 50 years ago, has raised $1-billion by selling its first ever bond. With the money earmarked for food security, health care, infrastructure, education, employment and renewable energy projects, the three-year bond which will pay investors an interest rate of 4.5 per cent, will also be classed as a ‘sustainable development’ bond. It is a label that has a growing appeal for investors increasingly looking to use their resources in more environmentally and socially-beneficial ways. The OPEC Fund’s Head of Funding, Martine Mills Jansen, said that central banks from the Middle East, Europe and Asia and other types of “official” institutions, including from the United States, accounted for 62 per cent of the bond’s buyers. Commercial banks made up another 19 per cent, asset managers and insurance and pension funds accounted fo...