Alberta industry groups welcome pipeline decision + MORE Nov 30th

President and CEO Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Tim McMillan speaks to the media after meeting with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, Alberta, on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken
CALGARY – The financial centre of the oilpatch applauded Ottawa’s approval of two massive pipeline developments, saying the decisions send a message that Canada is open to investment at a time when the economy sorely needs it.
“Canada’s reputation as a place that can move projects forward took a step forward today,” said Tim McMillan, head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers at a press conference.
“We have seen today that our governments support energy projects that meet the high standards here in Canada, and that positions us well for the future.”
For months, the energy sector had waited with bated breath for federal pronouncement on three projects: Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion and Enbridge’s Northern Gateway and Line 3…

When Bank of Nova Scotia reported strong quarterly results, it gave a big boost of credibility to a stock-picking strategy that works wonders with Canada’s biggest lenders

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Here’s what’s on the agenda this week:
PIPELINE POLITICS
In a highly anticipated announcement, the Liberals approved Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain and Enbridge’s Line 3 pipelines on Tuesday, while rejecting Northern Gateway. It’s a big announcement that will have ramifications for the economy, the environment and Indigenous peoples. What will the reaction be, from politicians and advocates across Canada? What will happen next?
CASH-FOR-ACCESS
The Liberals are also enduring a series of cash-for-access scandals over fundraisers attended by MPs like Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bill Blair that suggest a violation of rules against preferential access for financial donors…

(Bayne Stanley/CP)
VICTORIA – About three per cent of residential real estate transactions last month in Metro Vancouver involved foreign buyers, a decline of more than 10 percentage points since the B.C. government intervened with a new tax.
The provincial government brought in the 15-per-cent tax in August as a tool to cool the overheated residential housing market in Metro Vancouver.
B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong said Tuesday that the government is downgrading its financial expectations from the tax.
The government had forecast the tax would bring in $165 million for the fiscal year, but the that’s been revised to $50 million, he said.
“I’m not particularly surprised by the trajectory of what’s happened,” de Jong said. “In the immediate aftermath we see investment drop off pretty dramatically. It’s starting to come back … so there are still transactions taking place involving foreign purchasers and they’re paying the additional tax…

VICTORIA – About three per cent of residential real estate transactions last month in Metro Vancouver involved foreign buyers, a decline of more than 10 percentage points since the B.C. government intervened with a new tax.
The province says 140 properties worth $115 million involving foreign buyers were transferred in Metro Vancouver in October.
Provincial government figures show that rate is up from the 1.8 per cent of foreign purchases in the Vancouver area in September, the month after the 15-per-cent tax was introduced.
Finance Minister Mike de Jong says the government is scaling back the amount of money it expects to collect from the tax in this budget year based on the new figures.
The province now expects to collect $50 million from the tax, down from its previous estimate of $165 million.
There are still pockets in Metro Vancouver where foreign purchases are higher, including Richmond where 6.7 per cent of all residential transactions were sold to foreigners.
The tax doesn’t apply in the Victoria area and it saw more foreign buyers in October at 6…