Browse "Natural resources"

One of the easiest ways to understand bitumen is to compare it to its cousin, conventional crude oil. Whereas conventional crude oil flows freely, bitumen does not. At room temperature it looks like cold molasses, and must be either heated or diluted before it flows.

Canada Land Inventory is a comprehensive federal-provincial survey of LAND capability and use for regional resource and land-use planning established under the Agricultural Rehabilitation and Development Act in 1961.

Coal is a fossil fuel that has been used as a source of energy in Canada since the 18th century. Canada is home to 0.6 per cent of the world’s coal resources. Most of the country’s coal reserves (over 95 per cent) are found in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. In recent years, the environmental movement has opposed the coal industry for disrupting local ecosystems, creating adverse health effects and for its large contribution to the carbon-dioxide emissions that drive climate change. In an effort to curb harmful emissions, the federal government has signalled its intention to phase out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030, and Alberta has a plan to achieve the same goal as a province.

Commission of Conservation, established 1909 to provide Canadian governments with the most up-to-date scientific advice on the CONSERVATION of human and natural resources.

In commerce, commodities are interchangeable goods or services. Many natural resources in Canada are viewed as commodities. They are a major source of the country’s wealth. Examples of commodities include a barrel of crude oil, an ounce of gold, or a contract to clear snow during the winter. Commodity products often supply the production of other goods or services. Many are widely traded in futures exchanges (see Commodity Trading).

Overall, Canada is blessed with abundant freshwater resources, but their availability varies considerably from one season or year to another, and from one region to another.

The Department of Natural Resources was established in 1993, replacing Energy, Mines and Resources as a federal agency. Some of the department's components have long histories. The Department of Mines, created in 1907, was reorganized as the Department of Mines and Resources in 1936.

The term "energy" is often used interchangeably with the term "power," but incorrectly so. Energy is defined as the capacity to do work and is measured in joules (J) or watt hours (1 Wh = 3600 J).

CANADIANS ARE now committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, even though Ottawa may not have a well-developed plan. But Dean Scammell does, and he's a good six years ahead of the government. In 1999, Scammell started building his 2,400-sq.

Main Forest TypesWorldwide there are 3 main forest types related directly to climatic zones: equatorial- and tropical-region forests, temperate-zone forests, and forests associated with colder climates.

Forest harvesting involves cutting trees and delivering them to sawmills, pulp mills and other wood-processing plants. Its practical components include road construction, logging and log transportation.

Foresters use forest surveys to obtain information on the condition of the FOREST and monitor any changes, since there are not only surveys of standing trees, but also surveys after logging as well as forestry surveys aimed at prescribing treatments.

Forestry is the science and practice of caring for forests. Both the meaning and practice of forestry in Canada have evolved over time.

Throughout the late 1980s and the 1990s, there was a tremendous evolution of FORESTRY in Canada and around the world. Forestry became increasingly important for both the ECONOMY and the ENVIRONMENT, and the practice of forestry became more complex.

The fur trade began in the 1600s in what is now Canada. It continued for more than 250 years. Europeans traded with Indigenous people for beaver pelts. The demand for felt hats in Europe drove this business. The fur trade was one of the main reasons that Europeans explored and colonized Canada. It built relationships between Europeans and Indigenous peoples.

(This article is a plain-language summary of the fur trade. If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry, Fur Trade in Canada.)

Hydro-Québec, a provincially owned corporation based in Montréal, is Canada's largest electric utility and, judged by assets ($30.6 billion in 1986), Canada's second largest corporation.

Hydroelectricity is energy produced from flowing water. The amount of energy produced depends on volume and speed: the more water moving at a fast rate, the more energy produced. For this reason, many hydroelectric stations are built near waterfalls.

The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) is a legal agreement signed on 11 November 1975 by the government of Quebec, the government of Canada, Hydro-Québec and two of its subsidiaries, the Grand Council of the Crees of Quebec and the Northern Quebec Inuit Association. Described by many as the “first modern treaty,” the JBNQA redefined and framed land management as well as the relationship between the Quebecois state and the Indigenous peoples of the James Bay and Northern Quebec region (see James Bay Project, Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada).

In 1971, Hydro-Québec and the Québec government initiated the James Bay Project, a monumental hydroelectric-power development on the east coast of James Bay. Over the course of two phases they built a total of eight generating stations, allowing for the pollution-free production of a significant portion of Québec's electricity. However, the projects also profoundly disrupted the environment and the Indigenous communities living in the region, the effects of which are still felt today.