Seems like the big economic news in Canada was happening in Atlanta yesterday. Or at least being reported from there (see posts below here and here).

From the Globe and Mail:  

CALGARY AND OTTAWA — Three groups have quit a government-sponsored forum for assessing environmental costs in the oil sands, a move that undercuts government efforts to burnish the image of the massive developments in U.S. markets.

The latest flare-up between the Alberta government and environmental activists came as federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice sought to reassure an international audience that the oil sands are being developed in a responsible way and are critical to U.S. energy security.

“Developing our oil sands has had its environmental challenges, but we’ve come a long way,” he told an Americas Competitiveness Forum.

The story notes that anti-energy environmentalists in Canada have gained support in the U.S. Congress for their campaign against the oil sands. (See this story about the ban on U.S. government purchases of the oil.)

In Atlanta, Industry Minister Jim Prentice reminded the U.S. attendees of the Americas Competitiveness Forum that Canada has been the No. 1 energy exporter to the United States since 1999 and claims 14 percent of the world’s oil reserves. (Ottawa Citizen story.)

Canada’s Industry Minister, Jim Prentice, spoke yesterday at the Americas Competitiveness Forum in Atlanta, hitting on priority issues for manufacturers on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border –  trade, energy and infrastructure. His prepared remarks are here.

The Financial Post story highlights his remarks about ports and other infrastructure, relevant for the U.S. reader (including members of Congress):

OTTAWA – The Industry Minister, Jim Prentice, acknowledged yesterday that Canadian trade prospects are at risk unless it does more, and quickly, to upgrade its border and port infrastructure.

The comments, made to key policymakers from the three NAFTA countries, appear to endorse recommendations made in the recent report of the Competition Policy Review Panel. Sources say the federal government will borrow liberally from the report in outlining its economic agenda for the fall when Parliament resumes.

Mr. Prentice’s commitment to improved infrastructure comes at a time when Canada is trying to develop new bilateral trade relationships to make up for the recent collapse of WTO-sponsored ne-gotiations aimed at liberalizing global trade.

“We need to make trade logistics and border infrastructure a priority in the short term or lose opportunities to other global competitors who are better organized to facilitate trade,” Mr. Prentice said in a speech to a North America competitiveness forum held in Atlanta.

Prentice told the audience that Ottawa plans to invest $2 billion for new port facilities and border crossings to improve trade.