Monthly Archives: October 2014

The building of Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline was approved by Stephen Harper’s government in June; however, commencement of the project is uncertain because of strong opposition from First Native groups. The heart of the opposition comes from six First Native groups, the Yinka Dene Alliance, who say that 25 percent of their tradition territory would be exploited by the pipeline.The Yinka Dene Alliance and other groups opposing the project have been able to gain legal foothold because the proposed pipeline would violate aboriginal land rights granted in the Constitution Act of 1982.

I believe that while the First Nation community has the right to protect their traditional territory, it isn’t a strong enough argument to prevent a multi-billion dollar project from proceeding.  The building of the pipeline would have great economic benefits for the country and a large portion of the benefits would go to the First Nations groups who have equity stake in the pipeline. Chief Erickson said that they want to ensure that the land is there for their grandkids but who is to  say that future generations would prefer land over monetary benefits from equity? I would say, as a member of the future generation, that their grandkids would prefer the latter.

I think that the Yinka Dene Alliance and other groups opposing the project are being unnecessarily uncooperative. The benefits they could gain from the Northern Gateway pipeline would be greater than the loss of 25 percent of their traditional land. However, that is my opinion, and what Enbridge hopes the First Natives will realize, yet it does not coincide with the opinions of the six First Nation groups. Consequently, if Enbridge cannot make a deal with this group, then there will be no pipeline built.

Sources:

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/There+will+pipeline/10122968/story.html

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-rights/

Picture from: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/cms/binary/10122970.jpg

Article: http://adage.com/article/news/kraft-launches-campaign-revive-jell-o/243616/

As a child, Jell-O was one of my favourite choices of dessert. It was a colourful, fun and sugary treat to enjoy. However, I don’t recall having eaten Jell-O in years… and I bet it would be the same for other people as well.

The once iconic brand has dropped off the radar in recent years due to changing eating habits; in particular, people’s focus on healthy eating. For the first few years of the 2000’s, Jell-O was quite successful as the company was able to capitalize on the trend of the Atkins diet by marketing its sugar-free Jell-O. However, the Atkins diet being a trend, this sugar-free Jell-O was only successful for the duration of the trend. Now, after months of analyzing the market and studying how it should position the brand, Kraft has decided on reestablishing the dessert as “food for fun.”

The main point of difference that the company will focus on when marketing Jell-O is that it is fun to eat. This is different from what most companies in the snack market are advertising; the classic “healthy option.” Many snacks are advertised for being under 100 calories or having 100g of fiber or being baked rather than fried. However, Kraft understands that Jell-O will not succeed by targeting a health conscious adult market so it has shifted focus back onto the market of children. I think that the idea of having fun (while enjoying a sweet, sugary treat) is one that is often forgotten in an era where children are growing up extremely fast. I like the approach that Kraft is taking for Jell-O because kids nowadays are not getting to truly enjoy the “simplicity” of being a child.

Sources:

http://adage.com/article/news/kraft-launches-campaign-revive-jell-o/243616/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkins_diet