Menu
Search results for “node/"https:/commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jigsaw_Puzzle.svg"”
-
The urgent need for a full Public Inquiry into fracking in BC
Group letter to John Horgan and Michelle Mungall Honourable John Horgan, BC Premier, and Honourable Michelle Mungall, BC Minister for Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources cc Andrew Weaver, BC Green Party Leader Dear Premier Horgan and Minister Mungall, We write to you today as directors of numerous civil society organizations that recently…
-
Getting big money out of BC politics: 5 ways to do this right
With the provincial election behind us, there’s at least one thing that the overwhelming majority of British Columbians seem to clearly agree on: we need big money out of our politics. The corrupting influence of vast sums of cash from (primarily) corporations and the wealthy in BC’s political system has…
-
Fast Facts: The Implications of the Public Utilities Board Report on Manitoba Hydro
On July 29, 2011, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) of Manitoba issued an interim Order denying Manitoba Hydro requests to “finalize existing interim rates and for an additional 0.9% rate increase for all customer classes, effective August 1, 2011.” The Order also notes that these requests “…will be further considered…
-
Long overdue: Taking a closer look at university library funding
As we continue to dig into university and college finances in Ontario, what becomes apparent is not only the change in revenue sources these institutions are experiencing (which we discuss here). There are also shifts in how and where institutions choose to spend their money. The current strike by college…
-
BC’s climate action masquerade
When BC Premier Christy Clark arrives at the Paris climate conference, as part of a reinvigorated Canadian delegation under PM Trudeau, the world will hear bold statements about BC’s climate leadership. BC has received much praise since its 2008 introduction of a carbon tax (under previous Premier Gordon Campbell), and…
-
BC needs a full public inquiry into fracking
Last year, more natural gas was produced in British Columbia than at any point in the past 10 years. That may come as a surprise to some people who thought that growth in BC’s natural gas industry hinged on the emergence of a Liquefied Natural Gas sector. It does not.…
-
Trees to pellets? Scarred by two previous resource industry boom and busts, pivotal decisions lie ahead for community of Fort Nelson
The residents of Fort Nelson know better than most rural British Columbians about the harsh economic realities of resource dependency. It is now 13 years since the forest industry ditched the community in dramatic fashion when Canfor Corp. ceased all its local operations in the region and closed its plywood…
-
Higher learning, lower earning? The state of employment on Ontario campuses
It’s no secret that university and college revenues are shifting, with the public component of funding largely in decline. It’s also no secret—or coincidence—that the tuition and other fees charged to students are up. In most cases, way up. After all, the money has to come from somewhere. And as…
-
A petro state, a fracking frenzy and one woman’s battle for justice: Andrew Nikiforuk’s latest should be required reading for MLAs
Andrew Nikiforuk’s new book, Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry, captures like never before how fossil fuel companies must do more and more to coax oil and gas from the ground. And how that each time more effort is made, the social and…
-
Reducing the space for democracy – one speaker from the CCPA’s 30th anniversary
Last week I was lucky enough to join 250 people in Ottawa for a daylong conference to honour the 30th anniversary of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Nine different speakers and two intelligent moderators focused the audience on the democratic and economic challenges we face as a Canadians and…
-
Fast Facts: Who speaks for the public interest?
One of the most perverse aspects of Canadian society is the way that organized labour and other progressive organizations are dismissed as special interest groups and marginalized in public discourse about the political issues that affect the general population. This attitude is entrenched in all political jurisdictions and it is…
-
BC government charging major users very little for water and only loosely tracking industrial water use, research shows
VANCOUVER—Major companies including mining juggernaut Teck Resources, the world’s largest aluminum maker Rio Tinto Alcan and natural gas processor WestCoast Energy Inc. pay shockingly little for water they take from British Columbia’s lakes, rivers and streams. Of greater concern, most industrial water users rarely, if ever, are required to meter…
