Search results for “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • What would it take to meet Canada’s 2030 climate targets? Image source: Shutterstock

    What would it take to meet Canada’s 2030 climate targets?

      Adapted from the CCPA’s fall 2023 submission to Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body by Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood & Marc Lee When Canada first signed the Paris Agreement way back in 2015, the commitment to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 seemed far away. So far…

  • BC Budget 2021: Stay-the-course budget misses the mark on key areas of urgency outside health

    The BC government tabled a surprisingly stay-the-course budget today, making some improvements on the margins but missing the opportunity to shift BC towards a more inclusive and sustainable economy. While it appropriately includes large sums of time-limited spending relating to the pandemic (and indeed BC has led other provinces on…

  • Red markers indicate dams currently being reviewed by the EAO’s office; yellow markers indicate water licences that Progress Energy applied for on December 23 of last year and where dams already existed.

    A Dam Troublesome Exception: Progress Energy’s dams should not be exempted from environmental review

    I sent the following letter to BC’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) in response to Progress Energy’s extraordinary request to retroactively exempt the Lily and Town dams from environmental reviews. Such reviews should have been conducted before the dams were built. Not only did those reviews not happen, but the company…

  • Fast Facts: New Progressive Conservative Manitoba government – four areas to watch

    The recently elected Progressive Conservative (PC) party in Manitoba ran on a call for change. But change for the sake for the sake of change can cause more harm than good, especially for Manitoba’s most marginalized. While there are many policy areas to monitor, here are four to watch as…

  • Financialization of housing must be confronted

    Previously published in the Winnipeg Free Press January 12, 2023 Government housing policy preferences are based on values, the most fundamental being the extent to which housing is viewed as a right, or as a commodity. From a rights value base, housing is a social good — a home and…

  • Alternative Budget Provides path for Nova Scotia to Move Forward to Fairness

    Our content is fiercely open source and we never paywall our website. The support of our community makes this possible.

  • Pat Bell’s YouTube Foray – Sowing Seeds of Misinformation

    Unlikely as it is to garner a huge following on YouTube, one suspects a recently uploaded video message by B.C. Forests Minister Pat Bell may soon have more than a few forest industry workers, commercial tree nursery owners and members of Bell’s own ministry shaking their heads in disbelief. Under…

  • Extended patent protection

    Who benefits? CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA–The issue of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for pharmaceuticals has returned to the agenda partly as a result of the Romanow Report but also because drug companies are pushing for extended patent protection. In the wake of the current House of…

  • Path of Destruction

    Canadian mining companies on rampage around the world Canada is the world’s leading mining nation. Sixty per cent of all public mining companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. About half of all mining capital is raised in Canada. Many Canadian mining companies have become notorious for damaging communities…

  • Swimming against the tide

    The challenge of higher interest rates and high household debt  The run-up of interest rates since March, led by the Bank of Canada in a bid to tame inflation, represents a substantial economic shock, one that is now pushing the country towards a recession. The bank’s overnight, or policy, interest…

  • Solidarity and Persistence in the Welfare Food Challenge

    My clinical, community, and research work revolves around the relationship between poverty and health. I am privileged to hear the stories of patients who are struggling. I get it, I think to myself, and I’m committed to making a change. Do I need to do the welfare food challenge to…

  • Information display at Vancouver Public Library Central Branch

    Public libraries are becoming the new social safety net

    Public libraries in British Columbia are evolving beyond spaces of quiet contemplation, equipped with card catalogues and encyclopaedias. In a time of increased Internet use and communication via social media, the way we access knowledge and use the library is changing. We are seeing digital storytelling and inspiration labs, access…