Search results for “site/Pat Armstrong”

  • Underneath the legal drama: The ethics of for-profit health care in BC

    One of the most important constitutional trials in Canadian history was set to begin on September 8, 2014 before the BC Supreme Court. Dr. Day, owner of the for-profit Cambie Surgical Centre says he is fighting for the freedom of patients who are victims of “medical enslavement”, while making generous…

  • Photo: © Garth Lenz.

    Priming the pump

    Scientist warns cumulative effect of thousands of fracked gas wells means powerful earthquakes ahead for northeast BC Massive amounts of water pumped with brute force into the earth at thousands of fracking operations is priming the pump for potentially deadly earthquakes in British Columbia’s Montney basin, warns a former top…

  • Time to move beyond the debate on assisted suicide

    The long smouldering debate on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) flared up early this summer when on June 5 the Quebec National Assembly passed Bill 52, An Act respecting end-of-life care. The legislation gives patients in some situations the possibility of requesting medical aid in dying, widely considered a euphemism for euthanasia.…

  • Fast Facts: Applying a Rural and Remote Lens to the KPMG Review

    There has been much discussion and analysis of the KPMG Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review  recently released by the provincial government. However, the potential impacts that will occur in rural and remote Manitoba communities, if some of the review’s recommendations are implemented, have not yet been part of the dialogue. The…

  • Modular housing for LNG Canada workers, Kitimat BC/ Photo credit Marc Lee

    Fracking in BC’s northeast

    Last summer I got out of Vancouver and toured northern BC. While the trip was mostly for pleasure, my inner economist could not resist some industrial tourism and visits to resource towns and major industrial sites that are the heart and soul of BC’s resource economy. Forestry dominates near Prince…

  • Photo: © Garth Lenz

    After the rush: Fort Nelson needs firm government commitments to reclaim lands abandoned by fossil fuel industry

    In the face of the economic fallout from COVID-19, it’s easy to forget that some communities in British Columbia were in deep fiscal distress long before the pandemic began. Fort Nelson is a good example, and a textbook case of why senior levels of government need to be mindful when…

  • Aerial photo of Smithers mill surrounded by piles of logs

    Promises of cleaner air up in smoke

    Calls for BC environment minister to suspend pellet mill permit Every year, the air in the Bulkley Valley community of Smithers becomes hazardous to human health as thousands of fires known as slash burns are deliberately set at logging sites. The contaminated air can stay trapped in the valley’s airshed…

  • Beyond Recovery

    Let’s challenge carelessness on International Women’s Day

    Carelessness has led Canada and the world down a dangerous path. Committing to a caring society, one that’s equitable, inclusive, and peaceful, must become our rallying cry

    Carelessness has led Canada and the world down a dangerous path. Committing to a caring society, one that’s equitable, inclusive, and peaceful, must become our rallying cry

  • What’s Wrong with Site C

    In a #SiteC tweet no doubt designed to complement an unabashedly political debate taking place in the legislature this week, the Liberal caucus stated that Site C is the most reviewed project in BC’s history, it will create 10,000 jobs and will provide affordable, reliable clean power. The tweet is…

  • Landmark health care case spotlights problems of a profit-centred system

    In April, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear a case involving the constitutionality of legal limits on private finance in health care. A 14-year legal saga has ended, but many provinces seem to be ignoring evidence in this case indicating that a profit-centred system does not serve the…

  • Fast Facts: Bill C-393

    Life-saving bill killed in the senate On March 25th when the Conservative government fell on a non-confidence motion, a number of bills died on the Order Paper. Bill C-393 was poised to save lives, and its untimely death was entirely preventable. This private member’s bill was designed to cut through…

  • Beyond Recovery

    Patching up Canada’s income security net: Lessons from the pandemic

    The big question now for Canada is whether, by design or default, we will revert to the “same old, same old” after the crisis.