Today’s CBC Edition Business Panel focused on the proposal by Fraser Surrey Docks to build a new coal terminal on the Fraser river to export US thermal coal (if you missed it, here’s the recording starting at 1:50). My co-panelist, Jock Finlayson from the BC Business Council, kept trying to narrow the conversation to technical [...]
Is the Fraser Surrey Docks coal port proposal in the best interest of BC?
June 18th, 2013 · Iglika Ivanova · Climate change, Democracy and participation, Energy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Municipalities
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CFIB spokesperson blames downloading for muni cost increases
May 31st, 2013 · Keith Reynolds · Municipalities, Taxes
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) published a report this week talking about the alarming rate of increase in municipal spending and blaming it all on overpaid public employees. It turns out their numbers are suspect but there are other problems that raise questions about whether this is just about a political agenda. BC’s [...]
Phony numbers, screaming headline
May 31st, 2013 · Keith Reynolds · Municipalities, Taxes
An enormous error in a report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) led to a screaming headline in Wednesday’s Vancouver Sun suggesting spending by local governments was out of control. The CFIB’s report looked at spending in major Canadian cities, including Vancouver, from 2000 to 2011. It concluded: From 2000 to 2011, Vancouver’s [...]
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Keeping democracy alive: Engaging in political process between elections
May 30th, 2013 · Janet Newbury · Democracy and participation
Last week, Seth Klein reflected on some lessons from the 2013 BC election. Among the many important lessons he noted was the fact that “we need to better understand why so many people feel disengaged from politics and key policy debates.” Indeed. Now that the election is over, those of us who are passionate about [...]
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Lessons from the 2013 BC Election: What’s a progressive research institute to do?
May 22nd, 2013 · Seth Klein · Climate change, Economy, Employment & labour
As I write, it has been just a few days since the provincial election. As was the case for most of you, the result was unexpected. We are still processing what it means for our work and rethinking some of our research plans. For those of us who engage in deep thinking about policy ideas, [...]
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Big Numbers – Big Lies
May 22nd, 2013 · Marvin Shaffer · Economy, Energy
The election results were disheartening; it was, as many have commented, a victory of style over substance. Hope for something unachievable (a debt free B.C. in fifteen years) and fear of a leader and party that does not exist (an untrustworthy Chavez of the north) won the day. It was not a great moment for [...]
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The Green Part of Green
May 10th, 2013 · Marvin Shaffer · Economy, Energy, Environment, resources & sustainability
Unlike a number of green advocates, political and otherwise, I think there can be some significant benefit for British Columbians from the development of LNG exports, particularly if issues around the supply and pricing of electricity, and the regulation and offset of industry GHG emissions are properly addressed. Nevertheless, I do agree with those who argue [...]
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Reality check on government spending: is the overspending fear mongering justified
May 9th, 2013 · Iglika Ivanova · Economy, Provincial budget & finance
Both main parties in this election campaign are accusing the other of being big spenders. The BC Liberals claim the BC NDP is making election promises that are too expensive and argue the 1990s (the last time the NDP was in government) was a time of particularly high spending. The BC NDP points out that [...]
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Comparing platforms with respect to climate action
May 9th, 2013 · Seth Klein · Climate change, Environment, resources & sustainability
As many readers of this blog will know, back in February the CCPA (with the assistance of a number of our partners in the Climate Justice Project) published an Open Letter to the BC political parties calling on them to recommit to BC’s legislated greenhouse gas reduction targets, and to table plans for how to [...]
Coal association gets free pass on election advertising while public interest groups chilled
May 8th, 2013 · Shannon Daub · Electoral reform, Media
Just when I thought the situation with BC’s third party advertising rules couldn’t get any more ridiculous, this comes in from the “Are You Kidding Me?!” department: According to The Tyee, a three page advertorial for the Canadian Coal Association “extolling the virtues of BC’s coal industry” in last week’s Globe and Mail has been [...]
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