The recently announced Green Energy Task Force reminds me of a story that soft energy path guru Amory Lovins liked to tell. It was about this billboard pronouncing, in giant, biblically bold print, that Jesus is the Answer. Someone, a shameless heathen no doubt, innocently scrawled underneath: but what is the question? So it is [...]
Entries from November 23rd, 2009
Food Bank use takes a distressing jump
November 19th, 2009 · Seth Klein · 3 Comments · Poverty, inequality & welfare
On Tuesday, Food Banks Canada (the national association of food banks) released its annual Hunger Count report. While the report received some good national coverage (particularly on CBC), I was surprised to see no mention of it in the Vancouver Sun. The report, which surveys food banks across the country every March, found that in [...]
Public or private – how the choice for P3s gets made
November 14th, 2009 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Privatization, P3s & public services
Did you ever wonder how Partnerships BC justifies using 35 year contracts for public private partnerships rather than borrowing the money publicly and doing things like hospitals and roads as public projects? Well now you can find out. PBC has published its methodology on a website. They have even asked for comments on the methodology, [...]
Tags:
Risky Business
November 12th, 2009 · Marvin Shaffer · 1 Comment · Economy, Energy
The government’s recent rejection of the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) decision on the Burrard Thermal power plant had nothing to do with the operations and GHG or other emissions at Burrard. BC Hydro freely admits it is business as usual with Burrard. It will operate the plant as it has in the past — to [...]
Tags: BC Energy Plan·BC Hydro·IPP
On minimum wages and talk radio
November 6th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · 4 Comments · Media, Poverty, inequality & welfare
Today marks the third time in the past four months that I get booted off a pre-arranged radio interview on minimum wages in BC. What is it about this topic that the universe doesn’t want me to say on live radio? I mean, I try not to be superstitious, but the string of coincidences is [...]
2010 and all that
November 5th, 2009 · Marvin Shaffer · 1 Comment · Economy
It is a basic principle in economics that estimates of employment and GDP impacts in themselves tell us nothing about the benefits and costs of government initiatives. Government spending creates jobs. More spending creates more jobs. But whether that is in the public interest raises very different questions. Will the job creation employ people who [...]
Tags: Olympics
You Don’t Have to Sell BC Hydro to Give it Away
November 3rd, 2009 · Marvin Shaffer · 6 Comments · Economy, Energy
I recently told a right wing friend of mine that this is the worst government British Columbia has had in a very long time. I said that not because of its political orientation and values that time and again favour the interests of the wealthy over the less fortunate in a rather shameless way. I [...]
Property taxes: are major industries suffering?
November 3rd, 2009 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Municipalities, Taxes
Businesses across Canada have been complaining about what they pay in property taxes, well, since there were property taxes. But the issue in BC came into sharper definition in July when Catalyst Paper hand-delivered cheques to four municipalities that only covered 25% of their property tax bill. Timberwest, Celgar and West Fraser Timber joined Catalyst [...]
Tags: Castlegar·Catalyst Paper·Celgar·Kitimat·Timberwest·West Fraser Timber
