Some thoughts on what I’d love to hear in the current leadership contests: As a number of fundamental crises become more apparent (ecological and economic, not to mention the democratic deficit), the public is looking for bold ideas and bold leadership. Sadly, too many political strategists (as they will confess in private company) operate on [...]
Entries Tagged as 'carbon tax'
A Challenge to BC’s Leadership Candidates: Dare to Be Bold and to Tell Us the Truth
January 4th, 2011 · Seth Klein · 15 Comments · Climate change, Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Taxes
Tags: campaign·carbon tax·child poverty·inequality·leadership·poverty reduction·role of government
Now for some disaster relief on the homefront
January 22nd, 2010 · Marc Lee · 1 Comment · Climate change, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare
I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at the public response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti. I’ve seen donations being collected through school bake sales, at the liquor store, and on Hockey Night in Canada, among the usual channels for such stuff. It’s nice to know that, collectively, we care, in spite of the neglect of [...]
Tags: carbon tax·Haiti·Olympics
James at the UBCM: A welcome move off revenue-neutrality
October 6th, 2009 · Seth Klein · Comments Off · Climate change, Economy, Taxes
In her speech last Thursday to the annual meeting of the Union of BC Municipalities, NDP leader Carole James declared: “I am calling on the provincial government to cancel the corporate tax cuts that are scheduled to come in over the next two years related to the carbon tax. And let’s put that money into [...]
Reading the entrails of BC's election
May 13th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · BC Election 2009, Economy, Environment, resources & sustainability, Privatization, P3s & public services, Provincial budget & finance
Three-peat. Hat trick. The media is full of jubilation for the re-election of the Campbell Liberals. But looking at the numbers, it was actually quite close: the BC Liberals got 45.7% of the popular vote, compared to 42.2% for the NDP. This slim margin validates the Angus Reid polling camp, which came closest on estimating [...]
Tags: campaign·carbon tax·election results·Greens·Liberals·NDP·polling
Planet Before Politics
May 11th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · BC Election 2009, Climate change, Environment, resources & sustainability
I signed the following open letter published in the Globe on the weekend. I cannot take any credit for organizing or writing the letter (hat tip to Ian Bruce of the David Suzuki Foundation). On the other hand, I can say that I have co-published with David Suzuki! It’s time to put the planet before [...]
Tags: cap-and-trade·carbon tax·cycling·David Suzuki·global warming·greenhouse gas·passenger rail·public transit·Suzuki Foundation·transportation
Towards an effective and fair carbon reduction strategy
May 8th, 2009 · George Heyman · Comments Off · BC Election 2009, Environment, resources & sustainability
This oped by myself and Colin Campbell appeared in the Vancouver Sun’s online edition: Towards an effective and fair carbon reduction strategy By George Heyman and Dr. Colin Campbell, May 7, 2009 The latest science on global warming shows we must rapidly slash carbon emissions, or face catastrophic impacts on our civilization by the end [...]
Tags: cap and dividend·carbon footprint·carbon tax·Colin Campbell·global warming·greenhouse gas·Sierra Club
BC’s economy and the Liberal platform
April 29th, 2009 · Marc Lee · 1 Comment · BC Election 2009, Economy, Energy, Provincial budget & finance
With my oped last week on the NDP platform making me less than popular over at NDP HQ, today the Sun published my take on the Liberals’ platform, thereby guaranteeing that the list of Christmas parties I get invited to dwindles to next to nothing. BC’s Economic Challenges and the Liberal Platform By Marc Lee [...]
Tags: carbon tax·deficit·green infrastructure·greenhouse gas·inequality·Liberals·oil and gas·platform·Port Mann·recession·transportation
To Tax or Not to Tax — That is Not the Question!
April 27th, 2009 · Marvin Shaffer · Comments Off · BC Election 2009, Energy, Environment, resources & sustainability
It was disappointing to read Mark Jaccard’s sensational, but grossly misleading forecast of massive job loss if the NDP eliminates the carbon tax. Sure, if the NDP axes the tax and implements a cap and trade on large emitters to extract all the GHG reductions needed to achieve B.C.’s targets, there would be a huge [...]
The NDP Platform and BC's Economic Challenges
April 20th, 2009 · Marc Lee · Comments Off · BC Election 2009, Climate change, Economy, Provincial budget & finance
Below is an oped of mine that was done at the request of the Vancouver Sun and that ran in today’s paper. Unfortunately, for reasons that are not entirely clear, the last two paragraphs were cut off, leaving the oped hanging. I put them back in below, and have requested that the online version be [...]
Tags: budget·cap-and-trade·carbon tax·deficit·flaring·green infrastructure·greenhouse gas·NDP·oil and gas·platform·recession·tax cuts·unemployment
Green Gods Abandoned by Godless Socialists?
April 17th, 2009 · Marvin Shaffer · Comments Off · BC Election 2009, Energy, Environment, resources & sustainability
So Keith Baldrey thinks the NDP has sold its environmental soul by opposing so-called green run-of-river IPPs. And Mark Jaccard , Tzepora Berman and friends predict economic and environment ruin from the NDP’s plan to abolish the Liberals’ carbon tax. As for run-of-river IPPs, the fact is they are not very green, at least not [...]
Tags: cap-and-trade·carbon tax·NDP·platform·run-of-river IPP
