Month: November 2011
Is it P3s or the 3 Stooges? A tale of two cities
Nov 30, 2011
For those of us not fond of the expensive and secretive public private partnerships (P3s) promoted by the BC and Canadian governments, the last few weeks have been entertaining. In one community voters rejected the use of a P3 water system. In another community the federal government refused a P3 after the city had spent… View Article
Growing support for cities to adopt living wage
Nov 16, 2011
New developments since my recent post calling on municipalities to lead the way on adopting living wage policies: First, over just over 100 candidates have responded to the Open Letter issued by the Living Wage for Families campaign, covering almost every Lower Mainland municipality. Almost all have expressed support for this proposal or at least… View Article
Time to give shale gas industry a closer look before we’re totally fracked
Nov 9, 2011
Despite the recent release by Canada’s natural gas industry of a set of guiding principles governing the controversial gas well “stimulation” method known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”, and despite the almost immediate endorsement of those principles by BC Premier and industry cheerleader Christy Clark, more and more British Columbians are justifiably worried about what… View Article
BC government claims new power over personal information. Public comment sidelined.
Nov 9, 2011
The BC government has a lot of personal information about you. Legislation passed last month means the government can do a lot more with it. The legislation passed without the public consultation demanded last year by the Information and Privacy Commissioner. In 2010 a legislative committee undertook a review of Freedom of Information and Protection… View Article