Month: January 2018
As UK Auditor disparages P3s, BC continues to use them
Jan 25, 2018
The public private partnership (P3) model to provide public infrastructure and services is an expensive mess, and new international evidence confirms this. The question now becomes, when is that mess going to wash up on BC’s shore? Despite increasing evidence that P3s are a bad idea, BC’s government is going ahead with this flawed procurement model,… View Article
It’s time for forestry to benefit British Columbians not multinational companies
Jan 22, 2018
There was a time when securing a good-paying forestry job in British Columbia was not just an option but an expectation for many. This was a time when the provincial government took an active role in managing our public forests and overseeing the activities of private companies whose workers cut trees, milled wood and made… View Article
Site C’s economic justifications unconvincing: It’s time we made decisions differently
Jan 16, 2018
There is no question that the new BC government’s decision to proceed with the Site C dam was a very difficult one. The previous government left them with a poison pill. With $2 billion already spent, the Horgan government faced a no-win choice, with substantial political and economic costs for either terminating or proceeding with… View Article
Small steps on affordable housing: A look at the new federal and Vancouver plans
Jan 10, 2018
In November 2017 two important new efforts to address the crisis of affordable housing were delivered a day apart: a National Housing Strategy (NHS) tabled by the federal government; and the City of Vancouver’s Housing Vancouver Strategy (HVS). This piece reviews the details of these plans. Both represent forward progress, but also leave key ingredients… View Article