Month: November 2018
True reconciliation in BC requires implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Nov 29, 2018
In the span of a decade, we have moved from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples being largely absent from political and public discourse in BC to being fully endorsed by both the federal and provincial governments. In May 2017, implementation of the UN Declaration was called “foundational” to the Confidence and… View Article
What’s missing from the Uber debate? Market power, congestion, pollution, and even deaths
Nov 26, 2018
The BC government has introduced legislation expected to bring ride-hailing to the province late next year, though many questions remain about what the outcome will be in practice. A number of important policy details still need to be filled in by the Passenger Transportation Board and ICBC. Meanwhile the debate on ride-hailing has largely been… View Article
Employer Health Tax refinements good news for public services, non-profits
Nov 22, 2018
Just over a month before the new Employer Health Tax comes into effect, we have some of the final details of the tax’s design at hand. The provincial government released implementation details for the tax (EHT) over the summer and introduced legislation to enact it last month. The EHT replaces the deeply unfair Medical Services… View Article
Trans Mountain pipedreams and other energy follies: Why Canada needs a viable energy plan
Nov 13, 2018
Like it or not, we need to plan for a major transition over the coming decades from our reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy. Fossil fuels are the major source of energy for Canadians and people around the world (providing 85 per cent of global primary energy in 2017). But hydrocarbons—oil, gas and coal—unfortunately… View Article
Pro rep leads to better public policy
Nov 8, 2018
Debunking the claims of proportional representation naysayers This post is part of a series explaining the benefits of proportional representation and debunking myths from the ‘No’ side of BC’s 2018 electoral reform referendum. More from the series is available at policynote.ca/pr4bc. Over the last few months, I’ve spent quite a lot of time debating and… View Article
How fast can we get to 100% renewables?
Nov 7, 2018
This piece draws on research and a presentation in Vancouver by Mark Jacobson from Stanford University, who delivered the 2018 Gideon Rosenbluth Memorial Lecture. You can listen to the audio or watch a recording of the live video stream below, and you can download Mark’s slides here (PDF). It is well established that we need… View Article