Archive
The end of Site C? BC Utilities Commission finds “tension cracks” in BC Hydro’s case for the mega dam
Nov 3, 2017
The BC Utilities Commission final report on Site C is a bombshell. It now seems very likely we will see the termination of the BC Hydro mega-project by the end of the year. I had anticipated a final report that was more equivocal, which would result in a difficult decision for the BC government. But… View Article
The University of Victoria seeks to profit from climate change deniers and policy obstructionists: The Exxon connection
Nov 3, 2017
The school year is now well under way. For many new students starting at the University of Victoria, the university’s stated commitments to sustainability were likely attractive, especially for BC residents whose summers were haunted by relentless wildfires. Given the needed move towards low-carbon economies it makes excellent sense for students to select universities that… View Article
Seven immediate steps to reduce poverty while the government consults on a comprehensive poverty reduction plan
Nov 1, 2017
Earlier this week, the BC government appointed an Advisory Forum on Poverty Reduction to provide expertise and assistance to the Minster of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in the development of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy for BC. The 27 people named to the Forum represent communities across the province and bring diverse skills, perspectives… View Article
BC Budget must go beyond small carbon tax increases to fight climate change
Oct 30, 2017
After many years of inaction, BC needs a new climate plan. The previous government’s August 2016 Climate “Leadership” Plan was more than a disappointment. Not only did it do little to reduce BC’s greenhouse gas emissions, the plan was written hand-in-hand with the fossil fuel industry. For many British Columbians, climate action is synonymous with… View Article
Climate justice and the BC carbon tax: 20th Anniversary retrospective
Oct 27, 2017
BC’s carbon tax was announced in February 2008, a year after the landmark February 2007 Throne Speech that focused extensively on climate change. That set in motion a whole-of-government exercise out of the Premier’s office aimed at developing a climate action plan. (See my ten-year retrospective here.) At the time, a carbon tax was widely… View Article
Five steps BC needs to take to begin building a universal, affordable, quality child care system
Oct 26, 2017
There’s no question that BC’s fragmented patchwork of child care programs with exorbitant prices, inadequate spaces and inconsistent quality fails to meet the needs of BC families. It was great to see that the 2017 Confidence and Supply Agreement between the BC New Democrat Caucus and BC Green Caucus included the commitment to “invest in… View Article
BC has fiscal room to make lives better
Oct 23, 2017
Looking ahead to BC’s 2018 budget, strong public investment is needed more than ever if our province is to tackle the large and pressing problems before us. Fortunately, we have the economic and fiscal capacity to make significant reinvestments in our public sector and the critical services it provides. The government’s September Budget Update projects… View Article
Legal Aid Denied: A 20th Anniversary retrospective
Oct 20, 2017
Legal Aid Denied: Women and the Cuts to Legal Services in BC was written in 2004 shortly after the election of a neo-conservative Liberal government in BC. The report outlined the nature of the changes this government quickly introduced to the provision of Legal Aid in BC including slashing funding from almost $100 million to… View Article
Tracking the gender gap in Canada’s big cities: How’s BC doing?
Oct 18, 2017
A new report released today uncovers important gaps in the experiences of men and women across Canada. The CCPA’s annual study of the Best and Worst Places to be a Woman in Canada by Kate McInturff ranks the country’s largest cities according to the gaps between men’s and women’s access to economic security, education, health,… View Article
Eight reasons the Site C dam is not needed: My testimony to BC Utilities Commission
Oct 16, 2017
Last week, I appeared before the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) at their Technical Presentation Session in Vancouver, and gave a brief presentation about my findings relating to the economics of the proposed Site C dam. Here’s what I had to say: Thank you to the Commission for the invitation to speak. My name is Marc… View Article
Employment supports and labour market participation: 20th Anniversary retrospective
Oct 13, 2017
From 2001 to 2003, BC’s new Liberal government instituted significant policy reforms in the delivery and governance of public services. In 2004, Simon Fraser University and the CCPA-BC secured a five-year Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Community-University Research Alliances (CURA) grant to research how those reforms were affecting the economic security… View Article
BC First Nations are poised to lead the renewable energy transition
Oct 12, 2017
These are exciting times in British Columbia for those interested in building sustainable, just and climate-friendly energy systems. The recent change in government could mean a shift away from a corporate agenda driven by the needs of a massively energy-intensive fracking and LNG industry towards one that prioritizes action on climate change, First Nations’ self-determination… View Article
An environmental mess: BC government needs to bring gas industry and regulator under tighter control
Oct 10, 2017
Few environmental messes inherited by the new BC government rival the unregulated free-for-all that has unfolded in the province’s northeast where companies that frack for natural gas have built nearly 60 unlicensed dams. Not only do some of those dams show distressing signs of failing, but the companies that built them—and the government agencies that… View Article
Ten tax myths revisited: 20th Anniversary retrospective
Oct 6, 2017
In October 1999, I wrote the report Ten Tax Myths. Any retrospective on this issue must examine the relationship between research and analysis and the question of political agency. We know that no matter how good the research and analysis, unless there is a change agent to use it, the work sits frustratingly on the… View Article
Vancouver looks to more ambitious affordability proposals
Oct 3, 2017
When the previous BC government brought in a 15% foreign buyer tax in August 2016, Metro Vancouver’s housing market paused: real estate transactions dropped dramatically, prices fell at the high end of the market and housing starts slowed. By Spring 2017, however, the housing market rediscovered its animal spirits, and more recently we are back… View Article
A Dam Troublesome Exception: Progress Energy’s dams should not be exempted from environmental review
Oct 2, 2017
I sent the following letter to BC’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) in response to Progress Energy’s extraordinary request to retroactively exempt the Lily and Town dams from environmental reviews. Such reviews should have been conducted before the dams were built. Not only did those reviews not happen, but the company also failed to obtain other… View Article
Public libraries are becoming the new social safety net
Sep 28, 2017
Public libraries in British Columbia are evolving beyond spaces of quiet contemplation, equipped with card catalogues and encyclopaedias. In a time of increased Internet use and communication via social media, the way we access knowledge and use the library is changing. We are seeing digital storytelling and inspiration labs, access to design software, e-readers and… View Article
20 years later: How corporations took over Canada’s health care system
Sep 26, 2017
Caring for Profit: How corporations are taking over Canada’s health care system was published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and New Star Books nearly 20 years ago, shortly after the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services kicked into gear. Both… View Article
Firehose of corporate cash or financing our democracy together? A no-brainer
Sep 25, 2017
A long-overdue and badly-needed overhaul of BC’s election finance rules was introduced by the provincial government last week. Media headlines mostly focused on the decision to include public funding for political parties, questioning whether it is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and whether the governing NDP has reversed itself on this issue. But this… View Article
Challenging Site C: The BC Utilities Commission preliminary report
Sep 21, 2017
The BC Utilities Commission preliminary report demonstrates why independent review of mega-projects like Site C is so essential, even with the short timeframe imposed by the BC government (the final report is due November 1). The previous government’s deliberate exemption of Site C from BCUC review is scandalous in subverting a rigorous and transparent public… View Article