Frontpage-feature

Easy Water: Time bombs, fracking dams and the rush for H2O on private farmlands

Mar 29, 2018

The number of unlicensed and potentially dangerous dams built in recent years in northeast British Columbia is nearly double what has been reported, according to one of the province’s top water officials. At least 92 unauthorized dams have been built in the region where natural gas industry fracking operations consume more water than just about… View Article

Fresh from the lockup: Highlights of BC’s action-packed budget 2018

Feb 20, 2018

By Iglika Ivanova and Alex Hemingway

BC Budget 2018 includes major new investments in child care, housing and infrastructure combined with significant improvements in tax fairness. This budget—the new provincial government’s first full budget—is a turning point. For too long, BC budgets have prioritized tax cuts and balancing the books over all else—preferring to sweep social, economic and environmental problems under… View Article

Site C’s economic justifications unconvincing: It’s time we made decisions differently

Jan 16, 2018

By Seth Klein

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

By Marc Lee

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

BC needs a full public inquiry into fracking

Nov 6, 2017

By Ben Parfitt

Last year, more natural gas was produced in British Columbia than at any point in the past 10 years. That may come as a surprise to some people who thought that growth in BC’s natural gas industry hinged on the emergence of a Liquefied Natural Gas sector. It does not. The reality is that even… View Article

BC’s last Climate “Leadership” Plan was written in big oil’s boardroom (literally)

Sep 18, 2017

By Shannon Daub and Zoë Yunker

Newly uncovered documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests reveal the cozy relationship between the fossil fuel industry and the last BC government went even further than suspected — all the way to inviting industry to directly craft the province’s climate “leadership” plan. Let’s rewind for a second: back in the spring of 2015, then-premier… View Article

Budget Update investments a positive first step for British Columbians

Sep 11, 2017

By Iglika Ivanova and Alex Hemingway

The BC Budget Update injects much-needed investment in a number of important policy areas that will quickly start to make a positive difference in the lives of families and communities around the province. Some of the highlights: MSP fee cut Medical Services Plan (MSP) fees will be cut by 50% in January 2018 for everyone,… View Article

9 things to look for in Monday’s BC Budget

Sep 8, 2017

By Alex Hemingway, Iglika Ivanova and Marc Lee

BC’s new government is set to table its first provincial budget on Monday, September 11. While it is expected to be less comprehensive than a full budget (as almost half the year has already passed), the investments made or missing from it will reveal a lot about this government’s priorities. The agreement signed by BC… View Article

Three health care priorities for a new government

Jul 27, 2017

By Andrew Longhurst

The transition to power for a new government in BC provides the opportunity to set a new course that addresses both immediate and longstanding policy challenges. On the health care front, there is no shortage of pressing issues facing the new government. It is reassuring, however, that one of the foundational principles of the NDP… View Article

Time to rethink the approval process for fossil fuel industry developments in BC’s northeast

Jun 28, 2017