Author: Emma Gilchrist

The 2014 financial reports from B.C.’s political parties are out and my face hurts from all of the eyebrow raising. Donations to political parties from corporations are banned federally, but here in B.C. — the wild west of poltical donations — the corporate cash is free-flowing. Here are the Top 5 disconcerting

The mayors of Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, City of North Vancouver, Victoria, Squamish and Bowen Island have declared their “non-confidence” in the National Energy Board’s (NEB) review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline and are calling on the federal government to put the current process on hold until a

The release of a University of Victoria study calling for updates to Canadian charitable law created quite a stir last week. The study, prepared for DeSmog Canada, was covered by the Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times Colonist, Canadian Press, Macleans, The Tyee, Yahoo! News and CFAX. The report called for

Attachment Size Modernizing-Canadian-Charitable-Law.pdf 1.84 MB A report released today by the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre calls for sweeping reform of Canadian charitable law in line with other jurisdictions such as the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and England. Current rules around “political activity” — defined by the Canada Revenue Agency

This piece originally appeared in the Times Colonist. At a cost of $8.8 billion, the construction of the Site C dam would entail the largest outlay of taxpayer money in B.C. history. That’s 18 times the cost of B.C.’s fast ferries, or 11 times the cost of a sewage-treatment facility for

This piece originally appeared in the Times Colonist. At a cost of $8.8 billion, the construction of the Site C dam would entail the largest outlay of taxpayer money in B.C. history. That’s 18 times the cost of B.C.’s fast ferries, or 11 times the cost of a sewage-treatment facility for

Revelations from DeSmog Canada’s exclusive sit-down interview with Harry Swain, the chair of the panel that reviewed the $8.8 billion Site C dam, were raised during question period in the B.C. legislature on Thursday. Andrew Weaver, Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA and Deputy Leader of the B.C. Green Party, asked the government

Revelations from DeSmog Canada’s exclusive sit-down interview with Harry Swain, the chair of the panel that reviewed the $8.8 billion Site C dam, were raised during question period in the B.C. legislature on Thursday. Andrew Weaver, Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA and Deputy Leader of the B.C. Green Party, asked the government

Part 1 of DeSmog Canada’s exclusive sit-down interview with Harry Swain, the man who chaired the panel tasked with reviewing BC Hydro’s Site C dam, sparked a firestorm of activity on Tuesday. Energy Minister Bill Bennett responded to Swain’s critique in the Globe and Mail, the B.C. NDP issued a statement

Part 1 of DeSmog Canada’s exclusive sit-down interview with Harry Swain, the man who chaired the panel tasked with reviewing BC Hydro’s Site C dam, sparked a firestorm of activity on Tuesday. Energy Minister Bill Bennett responded to Swain’s critique in the Globe and Mail, the B.C. NDP issued a statement

Attachment Size SiteC-CleanEnergy-Project-Announcement-FOI.pdf 16.78 MB In his first interview on the Site C dam, the chair of the federal-provincial panel appointed to review Canada’s largest current infrastructure project said the B.C. government was unwise to green-light the project without a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission and would have been

Attachment Size SiteC-CleanEnergy-Project-Announcement-FOI.pdf 16.78 MB In his first interview on the Site C dam, the chair of the federal-provincial panel appointed to review Canada’s largest current infrastructure project said the B.C. government was unwise to green-light the project without a review by the B.C. Utilities Commission and would have been

Attachment Size 2015-02-11 Public Good letter K. Findlay.pdf 355.52 KB Eighteen Canadian charities have written a letter to the country’s political parties asking them for platform commitments to enhance the ability for charities to engage in public policy debates. The charities argue in their letter that “without years of organizing effort

Attachment Size 2015-02-11 Public Good letter K. Findlay.pdf 355.52 KB Eighteen Canadian charities have written a letter to the country’s political parties asking them for platform commitments to enhance the ability for charities to engage in public policy debates. The charities argue in their letter that “without years of organizing effort

Well, the disclosure statements are in and we now know (sort of) how much was spent trying to sway voters during B.C.’s local elections in November. In addition to disclosures on how much candidates spent during the elections, there are also filings for more than 100 organizations registered with Elections BC

Well, the disclosure statements are in and we now know (sort of) how much was spent trying to sway voters during B.C.’s local elections in November. In addition to disclosures on how much candidates spent during the elections, there are also filings for more than 100 organizations registered with Elections BC

Alberta Oil Magazine just published its National Survey on Energy Literacy, the culmination of 1,396 online interviews of a representative sample of Canadians conducted by Leger. The results are particularly interesting coming from Alberta Oil, a magazine destined for the desks of the energy sector’s senior executives and decision-makers. Summing up the

When you cover energy and environment issues day in and day out, you’re prone to having some pretty geeky fantasies. Case in point: over the holidays, my mind wandered to considering what advancements in Canadian energy policy I’d put on my wish list for 2015. I could have rattled off five

With 2014 drawing to a close, DeSmog Canada decided to take stock of its most popular stories of the year. Readers came in droves for our our in-depth reporting on climate change, oilsands and oil pipelines, but they also loved articles about potential solutions to our climate change woes. Indeed, two

The moment I caught wind that the B.C. government’s decision on the Site C dam was coming down, my mind gravitated to Ken and Arlene Boon’s farm in the Peace River valley. It was there that under the hot July sun, the Boons showed me around their 640-acre property that’s hosted