This summer I put our household through an energy efficiency retrofit. I was working on a research paper on energy efficiency, and then both the BC and federal governments announced new funding for their retrofit programs, so I engaged in some direct action research, staring with an energy audit of our home (more in part […]
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Terahertz: RCMP or a BC Provincial Police
A friend of mine recently sent an email to his MLA, which I adapted and sent to my MLA, premier Christy Clark. Her office (or potentially her personally) responded below. It’s good to see a response from one’s MLA, especially when that MLA is the premier and has stated she doesn’t plan on running in […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Adrian Dix stands up for Christy Clark’s cleavage
On Wednesday I called out former NDP MLA David Schreck for his comments regarding premier Christy Clark’s choice of attire in the Legislature. His comments reeked of sexism, and thus far he has refused to climb down from his puritan pedestal. Luckily though, BC NDP leader Adrian Dix has made the right decision and asked […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Sexism knows no political boundaries
While typically seen as the domain of regressive fundamentalist Christians who believe a woman’s place is in the kitchen, subservient to her husband, left-wingers are not immune to the issue. Enter David Schreck, form BD NDP MLA and political commentator who takes offence to Premier Christy Clark’s clothing choice in the legislature: Is Premier Clark’s […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Bad media: Smart Meters
I joined Angus Reid Forums a while ago as a way to do two things I like: Making money and giving opinions. One survey that has come up a number of times for me has been about BC Hydro’s Smart Meter program. The goal is to install these meters in every house so that the […]
Continue readingThings Are Good: Insite Can Continue to Operate: Supreme Court
Insite is a safe injection site for drug users which has had proven health benefits for individuals and the community. Through their work Insite has been able to help many addicts stay safe and secure while consuming drugs, this is in stark contrast to doing drugs on the streets which is way more dangerous.
In […]
Terahertz: I was wrong on Dix
In the BC NDP leadership race, I ranked my top candidates as Simons, Farnwroth, Horgan, Dix, and Larson. While I had been disappointed with Carole James’ approach as leader, and her generally ineffectiveness, I found Adrian Dix’s campaign to be too harsh and likely to lead to an opposition of negativity. I specifically said “His […]
Continue readingTerahertz: For the good of the province
Congratulations are oddly in order for David Hahn. I say oddly because it’s extremely rare to see an overpaid executive of a crown corporation fall on his sword like Hahn did as he quit BC Ferries to save the corporation upwards of $1 million per year. Hahn had previously announced that among his attempts to […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Point Grey NDP General Meeting
Tonight I attended the BC NDP Point Grey General Meeting. The meeting was fairly well attended, given there’s no threat of a general election until 2013 and this was not the annual general meeting. Around 15 people made it out. The primary purpose of the meeting was to add a few new members to the […]
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Dogwood Initiative Exposes BC’s Dirty Coal Export Secret
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British Columbia plays a special role in the pollution and warming of the atmosphere, according a new report from the Dogwood Initiative on BC’s rapid…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Fighting energy poverty and the transition to zero-emission housing
Today CCPA released a new Climate Justice Project report, Fighting Energy Poverty in the Transition to Zero-Emission Housing: A Framework for BC, by yours truly, Eugene Kung (a lawyer with the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre and a steering committee member of the CJP) and Jason Owen (who worked on this project as a student at UBC, now with the […]
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: World’s Biggest Fracking Operations: CBC Covers the Shale Gas Boom in BC
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Yesterday the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) announced their investigative series on fracking in British Columbia. The feature report will cover the…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: BC’s New Jobs Plan
If you are interested in what BC’s new Premier Christy Clark is doing on the job creation front, check out a couple articles on the BC Policy Note blog (here and here). Like the Dance of the Seven Veils, the Jobs Plan is being revealed piece by piece over the next few days, and today […]
Continue readingTerahertz: Next week Kelowna celebrates the fetus
I spent Labour Day weekend camping near Vernon, touring wineries, and enjoying the good life. I highly recommend Arrowleaf Cellars. The trip left me with a longing to live in such a warm, beautiful area, surrounded by delicious food, drinks, and beautiful lakes. Then I read about things like this and the reality of small […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: C. D. Howe Shills for Oil Companies
The C. D. Howe Institute is out this morning with a press release entitled, “Raising Oil and Gas Royalties Does Not Benefit Provincial Coffers.” A complete analysis of the accompanying 30-page paper – featuring many graphs, tables and regressions – will take time. But here is my initial take. Background The Institute correctly notes that […]
Continue readingeaves.ca: The Economics of Open Data – Mini-Case, Transit Data & Translink
Translink, the company that runs public transit in the region where I live (Vancouver/Lower Mainland) is getting ready to launch a real time bus tracking app that will use GPS data to figure out how far away the next the bus you are waiting for really is. This is great news for everyone. Of course […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: So the BC HST Was Defeated. Now What?
Earlier today, Elections BC announced the much anticipated HST referendum results. British Columbians have voted to scrap the HST. The best part about having the results is that now we can move on from the narrow issue of what type of sales tax is better and focus our energies on some of the bigger issues […]
Continue readingTerahertz: PostMedia admits failure of privatization
Granted, this is from the editorial board of the Nanaimo Daily News, and not the Calgary Herald (or even the Vancouver Sun), but still, someone get the devil some ice skates: While the [BC] government has provided the subsidy [overpaid BC Ferries CEO David] Hahn said that B.C. Ferries needed, the news about continued falling […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Decarbonizing homes and the price of gas
Our climate justice framework for BC is to eliminate fossil fuels by 2040. In the household sector, this poses a significant challenge, not so much in terms of technology and knowledge, but because natural gas is much cheaper than electricity per unit of energy. Even though BC has among the lowest prices in North America, […]
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: What is a middle class income these days?
Whenever we consider the pros and cons of a new policy, we want to know if it benefits or hurts the poor, the middle class and those who are better off. Often, the answer depends on how we define each of these groups. It’s said that 99% of Canadians think of themselves as middle class, […]
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