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The Common Sense Canadian: What is John Horgan thinking on LNG?!

Mar

22

2018

John Horgan announcing a new framework for LNG (Province of BC / Flickr) In his desperate bid to keep Christy Clark’s LNG pipe dream alive, John Horgan has become completely untethered from reality. Today, he announced further tax incentives for the industry – as if the sweetheart deal the Liberals gave them wasn’t bad enough ...

The Common Sense Canadian: On Energy & First Nations, politicians want to have their cake and eat it too

Feb

21

2018

Jonathan Ramos cartoon Canada can fight climate change and build more climate-ravaging pipelines. First Nations’ rights should be respected – just not at the expense of these pipelines, dams and other major projects they oppose. Got it? It’s hard to fathom, but these are the positions of our provincial and federal leaders. They want to have their ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Horgan’s right on Kinder Morgan, even if he got Site C wrong

Feb

9

2018

On Kinder Morgan, John Horgan is standing up for British Columbians — as he should (BCNDP/Flickr) Dear Premier Horgan, I’m still mad at you for carrying on with Site C Dam, based on the utterly bogus reasons you offered the public. But when it comes to Kinder Morgan, I’ve got your back, because you clearly ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Swain: Building Site C would harm BC’s credit rating; cancelling it would not

Dec

7

2017

The head of the Joint Review Panel on the controversial Site C Dam, Harry Swain, is dispelling the notion that cancelling Site C would somehow harm BC’s credit rating. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, he warns: Terminating Site C means paying back the money that’s already spent in order to avoid another $10 billion ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Caught on camera: More blood water from Tofino farmed salmon processing plant

Dec

6

2017

A live camera this morning captured more blood water spilling from the outfall pipe of a farmed salmon processing plant in downtown Tofino. The footage, obtained by investigative diver and filmmaker Tavish Campbell, was posted to facebook with realtime commentary from Campbell and independent biologist and salmon farm critic Alexandra Morton. The blood water comes from ...

The Common Sense Canadian: No rate shock from cancelling Site C: Head of review panel

Dec

4

2017

Harry Swain leading the Joint Review Panel into Site C (Photo: JRP) At a press conference earlier today, Harry Swain, the head of the Joint Review Panel into Site C Dam, disputed recent claims that the costs of cancelling Site C Dam would have to be borne by ratepayers in a short timeline that causes ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Why approving Site C could sink NDP

Nov

29

2017

Illustration by Jonathan Ramos It’s getting down to the wire for the NDP-led government to announce its decision on Site C Dam. The corporate media and Big Labour’s big guns have been making a sales push to keep the beleaguered project alive, and many fear they could succeed. That would be the biggest mistake the ...

The Canadian Progressive: David Suzuki: It’s time to nix neonics

Oct

13

2017

David Suzuki on why it’s time for Canada to ban neonics, a class of widely used neuro-active insecticides that harm not only the pests they’re designed to kill, but also bees and other pollinators we rely on for about one-third of food crops. The post David Suzuki: It’s time to nix neonics appeared first on ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Riding with Rafe: 10 years of stories from a BC icon

Oct

12

2017

Rafe Mair in Campbell River in 2009, speaking out against GE’s $5 Billion proposed Bute Inlet private power project (Image: Damien Gillis) Few people are lucky enough to work with, let alone become close friends with one of their heroes. Over the past decade, I got to ride shotgun with mine: legendary politician, broadcaster and ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair says goodbye

Oct

10

2017

As we mourn the passing of a legend and dear friend, Rafe Mair’s own word’s in 2011 at his 80th Birthday Roast serve as a fitting goodbye from a man who was ahead of his time and never stopped fighting for the people and environment he loved so dearly. In the coming days and weeks, we ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy’s oily legacy is the stain that can’t be cleaned, as climate plan revelation reminds us

Sep

20

2017

Photo: Province of BC/Flickr CC Licence In 1988, a year before the Iron Curtain fell, I was in Budapest and after a stroll I went back to my group in the hotel and said this: “Folks, this regime is in trouble…when I was in the main square, the money changers were doing their deals bold ...

The Canadian Progressive: Can emissions shrink while the Canadian economy grows?

Sep

15

2017

David Suzuki asks: Is the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change framework correct in assuming Canada can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while growing its economy? The post Can emissions shrink while the Canadian economy grows? appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.

The Common Sense Canadian: Why coal can’t make America great again

Sep

11

2017

Donald Trump gets fired up about coal in West Virginia Among the ways Donald Trump vows to “make America great again” is reviving the US coal industry. That’s a stretch considering the plight coal faces today in the US. The combined value of the top four US coal companies fell from $33 billion in 2011 to ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Forget Paris: Justin takes LNG, Kinder Morgan over climate, democracy

Sep

1

2017

Justin Trudeau joined by Canadian premiers at Paris climate talks in 2015 (Province of BC/Flickr) Justin Trudeau is not as young as he looks – obviously. If he was, he would have noticed a sea change in public attitudes that this old man, more of his father’s generation, has not just noticed but takes as ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy, Libs let off hook for ruining Hydro, ICBC, failing on LNG

Aug

9

2017

Christy Clark and Rich Coleman (center) meeting with Malaysian LNG officials in 2014 (BC Govt photo) I have a bit of a knack for remembering doggerel as part of my brain’s principal function as a storehouse of useless information. Ergo this: You cannot hope to bribe or twist Thank God, the British Journalist. Considering what the ...

The Canadian Progressive: Canada and “Five Eyes” spying partners must respect encryption

Aug

4

2017

The final communiqué issued by the “Five Eyes” surveillance alliance after a recent meeting in Ottawa suggests what might turn out to be a made-in-Canada global encryption backdoor. The post Canada and “Five Eyes” spying partners must respect encryption appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to Horgan: Get Serious about Kinder Morgan, Woodfibre LNG

Jul

28

2017

John Horgan being sworn in as Premier, with Environment Minister George Heyman looking on (Photo: Flickr/Province of British Columbia) Dear Premier Horgan, My congratulations to you and your new government. I can tell you that a great many British Columbians who do not usually support your party voted for you on May 9 last with ...

The Common Sense Canadian: As Big Oil tanks, why is Canada so slow to adapt?

Jul

27

2017

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (Photo: Premier of Alberta/Flickr) The business model of Big Oil has already started to collapse. The model is premised on strong growth to fuel high prices and render economically viable the exploitation of expensive-to-develop, non-conventional fossil fuels, including the tar sands and shale oil and gas. Persistent low ...

The Common Sense Canadian: NDP must name & shame or catch the blame – Don’t let Libs off hook for disastrous record

Jul

24

2017

Former BC Liberal Premiers Christy Clark (Kris Krug/Flickr) and Gordon Campbell (Province of BC/Flickr) One of the biggest mistakes Barack Obama made was not doing more to expose George W. Bush’s disastrous financial record as president. As a result, he was quickly blamed for America’s “Great Recession” though everything that set it in motion occurred ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to NDP: Now you’re the government…here’s what to expect that you’re not expecting

Jul

21

2017

NDP Premier John Horgan and his cabinet being sworn in by Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon (Photo: Province of BC / Flickr) In politics, speculation is half the fun – the other half is figuring out how, with all your experience in the field, you could have been so bloody wrong. Actually, for the new minister, ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Liberal Opposition will make life very difficult for NDP-Greens

Jul

12

2017

BC Liberal MLAs in the Legislature (Province of BC / Flickr) I wish John Horgan and his new government well. He has his work cut out for him. There has been a load of pollyannish bullshit spouted by the media about what will and what will not happen to his shaky government when it finally ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP-Greens good to govern – but beware Weaver’s IPP support

Jun

27

2017

Andrew Weaver (left) and John Horgan (Photo: BCNDP/Flickr CC Licence) Looking ahead at our political situation in BC and assuming that the NDP will govern with a one vote majority, perhaps it might be well to consider what that actually means. An accepted authority is HOUSE OF COMMONS PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE, edited by Robert Marleau ...

The Common Sense Canadian: True Patriot Love: Why the Kinder Morgan pipeline will never be built

Jun

19

2017

Photo: Damian Manda / Flickr CC License The Trans Mountain pipeline [Kinder Morgan] expansion project will never see the light of day. -Grand Chief Philip Stewart, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs If you live anywhere in Canada other than British Columbia, you’re probably convinced that the Kinder Morgan (Trans Mountain) pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby, ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP-Green pact should mean good riddance to Kinder Morgan, but Liberal opposition won’t make life easy

May

30

2017

John Horgan and Andrew Weaver seal their pact (Photo: @jjhorgan/Twitter) It will be a much postponed verdict but my initial reaction to the NDP-Green deal is positive. Whether so motivated or not, Andrew Weaver has done the right politically moral thing – contradiction in terms though that is – by agreeing to support John Horgan ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair: Rachel Notley can go to hell for threatening BC over pipeline

May

23

2017

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley (Flickr CC Licence / Premier of Alberta) You can go to hell, Rachel Notley. Now, everyone, repeat after me. OK? Here we go. There is no risk in transporting Alberta’s bitumen through our forests, over our rivers, past our sparkling, azure lakes, through our cities, into Vancouver Harbour, over the Salish ...