Plug pulled on LNG
Today, China pulled the plug on Aurora LNG, the last large LNG project proposed for British Columbia. This comes 55 months after Christy Clark, leading her first general election campaign,…
Norman Farrell
A promise made…
In the May 2017 election, only two of the main parties committed to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. BC Liberals were uncomfortable with clauses related…
Dots that may connect – UPDATED
With news the BC Ferries vessel Spirit of British Columbia is about to sail to Europe for an extensive refit, I bump this article back to the top. When first…
We are the losers, who are the winners?
Brady Yauch is an economist at the Consumer Policy Institute (CPI), which identifies itself as “an independent think-tank dedicated to achieving lower costs and greater efficiencies for Canadian consumers, particularly…
Labour Day – Canadian heritage moment – Rerun
In modern times, the Canadian union movement has lost influence but not relevance. It is easy to forget that unions enabled a broad middle class. Workers in unionized company towns…
Before Clark, after Clark
When Encana’s founding CEO Gwyn Morgan became Christy Clark’s transition team advisor, natural gas producers knew they’d bet on a good thing. After six years of Clark, we now see…
When regulators don’t believe in regulation
When a new government takes office, there is often a significant change at senior levels of the civil service and among OIC political appointments. One person still employed by the…
R.I.P. Merv Adey
It’s a sad day today. I knew Merv had been seriously ill for some time. Four weeks ago, he was hoping that a series of new treatments would be successful…
LNG facilities: siting, safety, regulation
An August 19 fire and gas leak at the Tilbury Island LNG facility reminds of the fuel’s inherent dangers. Luckily, Delta’s Firehall No. 7 is only 1,500 meters from the…
Similarities
Muskrat Falls was always a done deal, and a bad one, Pam Frampton, Saint John’s Telegram: One week the project was all about clean energy, the next it was job…
Rising prices have only just begun
During the seventies and eighties, inflation was substantial in Canada. However, BC Hydro was not a major contributor to the rising cost of living. In the 20 years to 2006,…
Socialized losses, privatized gains
Postmedia’s Michael Smyth came to Gordon Wilson’s defense after the LNG advocate was relieved of vague but costly responsibilities for gas industry promotion. But, did the political commentator make even…
My country, tears of thee…
Racism and bigotry are nothing new. In my youth, I assumed these scourges would fade away through enlightenment ensured by modern education, communication and human migration made easier in a…
Falsehood flies, truth comes limping after it
The following article was first published in February. It is still relevant today because, despite a change in government, agents of Site C beneficiaries continue to spread falsehoods trying to…
From the news archives: Site C history – UPDATED
An item previously published at In-Sights but worth reviewing as the BCUC finally gets to examine BC Hydro’s latest mega-project. Large Dams Cost Twice Original Budget, Researchers Say, Bloomberg Business,…
Not-Net-zero, on steroids
In 2016, the BC Liberal Government boasted that its four year program of executive salary restraint “demonstrates the effectiveness of ongoing measures to increase affordability, transparency and accountability in public…
BC dodged a bullet
The lack of thoughtful analysis about LNG found in BC’s daily newspapers is disappointing but not surprising. In 2015, Rafe Mair told us what to expect in his article Canada’s…
Huge cost, high risk, low government revenue, few permanent jobs, better choices
When thinking about the Petronas LNG project (PNW LNG), we should consider which supporting claims for it were believable. For example, proponents have routinely misrepresented the value and benefits of…
Behind the ostensible government
An item previously published, with minor updates: I studied political science at university long, long ago. In those days, I was naive and idealistic and a member of the Liberal…
Pembina Institute reacts
The trillion dollar charade has ended and the sparkle ponies are pissed. Not that the whole thing was anything but a big lie from the start, created to save a…