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The time to act is now: Fracking risks do not require further study
When British Columbia’s new government took office in July 2017, one thing was notably absent in the mandate letter delivered by Premier John Horgan to the province’s new energy minister. Hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—was mentioned not once. Nor did the letter acknowledge that months earlier the New Democratic Party had committed to appoint a scientific panel …
Fossil-Power Top 50 launched
Who’s who of Canada’s fossil fuel industry in a publicly accessible database (VANCOUVER) What do Suncor, Encana, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Fraser Institute and 46 other companies and organizations have in common? They are among the entities that make up the most influential fossil fuel industry players in Canada. Today, the Corporate Mapping …
How much is BC giving to natural gas companies?
All British Columbians have a stake in the pricing of natural resources. When trees are logged, when minerals are mined, when fossil fuels are drilled, the companies doing the extracting pay fees to the Province in recognition that the resources are publicly owned. It is therefore in everybody’s interest to know how the government prices …
LNG’s big lie
The federal government is seeking to use a clause in the Paris Agreement on climate change to get emissions credits for exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asian countries. This plan is nonsensical for a number of reasons, but at its heart is the “big lie” that LNG will help to reduce global emissions. …
What would a fossil fuel wind-down look like?
Canada has an uneasy history when it comes to fossil fuels and climate change. Our leaders have been great at setting far-off targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) or carbon emissions, then failing to meet them. As part of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, Canada committed to a 30-per-cent reduction in carbon emissions …
Reality check: High BC gas prices and pipeline rhetoric from Alberta’s new premier
Alberta’s new premier, Jason Kenney, has wasted no time engaging in belligerent actions to “get Alberta’s resources to market.” Right off the bat he passed the “turn off the taps” bill to cut off BC’s supply of oil if the Province doesn’t reverse its stance opposing the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX). He also claimed …
Memo to northeast BC: More fracking earthquakes ahead
Of the many “unknowns” flagged in a recent science panel report, few are as disturbing as the finding that no one can say how destructive an earthquake may one day be triggered during brute-force oil and gas industry fracking operations. The panel’s report—commissioned by Michelle Mungall, BC’s Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources—has landed …
Turn off the taps? Alberta already has Vancouver over a barrel
Drivers in Metro Vancouver are reeling from record high gas prices, and many commentators are blaming taxes. Now, Alberta’s Premier-elect Jason Kenney is threatening to “turn off the taps” to push prices even higher because, it is alleged, BC is causing them to lose billions of dollars in oil revenues by opposing the Trans Mountain …
Shaking the Peace: Fracking-induced earthquakes rattle BC Hydro execs and farmers alike
BC Hydro officials were so alarmed by an earthquake that shook the ground at its sprawling Site C dam construction project in late November, they ordered a halt to all work and got on the phone to British Columbia’s Oil and Gas Commission (OCG). The 4.5 magnitude earthquake was linked to natural gas company fracking …
How clean is a BC that subsidizes accelerated fossil fuel extraction?
When the provincial government unveiled its new climate plan late last year, Environment Minister George Heyman, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver and Premier John Horgan presented a happy, united front as ceremonies got underway at Vancouver’s main library. But the biggest smiles of the day may have been on the faces of senior executives at …
Indigenous Gendered Experiences of Work in an Oil-Dependent, Rural Alberta Community
Alberta’s oil sands industry is often touted as driving the economy of both the province and Canada as a whole. However, Indigenous people in the oil sands region do not necessarily reap the benefits of the industry due to limited land rights, limited access to economic development, and marginalization in the labour market. While there …
Report seeks to address ‘knowledge gap’ about Indigenous oil workers
EDMONTON – A new report released today by the University of Alberta-based Parkland Institute is a first step in beginning to address the dearth of research and knowledge about the lived experiences of Indigenous workers in northern Alberta’s oil sands region. Indigenous Gendered Experiences of Work in an Oil-Dependent, Rural Alberta Community is a mixed-methods …