Archive
An electrifying announcement leads to more questions than answers
Dec 5, 2019
In late August, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Vancouver to announce that the federal government had agreed to financially support a new hydroelectric transmission line project in British Columbia’s remote northeast region. In a memorandum of understanding signed with the provincial government, the federal government committed $83.6 million to the project, which will cover… View Article
Property taxes in Vancouver are still too low, fueling inequality and speculation
Dec 2, 2019
We’ve heard a lot of griping recently about Vancouver’s proposed property tax increase for 2020, but missing from the debate is a reality check on the city’s extremely low tax rates. Vancouver’s property tax rate is, in fact, the lowest in North America, at just $2.56 per $1,000 in assessed value—or 0.26%. Why is Vancouver’s… View Article
Canada Pension Plan fuels climate crisis
Nov 21, 2019
“Financial experts say millennials will have to save an entire planet to retire,” says the satirical Beaverton. This is funny because it’s true. Less humorously, many pensions designed for retirement security are contributing to the climate emergency with their investments. Such is the case with the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), one of our country’s largest… View Article
Inquiry needed into gig work in BC
Nov 14, 2019
The BC government recently decided to permit the operation ride-hailing services, which are scheduled to begin before the end of the year. Other services, like the delivery of restaurant meals, use similar systems to dispatch workers. Yet the provincial government has yet to address a crucial element of this system—the rights and protections of workers… View Article
BC Government Fossil Fuel Subsidy Data Finally Public
Nov 13, 2019
For more than two years, the British Columbia government has vigorously fought efforts to compel the release of information on the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies that it doles out to fossil fuel companies each year. It has either refused outright to release documents or it has handed over pages of essentially worthless… View Article
Canada’s fossil fuel lobby influences policy and decisions for major federal government projects
Nov 8, 2019
There’s no doubt that climate change and fossil fuel extraction were vote determining for significant sections of the population in the federal election. These issues dominated the federal leaders’ debates and since September we’ve seen hundreds of thousands across the country join student-led climate strikes demanding more robust climate action. Such demands are likely to… View Article
2019 Rosenbluth Lecture Recap: David Green on Basic Income
Oct 29, 2019
David Green, Professor at the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia and Research Associate with the CCPA-BC, gave the eighth annual Rosenbluth lecture on October 3, 2019. David is heading up the BC government’s panel on basic income. His lecture was followed by three discussants who offered perspectives on David’s talk:… View Article
Federal election: What’s in it for BC?
Oct 17, 2019
Let’s step back from the national big picture for a moment and take a look at some key issues that matter for BC. Many issues in our province need a response from the federal government whether due to jurisdiction or funding capacity. I point to where parties have so far made commitments, but in some… View Article
BC should think twice before opening its doors to multinational ride-hailing corporations
Oct 7, 2019
Last year, the BC government introduced legislation expected to bring ride-hailing to the province, but many questions remain about what that will look like in practice. One of the bodies responsible for working out the policy details is BC’s Passenger Transportation Board (PTB), an independent tribunal that has been handling passenger transport license applications from… View Article
Plotting a course to net zero? Climate and energy policy in the 2019 election
Oct 1, 2019
Canadians recently hit the streets in the middle of the federal election campaign to demand climate action. Many past Canadian governments have set emission targets, then failed to deliver meaningful policies to reach those targets, all the while patting themselves on the back for their leadership. The stakes are high, so where do the major… View Article
Housing platforms in the 2019 federal election
Sep 26, 2019
Across the country, the lack of affordable housing is a top of mind concern for most Canadians in 2019. The run-up in housing prices in recent years has pushed home ownership out of reach for many. And, the combination of households staying longer in rental housing—and little new rental housing being built—has led to low… View Article
Yep, it’s gouging: What we learned from the BCUC gas prices inquiry and what’s next
Sep 20, 2019
The BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) inquiry into gas prices delivered its bombshell final report on August 30. Among its key findings: at least 13 cents per litre of the higher gas prices at the pump over the past couple years is “unexplained” relative to what one would expect from a functioning competitive market. This is… View Article
This Labour Day, fruit pickers in BC may have been denied minimum wage
Sep 3, 2019
While many British Columbians and visitors may have enjoyed late summer produce like apples, peaches and plums this Labour Day weekend, the workers who pick these crops generally do not receive statutory holiday pay and many work for less than minimum wage. The laws that govern conditions for agricultural workers make them vulnerable and exploitable,… View Article
Who owns it? The democratic socialist debate Canada should be having this election
Aug 19, 2019
We live in an era of extreme inequality of wealth and power across much of the developed world, and Canada is no exception. Public confidence in political institutions and “political classes” in the West is in long-running decline. The failure of established institutions to grapple adequately with the crises we face is giving way to an… View Article
BC’s Oil and Gas Commission: A captured regulator
Aug 14, 2019
In June 2015 “in an effort to expedite” the building of a pipeline by Alliance Pipeline Ltd., a company called Synergy Land Services submitted falsified documents to British Columbia’s Oil and Gas Commission. The documents were deliberately altered to suggest that archaeological work was done at two sites when in fact it had only been… View Article
When it comes to climate action, the public is ahead of our politics: Analysis of national climate poll
Aug 12, 2019
Last month, as part of the research for a book I am writing on mobilizing Canada for the climate emergency, I commissioned an extensive national public opinion poll from Abacus Data.* The full results of the poll can be found on the Abacus website here. I share highlights and my analysis below. Big picture: the… View Article
Tailings dam collapses in the Americas: Lessons learned?
Aug 8, 2019
In fewer than five years, three major dam collapses have occurred in the Americas—the most recent of which killed more than 230 people, and likely killed up to 260; many of the dead have never been recovered from the toxic mining sludge in which they were buried. The disasters that unfolded in both British Columbia… View Article
The time to act is now: Fracking risks do not require further study
Jul 22, 2019
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… View Article
How much do you have to earn to afford rent in Metro Vancouver?
Jul 18, 2019
Metro Vancouver home prices have been in the news in recent months, not due to bidding wars and double-digit price increases, but because we are seeing the housing market in reverse. The total number of sales for both detached homes and condos are at multi-decade lows, and prices are falling. It’s still too early to… View Article
Building a universal child care system in BC means rethinking how we fund new spaces
Jul 9, 2019
Last year, the BC government made landmark investments in child care, reducing costs for tens of thousands of families. And, those in $10/day prototypes (2,500 spaces throughout the province) are finally experiencing truly affordable child care. However, too many families are still desperate for access to quality, licensed child care. Lower fees don’t help parents… View Article