Archive
Electoral reform will not enable the far right: Debunking a red herring
Jul 16, 2018
Debunking the claims of proportional representation naysayers This is the second post of a series explaining the benefits of proportional representation and debunking myths from the ‘No’ side of BC’s 2018 electoral reform referendum. More from the series is available at policynote.ca/pr4bc. It is now clear that a core assertion of the ‘No’ side in… View Article
LNG is incompatible with BC’s climate obligations
Jul 11, 2018
Now that we are in a sunny lull between the end of flooding season and the start of fire season, it’s time we had a talk about fossil fuels and climate change in BC. The BC government deserves praise for standing up to Alberta and the federal government over the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX),… View Article
Why I am excited to be appointed to the Emerging Economy Task Force
Jul 10, 2018
This morning, the BC government launched its new Emerging Economy Task Force. The 14 experts who make up the task force—including myself—have been asked to provide analysis and advice on emerging trends that will shape BC’s economy and society over the coming decades. This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to participate in… View Article
Urgent action needed to control rent increases: Submission to the BC Rental Housing Task Force
Jul 6, 2018
On July 3rd, we shared our recommendations regarding BC’s Residential Tenancy Act and controlling rental costs in British Columbia with the BC Rental Housing Task Force. This is our submission. As we noted in our March submission to the BC government’s poverty reduction consultation, we believe that bold action to control rental costs must be… View Article
Tax breaks and subsidies for BC LNG
Jul 5, 2018
At the height of LNG-mania in 2013/14, high prices in Asia fueled a gold rush mentality in BC—based on shipping cheap BC gas to Asia for mega-profits. But those high prices proved only temporary, and by 2015 the economic case for LNG (liquified natural gas) turned on its head. The subsequent Asian price for gas… View Article
Mobility pricing: What happened? What’s next?
Jun 27, 2018
The final report of the Mobility Pricing Independent Commission (MPIC) was delivered to the Mayors’ Council and TransLink Board on May 24. The report was officially received and then referred to staff for further research and public consultation as there are many outstanding questions not to mention political hurdles ahead. If you are unfamiliar with… View Article
BC public pensions fuel climate change crisis
Jun 25, 2018
If you have a public pension in BC, your retirement savings are likely fuelling the climate change crisis. The pensions of over half a million British Columbians are administered by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI), formerly known as the bcIMC. It’s the fourth largest pension fund manager in Canada and controls one of… View Article
Electoral reform is simple, actually
Jun 14, 2018
Debunking the claims of proportional representation naysayers This is the first post of a series explaining the benefits of proportional representation and debunking myths from the ‘No’ side of BC’s 2018 electoral reform referendum. More from the series is available at policynote.ca/pr4bc. As British Columbians consider trading in our centuries-old electoral system for one where… View Article
Gas gouging in Metro Vancouver: Blame Big Oil, not taxes
Jun 11, 2018
Everyone is talking about the high price of gas in Metro Vancouver, which hit a new record in May, topping $1.60 per litre. The story making the rounds is that taxes are to blame—in particular the April 1 increase in BC’s carbon tax. Some have seized on this moment to call for tax cuts to… View Article
Low property taxes help fuel housing crisis
Jun 4, 2018
In the wake of February’s BC Budget, property taxes have been making headlines. But less attention has been paid to the province’s unusually low property tax rates, particularly in Vancouver, and how they help fuel the housing crisis. The city of Vancouver has among the lowest property tax rates in the country. Even the additional… View Article
British Columbians shortchanged billions from fossil fuel industry revenues
May 31, 2018
Earlier this year, Premier John Horgan announced that the British Columbia government was prepared to offer billions of dollars in tax breaks to Royal Dutch Shell should the global fossil fuel giant build a massive liquefied natural gas plant on our province’s north coast. Absent from the news then, however, was any mention of how… View Article
Trudeau government justification for purchasing Trans Mountain project based on false premises
May 29, 2018
So how sound are the claims being used to justify the federal government’s expenditure of up to $12 billion in taxpayer funds to purchase Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) project? The Trudeau government says the purchase is in the ‘national interest’, will create thousands of jobs, and that delays in the project are costing… View Article
From housing market to human right: A view from Metro Vancouver
May 29, 2018
I made the following submission to the Government of Canada’s consultation on National Housing Strategy’s human rights-based approach to housing, through which they are requesting “opinions and ideas about the key elements of a human rights-based approach to housing, the proposed approach to the new legislation, and new concepts to be explored.” This submission outlines key reasons… View Article
Threatened caribou further endangered: Suppressed audit shows Oil and Gas Commission undermining provincial efforts to save species
May 28, 2018
On an April morning in 2014, members of the Fort Nelson First Nation tucked into a helicopter to begin a day of flying to fossil fuel company operations in their territory. The Nation’s lands are part of the expansive Treaty 8 territory that includes northeast British Columbia. A professional biologist from Fort St. John was… View Article
Deep poverty: BC government can—and should—end it
May 24, 2018
The BC government’s public consultations into the development of a poverty reduction plan have ended. Now the ideas and recommendations from hundreds of British Columbians are in the hands of the government as they turn all that input into the official plan. We’ve been told to expect enabling legislation—including legislated targets and timelines—for the fall… View Article
A carbon budget framework for BC: Achieving accountability and oversight
May 22, 2018
When it comes to climate change Canada’s leaders have been great at setting targets for far into the future and then failing to meet them. Nationally, this pattern goes back to prime minister Brian Mulroney and has continued through prime ministers Jean Chrétien, Stephen Harper and now Prime Minister Trudeau. The Paris Agreement on climate… View Article
Death of the Oil Weapon
May 17, 2018
Alberta’s threat last month to cut oil supplies to British Columbia and thereby cause gasoline prices to spike is not an original idea. It is called the oil weapon: holding a supply of critical oil over your customer’s head. As detailed in Daniel Yergin’s tome on the oil industry, The Prize, it was most famously… View Article
Government wrong to exclude farm workers from basic minimum wage protection
May 15, 2018
A crowded van picks up an elderly Punjabi grandmother. After a 45-minute unpaid ride to the farm, she picks blueberries in the hot sun for up to ten hours with no overtime pay. If she slows down or takes too many breaks in the shade, the contractor may arbitrarily decide she hasn’t earned enough hours… View Article
Moving on from the CCPA-BC: A Message from Seth Klein
May 2, 2018
Dear friends and CCPA-BC supporters, If you are reading this post, you’ve heard that I’ve decided to step down as the CCPA’s BC Director at the end of this year. I’ve been mulling over this decision for some time and it has been a difficult one. But it’s time for me to move on. I… View Article
Mobility pricing in practice: A look at London, Stockholm and Singapore
Apr 30, 2018
An independent commission on mobility pricing (also called “road pricing” or “congestion charging”) will report to TransLink and the Mayors’ Council shortly. In a recent CCPA paper, I looked at the types of mobility pricing that could be considered for Metro Vancouver and the challenge of ensuring a new system is fair. Declining technology costs,… View Article