Economy

Dix right to scrap balanced budget legislation

Sep 28, 2012
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Yesterday, Opposition leader Adrian Dix indicated that, if he wins government, he would scrap BC’s balanced budget legislation (BBL). His announcement has drawn some fire from predictable sources. Some media reports indicate that Dix appeared uncomfortable sharing this news. He shouldn’t have. Scrapping BBL is good public policy. CCPA researchers have long been critics of… View Article

Clean electricity, conservation and a zero-carbon future

Jun 20, 2012
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Today we released a new Climate Justice Project report, Clean Electricity, Conservation and Climate Justice in BC: Meeting our energy needs in a zero-carbon future, co-authored by John Calvert and myself. The report is central to the vision we have been developing of a zero-carbon BC, with a focus on the need to transition off of fossil… View Article

A Green Industrial Revolution

Jun 12, 2012
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Today the CCPA (national) released a new big picture report by myself and student researcher Amanda Card calling for a Green Industrial Revolution. The report builds on work done for the BC-focused Climate Justice Project, bringing to bear a national analysis of green and not-so-green jobs. We take a close look at GHG emissions and employment by… View Article

Seven reasons why you should support a move to low tuition fees for higher education

May 29, 2012
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Much of the media coverage of the Quebec student protests has dismissed the protestors as cranky middle and upper-middle class children trying to protect their unfair privilege. And in fact, the vast majority of today’s university students do come from relatively well-off families. But rather than weakening their position, this supports the protestors’ claims that… View Article

Bringing a vision of climate justice into focus

May 28, 2012
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One of the key barriers to change facing those of us working towards climate justice is the lack of a clear vision. By advocating for bold climate action, we are asking people to embrace dramatic change — yet the picture of their new life remains fuzzy and difficult to imagine. Compounding this challenge is the… View Article

De-growth or growth? Maybe we don’t need to figure that out

May 16, 2012
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There has recently been a renewed interest in the question of whether the ecological crisis means we need to see (or plan for) a stabilization or even a decline in economic growth. This week there is a major conference on degrowth in Montreal. York University’s Peter Victor has made important contributions to this debate in… View Article

Hail to the Chief? Or Bailing on the Chief?

Apr 18, 2012
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A leaked provincial Cabinet document indicates that the provincial government is contemplating “suspending” the powers of one of its most powerful public servants in order to expedite a controversial logging program that has raised alarm bells in the professional forestry community. The document leaked late Tuesday afternoon, is the second confidential report in as many… View Article