Environment, resources & sustainability

A Dam Troublesome Exception: Progress Energy’s dams should not be exempted from environmental review

Oct 2, 2017
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I sent the following letter to BC’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) in response to Progress Energy’s extraordinary request to retroactively exempt the Lily and Town dams from environmental reviews. Such reviews should have been conducted before the dams were built. Not only did those reviews not happen, but the company also failed to obtain other… View Article

Challenging Site C: The BC Utilities Commission preliminary report

Sep 21, 2017
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The BC Utilities Commission preliminary report demonstrates why independent review of mega-projects like Site C is so essential, even with the short timeframe imposed by the BC government (the final report is due November 1). The previous government’s deliberate exemption of Site C from BCUC review is scandalous in subverting a rigorous and transparent public… View Article

BC NDP-Green agreement commits to Indigenous consent

Jun 15, 2017
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In their power-sharing agreement, the BC New Democrat and Green parties commit to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Supreme Court of Canada’s 2014 Tsilhqot’in decision, calling the documents “foundational” to their shared policy agenda. Central to both is Indigenous peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent when… View Article

Greenhouse gas emissions and the Energy East Pipeline

May 24, 2017
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I submitted the following to the National Energy Board, which is seeking comments on what should be included as part of the upcoming hearings on the proposed Energy East Pipeline. In particular, they are interested in arguments about the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions. The deadline for submissions is May 31 if you are inclined… View Article

A Dam Big Problem: Regulatory breakdown as fracking companies in BC’s northeast build dozens of unauthorized dams

May 3, 2017
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A subsidiary of Petronas, the Malaysian state-owned petro giant courted by the BC government, has built at least 16 unauthorized dams in northern BC to trap hundreds of millions of gallons of water used in its controversial fracking operations. The 16 dams are among “dozens” that have been built by Petronas and other companies without… View Article

Climate change and energy issues in the 2017 BC election platforms

Apr 18, 2017
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From the fracking fields and Site C dam in BC’s northeast to an LNG terminal and Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and tanker expansion in the southwest, energy issues should figure prominently in BC’s 2017 election campaign. Climate change, the result of all that pollution from dirty energy development here and elsewhere, is an overarching challenge. In… View Article

Faking climate action: BC’s misleading forest gambit

Apr 3, 2017
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In its August 2016 climate plan update—and subsequent advertising campaign—the BC government put forests front and centre. While this may sound positive, it is really a sleight of hand by a province seeking to shirk its responsibility to reduce fossil fuel emissions. The BC government claims (without providing any evidence) that its vaguely defined forest… View Article