Seven years ago, Trudeau was the golden new arrival on the global scene, an embodiment of hope at home and abroad, particularly with respect to the defining challenge of our time — the climate emergency. In the Trump era, Trudeau seemed a beacon of climate sanity and action (at least in the North American context). But today, the U.S. is catapulting ahead of Canada, with Biden seizing the mantle of exciting climate leadership, while Trudeau’s record appears lacklustre and tepid in comparison.
Read MoreWould a second Notley government be prepared to tackle the climate crisis more aggressively than during its first incarnation? Might the NDP, eight years after their first election to government, be able to tell a more forthright story to Albertans about the future of oil and gas? And equally important, has the terrain sufficiently shifted such that enough Albertans might be ready to hear it?
Read MoreBC should thus commit to fully phasing out the use of fossil fuels for domestic purposes to clearly signal that we are on a wind-down path. BC should announce that—within the next one to two years—no new buildings (residential, commercial or public such as hospitals and schools) will be allowed to use natural gas or tie into natural gas pipelines. All new buildings would need to use electric, heat pump, space and hot water heating and next-generation electric induction stoves. In addition, the province should regulate that all existing buildings will need to be off gas by 2040 and develop transition plans starting with older, less-efficient building stock.
Read MoreOn November 19, Justin Trudeau’s federal government tabled its long-awaited bill seeking to embed new greenhouse gas reduction targets into law. But sadly, Bill C-12, dubbed the “Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act,” provides virtually nothing in the way of robust accountability. In its current form it is, in short, a stunning disappointment and desperately in need of amendments to make the bill worthwhile. This is a moment for the NDP and BQ to use the powers and influence this minority Parliament affords them to demand improvements to C-12. And Liberal MPs who ran on climate need to make their voices heard. They need to exercise their political muscle, as this bill in its current state fails to reflect the urgency of the climate emergency. And all of us who want real climate accountability need to make sure all MPs know how we feel.
Read MoreAs we contemplate the necessary phase out of fossil fuels by mid-century, we must acknowledge the potential of this transformation to disrupt worker livelihoods and resource communities around BC. Done well, a managed two- to three-decade wind-down period with thoughtful planning and just transition programs has the additional benefit of getting away from the boom-and-bust cycles typical of resource economies.
Read MoreIn BC, in spite of climate action planning going back to 2007, the idea of a managed wind-down of fossil fuel industries remains a taboo topic. Given the late hour in confronting the climate emergency, it is time our governments stopped trying to appease these fossil fuel companies. Our official climate plans should not seek to win the support or endorsement of these companies (as is currently the case). Rather, if our climate plans are not making the oil and gas companies deeply anxious, they are not plans worth having. Given this, the article asks, what would a managed wind-down look like?
Read MoreThe oil and gas royalty regime in British Columbia needs a major overhaul. The re-elected NDP promised during the election campaign to review oil and gas royalties and credits. In the context of a climate emergency the need for a managed wind-down is urgent. Despite “natural” gas being a finite greenhouse-gas-generating fossil fuel, the royalty regime BC applies for the extraction of natural gas is aimed at encouraging and ramping up production, not winding the industry down.
Read MoreSince releasing my book, I have frequently been asked, “How do you know when a government gets the emergency?” Here are my four markers for when you know that a government has shifted into emergency mode:
1) It spends what it takes to win;
2) It creates new economic institutions to get the job done;
3) It shifts from voluntary and incentive-based policies to mandatory measures;
4) It tells the truth about the severity of the crisis and communicates a sense of urgency about the measures necessary to combat it.
Read MoreRemembrance Day is an occasion to reflect on the lessons and sacrifices of past struggles. Today, as we prepare to tackle our generation’s greatest threat – the climate emergency – Canada’s mobilization to confront fascism 80 years ago has valuable lessons to offer. For all of us who wrestle with the enormity of the climate crisis, our Second World War experience offers a helpful — and indeed hopeful — reminder that we have done this before.
Read MoreClean BC is, quite likely, the most aggressive and comprehensive provincial or federal climate plan in Canada. And yet, sadly, it does not constitute a real climate emergency plan. This piece outlines what one would expect to see in a true climate emergency plan. If our current leaders believe we face a climate emergency, then they need to act and speak like it’s a damn emergency. We need them to name it, speak continually about it, and rally us at every turn. Because that’s what you do in a crisis.
Read MoreThe more a bold and transformative climate plan is seen as linked to an ambitious plan to tackle inequality, economic insecurity, poverty and job creation, the more likely people are to support it.
Read MoreAs the young people in our society come to the end of a school year unlike any before, and those in their teens and early 20s in particular wrestle with what the coming year or two will look like, Canada’s Second World War story has some useful guidance to offer. In the Second World War, over one million Canadians enlisted for military service, a remarkable level of participation, particularly given what those who signed up were prepared to sacrifice. Of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who went to fight overseas, from all corners of the country and many ethnic backgrounds, the overriding characteristic most had in common was their youth. The good news for today is that the crises we must confront call upon us to help and to heal – both society and the planet – rather than to fight and kill.
Read MorePremiers Jason Kenney and Scott Moe want to re-open equalization. It’s one of the prairie premiers’ core demands for a “new deal” with Canada. But that’s super messy. And besides, the equalization formula isn’t the problem; it’s more or less operating as intended, helping to ensure all provinces have equivalent capacity to fund similar levels of public services. Alberta has plenty of revenue capacity to fund its public programs. As the latest Alberta budget itself boasts, if Alberta taxed individuals and corporations at rates comparable to other provinces, it would have “at least $13.4 billion more in taxes.”
Read MoreHey, small-c conservative voter, can we talk? You, who take pride in your country and are committed to protecting your children and grandchildren. You, who have faith in our innovative capacity. You, who treasure good governance and care about national security. Yeah, you.
Read MoreLast 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 results are hopeful and indicate a high level of support for bold and ambitious climate action. Canadians support systemic solutions that go well beyond what our governments have so far been willing to undertake.
Read MoreAfter ten years of community calls for action, BC has at long last joined the ranks of provinces with a comprehensive poverty reduction plan. BC’s new strategy, TogetherBC, was unveiled yesterday. It sets out a framework to achieve the government’s legislated targets to reduce child poverty by at least 50 per cent and overall poverty by at least 25 per cent within five years.
Read MoreOver the last few months, I’ve spent quite a lot of time debating and following the No side in the electoral reform referendum. For the most part, they are waging a highly negative campaign based on fear-mongering about extremists and falsehoods about what might happen to local representation (which I have debunked here and here).
Read MoreAmong the fear-mongering claims of the ‘No’ side in BC’s electoral reform debate, a favorite trope is that proportional representation (pro rep) will result in unstable minority governments that can’t get anything done. The claim is unsubstantiated nonsense.
Read MoreThe 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 session of the BC Legislature and a comprehensive plan by the end of 2018.
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