Gwen and I raised three adult children in North Vancouver. Each lives in this community, as do our seven grandchildren. Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. Since 2009, I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA.
If B.C. is serious about building a resilient and forward-looking energy system, its public utility must invest more decisively in the innovations already being studied here at home. The University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus has the Laboratory for Solar Energy and Fuels. It is working to develop materials and devices that can convert abundant solar energy into clean electricity or storable fuels. BC Hydro is not listed as one of its research partners.
Dave Borlace of Just Have a Think explains heat pumps. He discusses how one British Company is helping heat engineers deliver the most efficient ways of heating a home with clean energy.
Europeans have been more successful at dealing with housing issues than Canadians. We can learn from them. Please join the Canada West Forum, HOUSING, THE AFFORDABILITY CHALLENGE. It will be livestreamed on Zoom on Monday morning at 9 a.m. A panel of five experts will participate. Among them is one expert from Finland and another from Austria. Panel members will discuss important issues related to housing.
An IN-SIGHTS reader reminded me of the work of Robert Michels, a sociologist best known for creating the Iron Law of Oligarchy: All complex organizations—regardless of how democratic they start—inevitably develop into oligarchies, where power is concentrated in the hands of a few elite leaders. It asserts that bureaucratic, technical, and psychological factors force power to centralize, making true democratic control unsustainable.
Over the past decade, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) has amassed millions of data points that it uses to identify and track its targets – from social media posts to location history and, most recently, tax information. And there’s been one, multibillion-dollar tech company particularly instrumental in enabling Ice to put all that data to work: Palantir, the data analytics firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, the rightwing mega-donor and tech investor.
James Speyer, writing in The New York Daily News, says:
It is time to acknowledge what has become tragically obvious: the Trump administration is essentially acting as a massive criminal enterprise. It lies, steals, extorts and murders — all while cloaked in the awesome authority of the state. It is on a crime spree that puts Al Capone to shame.
In British Columbia, both the governing NDP and the Conservative opposition maintain that natural resources primarily belong to the companies extracting them today. Taxes are kept low, subsidies are plentiful, and the idea that future generations deserve a share of today’s resource wealth is effectively dismissed.
I’ve been reading two books: Broken City by Patrick Condon, and Happy City by Charles Montgomery. Both are compelling and deeply researched, and each offers practical, evidence-based ways to improve urban life.
At the Canada West Forum website, you’ll find a video contrasting two very different responses to homelessness. It shows formerly unhoused people in Finland now living securely and comfortably in permanent homes — a testament to that country’s commitment to long-term solutions. The video also examines American efforts to provide compact, temporary shelters — an approach that may offer short-term relief but is far less effective for people facing chronic housing instability. The Finnish model is explained by Juha Kahila, who will be a featured participant in the upcoming online Canada West Forum event, Housing: The Affordability Challenge.
The material below the separator line was first posted at IN-SIGHTS in April, 2013. Today, an acquaintance reminded me about Sean Holman’s important work across many years. In the early days of […]
UBC Professor Patrick Condon used Facebook to circulate an opinion from former NDP Minister of Municipal Affairs, Darlene Marzari. It had been published in BC Orders of the Day, a journal for BC MLAs.
Affordable housing is a major problem, with many Canadians struggling with high costs and the inadequate supply of suitable homes. These struggles can impact health, happiness, and financial stability, and may lead to homelessness and a cycle of housing insecurity. Can this situation in Canada be changed? Can we learn from other regions? The answer to both questions is a resounding YES!
The New Yorker is one of many prestigious properties owned by the Newhouse Family. Their wealth is estimated at about C$33 billion. So if one of the most respected journalists working for […]
In 1814, soldiers from British North America (the precursor to modern Canada) were part of the military force that burned Washington DC. 2025 saw the end of a peaceful friendship between two neighbours that lasted over 150 years
This is a response from A. Reader to Mr Stewart’s comment at the post Middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.,,
Different questions asked and answered in different countries.
One of the most articulate critics of Donald Trump and his warriors is Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson. Below the separator is the text of her recent Substack post:
A friend who worked in the PMO years ago says Mark Carney was known in Ottawa as a straight-shooter who often wrote his own speeches and did so very quickly. He didn’t need speechwriters for this admirable address to important people in Davos.
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When men were men and women were women... and the Pope wasn't deemed too dangerous to lead 1.406 billion Catholics..…
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It speaks ill of how the world has been reduced to internet memes, likes and followers as the Trump crime…
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If you require high standards a good place to look for clarity is Liz Oyer. Liz - Blanche takes down…