A British television series broadcast in the 1980s may explain public administration better than any political science journal or textbook. This video clip from Yes Prime Minister could be about British Columbia’s approach to climate change, or it could be about the BC NDP’s response to COVID-19, or flooding, or about any emergency that confronts the province.
Norm Farrell
Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA since 2009.
Self-interest transcends public interest
In 2016, a future NDP Cabinet Minister told me that cancelling Site C was unlikely. The person said, “Would you be prepared to eliminate 3,000 jobs?” In retrospect, I conclude the concern was less about lost employment than about who would lose the jobs.
Burn now, pay later
Large parts of Canadian climate policies seem written by fossil fuel lobbyists inspired by the fake architecture of movie production. The aim of GHG emission reduction strategies is to look real without being real.
The world’s climate plan: make targets, miss targets, repeat, die
Millions of people have been affected by extraordinary weather events in 2022. The effects of climate change are compounding, but political leaders and industrialists use misinformation and outright lies to resist science and accelerate production of fossil fuels…
COVID-19 — panic, then neglect and harm
BC Government’s COVID panic began in March 2020, but was turning to neglect in the following year. It can be argued that neglect shifted to overtly harmful management of the pandemic…
Troubling information from recent public disclosures
BC’s Auditor General says the 2022 surplus would be $6.5 billion higher if government followed Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards. The surplus would have been $8 billion had government also eliminated fossil fuel subsidies.
Pessimism seems appropriate
Instead of following science, which says fossil fuel production must decrease immediately, Canadian governments use taxpayer dollars to increase the output of coal, oil, and gas. I will be gone before the worst happens but people I love will face devastation. Pessimism seems appropriate.
“The make it or break it year”
Earth is showing us the need for immediate action. Politicians and business leaders are ignoring these messages; citizens who want future generations to survive, should not…
Politics harder than it looks — Updated
Instead of giving up power to climate activists, NDP leaders are more likely to drive them out of the party. There remains a chance Anjali Appadurai will not be allowed to run for NDP leadership. People joining the party are required to make a declaration of support for party policies and principles of John Horgan’s NDP. The climate activist and her followers seem to oppose both.
Economics of delusion
Ethnographer, writer, photographer, filmmaker, and native of British Columbia, Wade Davis speaks…
Screwed!
Because corrupt practices of the past are not easily resolved in court, it may be too late to save the billions of dollars that will flow to private power producers. But it is not too late for voters to punish political figures who originated or tolerated this grand scheme. They sit on both sides of the BC Legislature.
Deficits of knowledge and attention, by design
Moderation of climate change must be today’s priority. Governments that refuse to act ignore their duty to protect and safeguard the lives of citizens.
Straight talk about lame talk
New owners took over The Georgia Straight two years ago. That quickly led to changes that are not reader-friendly. However, their website still offers useful commentary and is particularly worth visiting when Martyn Brown’s work appears. His latest column is a critique of a person often seen and heard in BC media…
Tweet of the day
Natural, holistic, hypoallergenic and the profit margin is enormous. So, if we can…
BC is good at climate action failure
Peter McCartney wrote about government and industry turning northeast British Columbia into a sacrifice zone: If this destruction were happening in the Lower Mainland or the Capital Regional District, it would be unthinkable. But successive provincial governments have allowed an entire region to be sacrificed to gas development—and even given billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies to the companies responsible.
Corporate pollution and destruction licensed by government
In May 2016, British Columbia’s Auditor General Carol Bellringer released An Audit of Compliance and Enforcement of the Mining Sector. It was a scathing but underreported report quickly forgotten by mainstream media.
The carbon footprint of transportation
As concern about climate change has grown, individuals are becoming increasingly conscious of their impact on the environment…
Change is our collective responsibility
Many people proceed in life as if no material changes are needed for humans to survive beyond the 21st century. But David Attenborough was correct when about ten years ago, he said…
Quixotic quest bound to fail
A group of naive people believe that John Horgan’s departure will result in an open contest by which party members will elect a leader. But BC’s New Democratic Party is not democratic. Relatively few insiders control the party’s provincial executive, and they determine how leadership is decided…
Happiness is…
The first World Happiness Report was presented in 2012. This week the 2022 report was published. Perhaps surprisingly, in most nations, average life evaluations have remained “remarkably resilient during COVID-19.” Although, according to report authors, life satisfaction has fallen for the young and increased for people over 60, and levels of stress have risen measurably since pre-pandemic days…
I hope Canada hurries up no tolerance based rules. I also hope this country has at least a clue of…