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.
The 2017 BC NDP platform promised, “The people of BC must get a fair return for our resources.” The pledge was immediately dropped when the NDP took power…
While John Horgan’s government has been using billions of public dollars to improve profitability of private producers of fossil fuels, University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) professor Élyse Caron-Beaudoin has been examining effects of natural gas production on people living near BC gas fields…
Governments of Canada and three western provinces are committed to increasing fossil fuel production, despite science that says we must begin to reduce GHG emissions immediately. Canada’s Industrial and political leaders have gone well beyond ignoring the precautionary principle. They are now following a considered path to disaster. Caring nothing about the future, they care instead about reaping financial rewards today.
BC fights climate change by reducing the public share of natural gas revenues to almost nothing, while production soars. Meanwhile, unprecedented portions of the world are on fire
Climate science is not accepted by the British Columbia government. BC NDP promises “environmentally responsible development of BC’s energy resources” and while that sounds reasonable, BC’s Public Accounts reveals the real plan. John Horgan’s government is accelerating promotion of fossil fuels with increasing subsidies.
A Boston Globe report ought to interest Canadians because the Massachusetts experience improves understanding of how regulators who do not believe in regulation work hand-in-hand with industry…
Canada’s federal government and its three western provinces are de facto climate change deniers. National Observer labelled this type denio-osaurs. All are committed to promoting increased production and export of fossil fuels. But, in some respects, British Columbia is worst of all.
Believe it or not, the Horgan Government is even worse than BC Liberals on natural gas. But don’t expect them to admit it.
Long time United States Senator Charles Grassley is an Iowa Republican and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. He joined with retiring Democratic Senator Tom Udall to state a position that current BC NDP members ought to heed.
Subsidizing natural gas production by ending industry payments for rights and royalties, while the government is also offering billions in electricity subsidies is indefensible. But the most serious issue is the environmental effect, on the ground and in the atmosphere.
Beginning in Premier Gordon Campbell’s term as BC Premier, natural gas producers lobbied mightily for reductions in the public share of revenue derived from exploiting the natural resource. BC Liberals were receptive to the idea. Surprisingly, when the formerly centre-left New Democrats came to power, they accelerated the reductions.
While natural gas producers now pay nothing to the BC public in comparison to earlier days, production of the fossil fuel has about doubled in the last ten years. Fossil fuels may pose an existential threat to the world, but politicians in Canada are either unaware or indifferent. Evidence suggests the latter.
In 2019, BC’s Auditor General concluded natural gas operators were not required by government to decommission or restore inactive well sites. Furthermore, that funds collected from operators were inadequate to cover restoration costs for wells “orphaned” by gas company bankruptcies. The Auditor General found that because of these deficiencies, the BC Government had not effectively managed the environmental and financial risks of non-operating oil and gas sites. In 2019, taxpayers were on the hook for $3 billion in cleanup costs, an amount that has grown larger in 2020…
Despite the NDP promise that resource development must provide a fair return to the public, John Horgan’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources functions just as it did under Christy Clark…
You will find evidence at In-Sights proving government policies and subsidies have cut public revenue from petroleum and natural gas producers to a tiny fraction of what it once was. This despite substantial increases in natural gas production. But, gas producers have hands in our pockets in less obvious ways…
Petroleum and natural gas rights sale results reflect policies of a government dedicated to increasing fossil fuel production. To do that, they are giving away the public share of these natural resources. Christy Clark formed the policy; John Horgan accelerated it.
We already knew the oil and gas business was poisoning land and water and polluting the atmosphere. Most people, including workers in the northeast gas fields, are probably unaware that people are being exposed to radioactivity as well.
One of the pre-election promises made quietly by the BC NDP to me and other concerned citizens was to apply best scientific practices in regulating British Columbia’s northeast gas fields. In another post-election policy reversal, John Horgan’s NDP government decided the only action needed was a little green washing…
Citizens of BC are misled by government about economic returns from natural gas. Relevant statistics are not readily available and the ministries prefer to conceal them. Since government does not issue press releases with awkward news, the incurious press gallery ignores information like that shown below…
Perhaps premier Eby should invite prime minister Carney to visit Kitimat to see how well things are going there… how…
Eby may leave the scene, but I doubt that the NDP will return to its former self. Supporting corporate interests…
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Eby's sad fizzling out has come as such an unexpected outcome, given the savvy and sound judgement that he demonstrated…
in-sights.ca 
The radical shift rightward in NDP policy at all levels of public concern is far from normal for any labour/leftist…