The real need is for the province to appoint a royal commission with broad ability to investigate financial and engineering problems with all megaprojects. The inquiry should be able to compel public officials to explain processes that result in massive cost increases and troublesome delays.
All senior public servant involved in the approval or management of megaprojects that consume vast sums should demonstrate detailed knowledge of Professor Flyvbjerg’s work. Many works would not be approved and billions of dollars would be saved. Of course, our approaches to management of megaprojects will not change. Political leaders have half-heartedly addressed widespread concerns about fiscal irresponsibility and the influence of lobbyists. That is, if they have addressed the concerns at all.
If the public interest is ever to be served, the power and influence of lobbyists must be reduced to near-zero and the ability to slip easily between the regulators and the regulated must end. Don’t expect that to happen though. The people who make the rules are also the people who benefit by having lax rules.
Some believe that wealth creation should be the paramount goal of a nation. In Canada, many of those people are political operatives opposing effective actions to mitigate climate change. A 2024 publication by The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) may give pause to climate science revisionists…
The United Kingdom’s National Audit Office said about a nuclear energy megaproject that was to cost C$35 billion and now looks to be costing more than C$80 billion, years after initial completion: “[Government] has committed electricity consumers and taxpayers to a high cost and risky deal in a changing energy marketplace.” The NAO message is almost exactly the arguments raised about British Columbia’s Site C hydropower project her at IN-SIGHTS and by others demanding that public projects deliver value for money.
The reality is that media filters reality instead of reflecting it. In authoritarian regimes, control of communication has always been a primary consideration and news is shaped to further the interests of the powerful. The same can be said in corporatocracies. Shaping the news will be more problematic as use of artificial intelligence expands. That is not good for social democracy.
Much is wrong with Facebook, but occasionally, it circulates nuggets of gold…
Days ago, I commented on the share price of the company that owns Canada’s Global Television Network and numerous broadcasting outlets in Vancouver and elsewhere. Stock in Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSE: CJR.B) that was once priced above $25 traded last week for 24 cents. The last few days have not been good for people invested in holding Corus. The stock closed at 15 cents on June 18, 2024…
The law is equal before all of us; but we are not all equal before the law. Virtually there is one law for the rich and another for the poor, one law for the cunning and another for the simple, one law for the forceful and another for the feeble, one law for the ignorant and another for the learned…
Over 40 percent of Thames Water, a troubled utility company in the United Kingdom, is owned by OMERS and BCI. These are two of Canada’s biggest public pension fund managers. The British utility is facing regulatory scrutiny and penalties for sewage leaks that require a financial bailout. Investors refused a request by Thames for more than £3 billion ($5.2 billion). Ontario’s OMERS has written down its Thames investment to zero. Presumably, British Columbia’s BCI has done the same…
An organization in the United Kingdom aims to identify funders of think tanks that work to influence public policy. While the group’s focus is on the UK, it is a safe bet that political operatives and large organizations use their financial resources to achieve similar objectives in Canada and other nations…
The possibility of Corus Entertainment Inc. disappearing may astound people. However, there is a common pattern following intergenerational transfers of business interests. Reuter’s Chris Taylor reported: 70 percent of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation, and a stunning 90 percent by the third…
Years ago, well managed radio stations enjoyed operating profits that could reach 50 percent of revenue. Having permits to broadcast were said to be like having licences to print money. Those days are no more. But one company has fared worse than most. Far worse.
Ali Velshi is a journalist often seen on MSNBC. Promoting a new book, he appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air. The program covers much ground and is worth our attention. The end segment resonates since it cautions us to know the difference between news and nonsense…
Climate change actions of British Columbia and Manitoba are inadequate and the main efforts by Alberta and Saskatchewan to reduce greenhouse emissions are illusory. While provinces in central and eastern Canada have reduced harmful discharges, western provinces have done the opposite…
MIT’s Dr. Peter S. Park and academics associated with the Center for AI Safety examined deception by Artificial Intelligence. They conclude that increased capabilities of AI pose a serious risk and computers are now capable of inducing false beliefs and encouraging harmful outcomes…
I was planning to write about the dangers of unregulated artificial intelligence, but ChatGPT told me that AI is not inherently dangerous. So I’ll leave that subject for another day. Besides Monday was too good a day for pessimism…
After watching a grandchild and other nine-year-olds playing in a Little League baseball tournament, I was reminded about the positive and negative aspects of youth sports. Done right, they’re beneficial. Done wrong, they’re harmful.
On Facebook, Northeast BC resident RanD Hadland says he visited the Bennett Dam and gained an understanding of why the downstream Peace River is so low. Behind the dam is the Williston Reservoir. Despite ongoing drought conditions, British Columbia has allowed oil and gas companies to draw water for fracking from waterways in the northeast, including the Peace and Liard rivers.
Climate change denialism remains strong. It has been strongly linked to right-wing nationalism and to the anti-feminist far-right but it was built primarily with funds from oil companies. Denialists have accumulated wealth by serving fossil fuel interests.
Mr. Carney’s Speech clarifies Politics https://www.youtube.com/shorts/koRRSIUv_Kk?feature=share CUSMA? A trade deal authored by DJ Trump? Mr. Frum vs Mr. Trump https://www.youtube.com/shorts/aRNX5clKxwM?feature=share…
I have long held the belief that the US dollar holds its high place as a reserve currency is because…
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Reading between the lines of this speech, I can make out letters that spell Gripen.
in-sights.ca 
Is Reality finally having an adverse impact on The White House? https://www.rawstory.com/leavitt-miller-pretti/ "White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to defend…