Most B.C. and Alberta First Nations favour oil and natural gas development. So why do we let activists claim otherwise?
By Gregory John and Mark Milke Canadian Energy Centre A common tactic of anti-oil-and-gas activists and some international organizations over the past decade is to group all Indigenous people under the false narrative of broad opposition to energy development. Those with anti-development agendas ostensibly enlist Indigenous allies as the easiest way to delay or stop…
How to mitigate job loss, fear and uncertainty for workers as British Columbia navigates its post-pandemic recovery
COVID-19 represents the largest labour market disruption in British Columbia’s history. Uncertainty and fear among businesses, workers and customers about the pandemic affect how we grasp the new normal and move beyond the crisis. They will only resume their lives and work when they feel safe, and see very low-risk pathways back to commerce and…
Oil sands extraction declined largely because of shutdowns and maintenance of some production facilities. Crude oil extraction also falls
The natural resources sector in Canada continues to be challenged. A new report released Friday by Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product (GDP) of the natural resources sector fell 2.2 per cent in the third quarter, following a 2.8 per cent rise in the second quarter. The federal agency said the decline was largely…
TC Energy Corporation – the former TransCanada – has sold off a nearly two-thirds share of a controversial pipeline that will carry natural gas from northeast British Columbia to a contentious LNG export terminal in Kitimat TC Energy announced it will sell 65 per cent of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project to private equity firm…
The days are increasingly short and grey, but nature is on full display everywhere we look
I’m looking out of our living room window on a predominantly grey sea and landscape. The eye first trips over some close-in treetops before it encompasses five km of Jervis Inlet, leading to Scotch Fir Point in the mid-distance. The bulk of Texada Island beckons in the further background, hiding whatever it wishes behind its…
Capital, companies, equipment and crews are leaving Canada for better opportunities, with the U.S. an easy choice: PSAC
The Petroleum Services Association of Canada has decreased its forecast for the number of wells expected to be drilled across Canada for this year. In its third update to its 2019 Canadian Drilling Activity Forecast, PSAC revised its number from 5,300 (May 2019 revision) to 5,100 wells drilled. PSAC now projects 2,425 wells to be…
To listen to the teacher unions and their supporters, the sky is about to fall if class sizes for secondary schools get bigger. The evidence shows they're dead wrong
Class war may soon break out in Canada. More than half of Canadian high school students are in Ontario or British Columbia. Teacher negotiations continue in both provinces with secondary school class sizes a central issue that could trigger strike action. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation wants to retain or lower high school class size limits…
Blackberries, figs, grey and humpback whales, and spawning salmon all herald the arrival of autumn
[smartslider3 slider=67] As August turns the corner to September, some notable and familiar signs of change occur at Skelhp, which is known as “The place where the ancients dropped down from the heavens and taught us how to make canoe paddles out of yew wood.” The blackberries that have been thriving over the past three…
Transmission Difficulties: The Dignitaries once had a place of pride behind my father's desk. My mother eventually sold it. Now we know why
For her 97th birthday, I offered to take my mother to Whistler for the day, especially to see the new Audain Art Museum. She was ecstatic at the prospect, and especially eager to see the in-house collection of works by Emily Carr and E.J. Hughes – her two favourite B.C. realist painters. Mom was a…
Discovering Virginia Falls, a remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site – and learning a little German
[smartslider3 slider=65] ON THE ALASKA HIGHWAY – In German, weichei means soft egg. It defines a person’s character. In Canada, we call them wimps. Charly Kudlacek is from Frankfurt in the German state of Hesse and, as eggs go, is hard-boiled. We met Charly and his wife Marion in a remote campground at Summit Lake…
And 2019 shows signs of being an even better tourism year for the province, according to an ATB report
Alberta offers international tourists numerous places to visit. And international visitors seem to love coming to this province. Last year, international visitors (including business travellers) spent almost $2.2 billion in the province. And spending in the first three months of 2019 was 26 per cent higher than during the same period last year, says a…
Go early, be prepared for any eventuality, plan well, concentrate on strong paddle strokes and keep your destination dead off your bow
[smartslider3 slider=59] It’s the classic ocean kayaker’s dilemma: should I wait or go now? You’re all loaded up. It’s probably early in the morning and you don’t want to delay others as your trip unfolds before you. Some or all of your trip-mates may have taken kayak water rescue courses and have at least some…
Climbing Fisher requires no mountaineering equipment, no technical skills. But the steady steepness makes for a long, hard day
[smartslider3 slider=57] Once in a blue moon something improbable occurs. A goal beyond expectations and beyond the capacity of aging knees is accomplished. The view of Fisher Peak from our Kimberley, B.C., condo is mesmerizing. For years I’ve gazed across the Rocky Mountain Trench at that daunting, taunting pinnacle. Fisher dominates the skyline in this…
For an issue that’s been so polarizing, the arguments against the pipeline expansion are surprisingly flawed
Nothing has been as divisive to national unity as the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in the 25 years since the Quebec independence referendum. But unlike separation, this project – approved again last week by the federal government – is good for the country and will benefit all Canadians. Moving to Vancouver two years ago from…
Recent sawmill closures have exposed a raft of problems in the industry and government failure to ensure long-term productivity
Recent sawmill closures in British Columbia have brought to light the need for renewed focus on the mismanagement of B.C. forests over the past decades and what to do about it. That mismanagement is having a significant effect on the B.C. and Canadian economies. If you live in the B.C. interior, where more than 820…
By Gregory John and Mark Milke Canadian Energy Centre A common tactic of anti-oil-and-gas activists and some international organizations over the past decade is to group all Indigenous people under the false narrative of broad opposition to energy development. Those with anti-development agendas ostensibly enlist Indigenous allies as the easiest way to delay or stop…
