Category Archives: Canadian Politics

Another look at the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project from the lens of a pragmatic environmentalist

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Blair

This week the Federal cabinet will decide whether to proceed with the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project (TMX). In response, opponents of the TMX have been out in force making ridiculous claims about the project. This has caused me to … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Pipelines, Trans Mountain | 7 Comments

On the Energy Innumeracy of the supporters of Canada’s Green New Deal

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Blair

In the last week a group of Canadian activists have decided to mimic their American cousins by trying to advance a Canadian pact for a Green New Deal (GND Can hereafter). This is not the American Green New Deal you … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Leap Manifesto, Uncategorized | 18 Comments

How the CCPA completely misses the target on the root cause of our elevated gasoline prices in the Lower Mainland

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Blair

This morning while getting ready for work, I heard Marc Lee from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on the radio with Stephen Quinn talking about the price of gas in the BC Lower Mainland. I understand he also spoke … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Pipelines, Trans Mountain | 22 Comments

On the Achilles Heel of these Climate Damages Lawsuits: Municipal Zoning Bylaws

Posted on March 8, 2019 by Blair

By now everyone has heard about West Coast Environmental Law’s (WCEL’s) Climate Accountability Letters campaign. This is the campaign where a group of enterprising lawyers are: asking your municipality (or regional district) to send “Climate Accountability Letters” to 20 of … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Debunking more activist talking points about BC LNG: on “illegal dams”, electrification, and LNG as a bridge fuel

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Blair

The thing I really don’t understand about the activist class in BC is their intellectual incoherence. They argue that climate change is an existential threat to our planet; but that we should only fight climate change using a small suite … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Environmentalism and Ecomodernism, Site C, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

On the “shocking” revelations in the BC Hydro IPP review and the reality that the fight against climate change is not going to be cheap

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Blair

This week A Review of BC Hydro’s Purchase of Power from Independent Power Producers came out and to no one’s surprise it revealed that BC Hydro is paying too much for all that intermittent, low-carbon power purchased under the 2007 … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Fossil Fuel Free Future, Renewable Energy | 10 Comments

Questioning the PBO’s math on the value of the Trans Mountain Pipeline

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Blair

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), Yves Giroux, produced a report this week on the estimated value of the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMP) and the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project (TMEP). This report has a lot of people up in arms … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Pipelines, Trans Mountain, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

New research puts a stake into the heart of the “Bridge to Nowhere” argument against BC LNG

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Blair

As someone who has followed the BC LNG debate pretty closely, I can’t count the number of times I have heard the expression “natural gas is a bridge to nowhere“. This expression derives from an infamous article by Cornell Biologist … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Why a Pragmatic Environmentalist supports BC LNG – doing the climate math

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Blair

As a pragmatic environmentalist , I am often asked how I could support the BC LNG export industry? I prepared a Twitter thread on the topic but have since been asked to show my work. This blog post builds on … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Climate Change, Climate Change Politics, Uncategorized | 16 Comments

Follow-up on: Academics getting it wrong on Environmental Assessments – a case study

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Blair

My previous post Academics getting it wrong about the role of private sector consultants in BC’s Environmental Assessment processes was started in November and sat in my “drafts” folder for over a month. The reason I finished it during my break … Continue reading →

Posted in Canadian Politics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment