Explainer: The clean energy bill that divided BC’s NDP and Greens: 11 things you need to know
Proposed legislation would end B.C.’s mandate to be electricity 'self-sufficient,' and the Greens say that’s bad news for small-scale renewable energy producers, including First Nations By ZoëYunker, for The Narwhal The BC NDP came to power promising to launch major jobs initiatives in clean...
Scientists' Warning on Affluence
[Editor’s Note: This is a very long article which supplies answers that such activists as young Greta Thunberg have been criticized for not providing – even though she has repeatedly said, “Listen to the scientists!” – and she has also provided many of the answers suggested here....
Column: Advantages of a four-day workweek
When we started the David Suzuki Foundation in 1990, we implemented a four-day, 34-hour workweek. Staff consistently say it’s made their lives better, giving them time to rest, pursue other interests, explore nature, volunteer, enjoy the company of family and friends, and so much more. Life isn’t about...
Editorial: A conversation with RCMP Sergeant Mike Wicentowich
Recent ongoing media revelations of abusive, discriminatory and deadly police practices across Canada, coupled with reports of numerous racist killings and hyper-militarized police actions from south of the border, have led some to demand “defund the police!” Others have begun using the acronym “acab” – meaning, “all cops...
Column: From the Hill -- a summer tour
I recently spent a week touring through the South Okanagan-West Kootenay, meeting elected officials and constituents as well as enjoying the lakes, rivers and mountains that make this such a wonderful place to live. Now that COVID restrictions have been lifted somewhat, I was able to chat with people over coffee at picnic ...
Op/Ed: How to protect yourself from media manipulation
By Holly Clermont, from The Conversation When my kids were little, we would play a game during the TV commercials. What was the main message, I would ask. To whom was it targeted? Did you find it convincing? Why or why not? I hoped this would encourage critical thinking, build some awareness of unscrupulous messaging and wrest...
Investigation: BC rarely inspects hazardous waste handlers despite companies frequently breaking rules
By Ben Parfitt, in The Narwhal Provincial investigators found companies weren’t fully compliant with regulations 70 per cent of the time in the five years since a digital database of shipments was replaced with paper files shoved in cardboard boxes. B.C. rarely inspects hazardous waste handlers even though the province knows...
Opinion: Want to farm? Need Land? Check out this resource.
Some people have land that can grow crops, but they don’t want to farm; others want to farm and can’t find land. The solution – a program that matches people who want to farm with those who have land available to lease, and want it to stay in production or start producing crops. It's called the BC Land Matching Program (BCLMP)....
Column: Language, shaping and reflecting our relationship with nature
As natural environments and geographies shape language, so too does language shape the way we see nature and, subsequently, the impacts we have on the lands and waters that surround us. Western culture and the English language primarily view nature as something owned by humans that can be exploited. That’s why Canadian...
Blog: Solidarity after the Pandemic: Basic Income or Basic Services?
By Edward Xie and Danyaal Raza, from the Broadbent Institute Blog page People are struggling. As front-line workers in emergency rooms, isolation shelters and clinics, we see how the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated health and livelihoods. We’ve witnessed the toll that the last several months has taken on workers, families,...