Tag Archives: Gov of BC

Politics

BC Conservatives pitch a carbon tax on US coal as a trade-war measure

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

British Columbia Opposition Leader John Rustad floated the idea on Monday of imposing a carbon tax on American thermal coal exported through B.C. ports, in response to the U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. While some climate activists fighting coal exports say this would lead to positive results by increasing the price of a dirty fuel, they argue the most effective action would be to ban exports altogether to tackle the climate crisis. 

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Cost of Climate Change, Politics

Middle ground is collapsing on climate action, Canada concedes in submission to UN

By John Woodside, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Polarization is gripping the country and the centre isn’t holding, Environment and  Climate Change Canada found when setting the country’s latest emissions  reduction target. 

The department solicited  feedback from provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous  groups, think tanks and the public to determine what Canada’s  internationally binding 2035 pollution reduction obligations should be.  It was a monumental effort with over 11,000 participants, more than  23,000 comments, and just over 100 official submissions. The results  found that overcoming polarization is a major hurdle to implementing  aggressive emissions reductions that climate scientists say is required to avoid catastrophic warming. 

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Politics

Tariffs a wake-up call for how much of our natural resources are tapped by the US

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Canadian public is souring on the U.S. as Trump wields trade threats as an “economic force” to drive home his message that Canada should become the 51st state. 

The prospect has sparked a Buy Canadian movement, and a national Leger poll conducted last weekend suggests 80 per cent of Canadians are opposed to U.S. companies taking greater ownership of natural resource projects in Canada. 

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Housing

Coming Feb 17&18: Free Ecotrust Canada Workshops On Energy Retrofits

The energy team of Ecotrust Canada will be visiting Quadra and Cortes Islands next week. They are part of a registered charity which works primarily in rural and remote areas and helps guide people through the process of doing energy retrofits, installing heat pumps, new windows and solar panels.  They will be giving free workshops at 2:00 and 6:30 in the Quadra Community Centre on Monday, February 17 and at the same times in Mansons Hall on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.   

 “The upcoming workshops are to introduce residents to our Home Energy Savings Program. We’re offering a one on one support service, often called a concierge service. So once you register for our program, you’ll get an email from me asking very  basic information about your home, like the age of your home, the heating system you have etc. After that, you will receive a phone call from me and we’ll go through more questions about your home. You explain what your desires are, what challenges you’re experiencing around your energy bill, and then I can help guide you toward the right rebates and the right renovations, or retrofits, so that you can achieve that goal,” explained Michael Anthony Lutfy, the program manager for our area. 

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Energy, Indigenous Nations, Industry

Trump tariff threat a Trojan horse for B.C.’s fossil fuels

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Trump’s tariff threat provides convenient cover to accelerate the expansion of fossil fuels and raises alarm bells about First Nations rights tied to mining, say critics.

The B.C. government announced it is fast-tracking an “initial” mix of 18 energy, mining and fossil fuel projects, valued at $20 billion, that have business cases still needing government permits or approval.

It’s a bid to diversify trade markets so B.C. is never again exposed “to the whims of one person in the White House,” Premier David Eby said this week.

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