The Union of BC Municipalities 2024 Convention is in Vancouver this week. Local government and First Nations leaders from across the province are participating. One of the delegates is Mark Vonesch, the Regional Director for Cortes Island, who spoke to Cortes Currents via ZOOM as he was heading out on the ferry last Friday.
Continue reading Mark Vonesch going to the Union of BC Municipalities ConventionThe Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) has a new President, is getting prepared to launch out in new directions and is also trying to raise $30,000 by the end of the month. The first two of those announcements may be interrelated, the third definitely is not. It is a result of two large contracts coming to an end, more on that later. First, Mike Moore has been one of FOCI’s members for decades and is now taking on a more active leadership role.
Continue reading FOCI: Continuity & Change
By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Last week, explosive claims made behind closed doors by a fossil fuel industry executive were made public. The claims — about how oil and gas giant TC Energy conducts its business — were made during an insider call at the company, which builds and operates crude oil and natural gas pipelines across North America.
The 42-minute spiel from Liam Iliffe, then a TC Energy executive, was part of a March “lunch and learn” session for 150 external relations employees across the continent. While the company said some of his claims were inaccurate and didn’t reflect how it operates, the leaked recordings have since made international headlines, sparked a probe from the B.C. government into his tactics and prompted harsh rebuke from politicians.
Continue reading Fossil fuel execs outlined a 7-part playbook to influence governments and media. Here’s what you need to knowBy Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma has asked a provincial watchdog to look into a series of bold claims about how an executive at a Canadian oil and gas giant — and former BC NDP political staffer — claimed the company had leveraged political connections to persuade the provincial government to significantly weaken its environmental policies.
“We’ve been given opportunities to write entire briefing notes for ministers and premiers and prime ministers,” a TC Energy executive was recorded saying in a leaked tape from March 2024, adding that sometimes “overworked and underpaid” public servants “just want the job done for them.”
Continue reading Leaked TC Energy recording prompts B.C. to probe claims of outsized lobbying influence on government
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson & Rochelle Baker, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh slammed the federal Conservatives on Wednesday for spreading falsehoods that left his party’s natural resources critic facing death threats and homophobic slurs.
Earlier this week, Canada’s National Observer reported that NDP MP Charlie Angus had been “inundated” by calls from people — mostly men — threatening and insulting him for tabling a bill to rein in misleading advertising by the fossil fuel industry. If successful, Bill C-372 would prohibit oil and gas companies from marketing their products as a solution to climate change.
Continue reading Greenwashing death threats ‘show you who the Conservatives are,’ NDP leader says
