By Zak Vescera, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Susan MacRae wants to talk about what happened to her, but she can’t.
As a young girl, MacRae signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that prohibits her from discussing sexual abuse she suffered, even with family members or therapists.
Continue reading Greens Take Lead to Stop NDAs from Silencing Victims
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
B.C.’s budget viewed through a climate lens got mixed reviews from the province’s environmental and conservation sector following its release Tuesday.
The province got kudos for bolstering funding for parks and trails for active transportation initiatives to get people out of their cars and on bikes and walking paths. But the budget was panned by those hoping to see a wholesale commitment to the protection of old-growth or urgent, large-scale reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading B.C. budget a mixed bag on climate
By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
On a dreary gray day in late October, passers by gawked at a scene outside a hotel in Smithers, B.C. The charred remnants of several trucks sat in the parking lot in the wake of what police described as a “targeted attack” in the pre-dawn hours of the morning.
Among the blackened wreckage were four police cruisers — marked and unmarked vehicles with the RCMP’s Community-Industry Response Group, a special task force assigned to police opposition to industrial projects. The controversial RCMP unit maintains a constant presence on Wet’suwet’en yintah (territory) where Coastal GasLink (CGL) is building a pipeline without the consent of the nation’s Hereditary Chiefs.
Continue reading ‘We should avoid monitoring’: feds quietly backed off while Coastal GasLink pipeline work killed fishBy Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
For more than a decade, successive B.C. governments have thrown their hats behind an industry hellbent on getting gas out of the ground and across the Pacific to Asian markets.
LNG Canada, a liquefaction and export facility under construction in Kitimat, is poised to be the first project to do so. As the facility inches closer towards a goal of firing up operations in 2025, its partner companies are eyeing investment for an approved expansion, which would double the amount of gas processed at the plant.
Continue reading LNG Canada eyes electrification as planned expansion would send B.C. emissions skyrocketing
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Concerns over questionable RCMP tactics raised by an officer involved in the crackdown at the Fairy Creek old-growth blockades in the summer of 2021 are not surprising, says a lawyer representing dozens of activists.
There’s been no shortage of legal proceedings or social media videos focused on the treatment of protesters, said lawyer Karen Mirsky, who is the president of the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).
But it is remarkable an officer was willing to risk voicing concerns about police behaviour to superiors, Mirsky said.
Continue reading Fairy Creek RCMP whistleblower’s concerns reflect a pattern of questionable enforcement at industry protests
