Category Archives: Technology

Transportation

West Coast bus service connecting Tofino and Ucluelet set to expand in January

By Nora O’Malley, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

West Coast, BC – The public bus service connecting Tofino and Ucluelet is expanding in the new year.

Starting Jan. 4, 2026, West Coast Transit riders will benefit from more frequent midday trips and a late-night service will also be reintroduced, with buses departing Ucluelet at 9:20 p.m. and Tofino at 10:25 p.m. 

Operated by BC Transit and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD), the West Coast Transit System has stops in Tofino, Ucluelet, Long Beach, the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community of hitaću, and the Tla-o-qui-aht communities of Esowista and Ty-histanis.

Continue reading West Coast bus service connecting Tofino and Ucluelet set to expand in January →
Cost of Climate Change, Energy, Politics

Conservative Pipeline Motion defeated

On Tuesday, December 9, Tim Uppal, the Conservative MP for Edmonton Gateway (AB), moved that the House of Commons “support the construction of one or more pipelines enabling the export of at least one million barrels a day of low-emission Alberta bitumen from a strategic deep-water port on the British Columbia coast to reach Asian markets, including through an appropriate adjustment to the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, while respecting the duty to consult Indigenous peoples.” The wording, he pointed out, was taken directly from the Prime Minister’s MOU with Alberta. After a heated debate, his motion was defeated 139 to 196.

Continue reading Conservative Pipeline Motion defeated →
Cost of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Politics

Liberal Environmental Policies for Dummies

1 Comment

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Justin Trudeau’s environmental policy is often either purchasing the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) or expanding Canada’s LNG sector. Yet Jennifer Lash, a former senior advisor with Environment and Climate Change Canada, speaks of his accomplishments in the fight against climate change. In this morning’s interview, she explains the rationale behind Liberal environmental policies. As it is actually quite simple once you get the underlying theme, Cortes Currents is calling it ‘Liberal Environmental Policies for Dummies.’

Continue reading Liberal Environmental Policies for Dummies →
Transportation

Ottawa’s weak EV targets could stall BC’s transition

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter 

BC is squandering its electric vehicle advantage by rolling back ambitious targets to match Ottawa’s slower pace, experts warn.

It’s “counterintuitive” for BC — which still commands a zero-emission electric vehicle (ZEV) market share of nearly 20 per cent even during a sluggish sales year — to yoke itself to national targets that accommodate slower markets like Saskatchewan, said Richard Ivity, board chair of the national Electric Vehicle Society.

Continue reading Ottawa’s weak EV targets could stall BC’s transition →
Energy

Will nuclear power plants help meet a potential explosion in Alberta’s electrical demand?

Editor’s note: The two questions that come to mind reading this are (1) is nuclear power safe, especially when the infrastructure starts to age? And (2) will most of the subsequent inspections and reporting be left to what industry chooses to disclose?

By George Lee, The Macleod Gazette, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Nuclear reactors in your backyard — or down the road beside a humming new AI data centre — hold promise for rural Alberta, the legislature heard in advance of a Wednesday webinar on the subject.

The long-proven but advancing technology of unlocking the energy within atoms offers a safe and reliable option for Alberta’s power needs, a UCP member said last week.

“This is about building energy security, advancing innovation and life-saving treatments, and bolstering the industrial development that has made Alberta tick for the last seven decades,” said Chantelle de Jonge, MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore. “If we want to keep Alberta strong, growing and competitive, we must seriously consider the opportunity that nuclear energy presents to us today.”

Continue reading Will nuclear power plants help meet a potential explosion in Alberta’s electrical demand? →