Category Archives: Technology

BC at a Crossroads: Indigenous Leaders Defend Declaration Act Amid Mining Shift

By John Wirth, Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – Indigenous leaders in British Columbia are calling on the provincial government to stand firm on the Declaration Act following a landmark court ruling and a 45% drop in new mining claims. As the province transitions to a new mineral tenure system in 2026, a debate is erupting over whether Indigenous rights are inflaming economic uncertainty – or curing it.

The tension follows a major December 2025 Court of Appeal ruling in the Gitxaała case. The court confirmed that the Declaration Act is not just a symbolic collection of goals, but a law that applies to all provincial decision-making – including the controversial Mineral Tenure Act (MTA).

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Coastal First Nations say they are open to cooperation, not pipelines

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

Following a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Coastal First Nations leaders said they are still firm in their opposition to a new oil pipeline. 

“Our interest isn’t about money in this situation, it’s about [the] responsibility of looking after our territories and again nurturing the sustainable economies that we currently have here,” said Gaagwiis Jason Alsop, President of the Council of the Haida Nation and vice president of CFN, speaking at a press conference. 

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Klahoose Bus Receives Jo Ann Green Award

Every year, the Friend of Cortes Island (FOCI) presents the Jo Ann Green Award to a Cortes Islander who made significant contributions to the environmental well being of the community. 

There are pictures of Green at some of the island’s early social gatherings in the Cortes Island Museum Archives. She was one of the actors in the 1981 Cortes Cinema Production: Where Does the Lone Ranger Take His Garbage? Jo Ann Green was also a founder and the first President of FOCI, a member of the Cortes Oyster Co-op and an active homemaker is support of home services on the island. The award certificate states she ‘represents the spirit of Cortes Island’s resilience and its residents’ recognition of the vital importance of the natural environment.’

The 2025 Jo Ann Green Award recipient was the Klahoose Bus. 

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Wind energy project empowers We Wai Kum First Nation

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Wei Wai Kum First Nation is charting a new course as the majority owner of one Vancouver Island’s largest new power sources following decades of exclusion from energy projects in their own territory. 

The Yə̓yus Energy, formerly known as the Brewster Wind Project, is a $600-million, 197-megawatt wind farm with 30 turbines that will be located northwest of Campbell River. Wei Wai Kum owns 51 per cent of the wind project while Capstone, a Toronto-based renewable energy firm, owns the remainder. 

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The Big Oil Playbook: recent Environmental Defence publication

That charitable organisation Environmental Defence has recently published a 23 page report called Big Oil Playbook : Fossil Fuel Industry Exposed. The report is playfully illustrated, but quite serious in concept; its purpose is clearly laid out on the first page:

The goal of this report is to paint a clear picture of how oil and gas companies operate, how they generate support for the industry and leverage it against effective climate solutions. Some of their tactics, like greenwashing and lobbying, have been well-publicized. Yet others have been largely hidden from the public, like funding astroturf groups, supporting anti-renewable energy campaigns, and infiltrating educational institutions.

The report documents ten established tactics used by the fossil industry in its battle against climate activism and decarbonisation policy.  Currents interviewed one of its lead authors, Emilia Belliveau from Environmental Defence Canada, about this project.  The broadcast version of this story is in two episodes. In the first part, Emilia explains the ten standard tactics. In the second part we dig a bit deeper into the details: how these tactics work, and their effects on communities and political life.

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