British Columbia

Christy Clark loves to do photo-ops wearing a hard hat. That was basically her uniform on the campaign trail last year. It was meant to symbolize her commitment to jobs, as she touted the “trillion dollar” bonanza that B.C. would reap from expanding Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports. If only Premier Clark were as committed to and respectful of actual workers in this province as she is to imaginary future workers in this one sector of the economy.

Last week's China-Russia gas deal deflated British Columbia's much over-hyped LNG dreams and delivered a political earthquake for Premier Christy Clark. Even the timing was awkward. Just as global energy markets shifted, Clark promised more prosperity from shale gas at an LNG industry conference in Vancouver.

Teachers in British Columbia will be on the picket lines beginning next Monday May 26 after 16 months of failed contract talks. The strike is province-wide and rotating – teachers will strike one day per week in each school district. (see dates for each district here). The government has also notified teachers Wednesday May 21 that they will be “locked out” effective May 26 for only certain activities.

In the keynote address kicking off her government’s second major conference on liquefied natural gas (LNG), BC Premier Christy Clark billed the resource as nothing short of “the cleanest fossil fuel on the planet.” Clark touted LNG as a “generational opportunity” for the province’s economy, before a sold-out crowd at the Vancouver Convention Centre yesterday.

The B.C. government has been careful to consult aboriginal communities about the development of the liquefied natural gas industry, but one group says there has been scant attention paid to First Nations when it comes to drilling activities that could damage the environment. The Treaty 8 First Nations in northeastern British Columbia have blasted the provincial government, saying it is giving short shrift to their concerns related to natural gas drilling and processing. Eight aboriginal leaders signed the letter of complaint, and representatives delivered the letter to B.C.

On this the first day of BC’s much ballyhooed International LNG conference, it is worth noting, comparing and contrasting BC’s LNG “model” and that of competing Nations around the world in the natural gas industry.

While Canada slashes budgets for research, education and public broadcasting, there is one part of our economy that enjoys remarkable support from the Canadian taxpayer: the energy sector.

Vancouver Rabbi David Mivasair cites an ancient midrash, or biblical commentary, to explain why he opposes thermal coal exports through B.C.'s Texada Island in a new letter. Roughly two thousand years ago, the author of Ecclesiastes Rabba imagined God's words to Adam after placing him in the Garden of Eden. "Behold my creation how lovely and wonderful it is," reads the Jewish text. "Make sure that you do not spoil or destroy my world, for if you damage it there is no one to repair it after you."

For Immediate Release