Thoughts on BC Politics and More

New construction won’t be allowed to have natural gas as a primary heat source as of July 1, 2024 — six years before the provincial target   Newly built homes in Nanaimo won’t be allowed to have natural gas as a primary heat source as of July 1, 2024.   Following the lead of other B.C. municipalities, such as Saanich and Victoria, Nanaimo council this week approved speedy implementation of the province’s zero-carbon step code, a B.C. Building Code update to limit greenhouse gas emissions from new construction ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  Saskatchewan’s electricity regulator says achieving the Liberal government’s 2035 target year to decarbonize the province’s electricity grid is impossible .    According to an interview with the outlet Pipeline Online, SaskPower spokesperson Scott McGregor said that the Clean Electricity Regulations unveiled by Liberal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault last week were unfeasible in every aspect.    “SaskPower is working as fast as it can to decarbonize the power grid while also providing reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective power,” McGregor told the outlet.     “We’re committed to achieving a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions power system and we’re on track to do so by 2050 or earlier. We’re also on track to reduce GHG emissions by 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. However, reaching net zero by 2035 isn’t feasible technically, logistically, or financially" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  As I continue to offer comment on the whole Net Zero by 2050 discussion, I am starting with a series of pieces to lay some groundwork. My recent blog, Net Zero Part One: Defining the Term , explained the challenges with the language used by the “Net Zero” lobby.   Today’s blog digs a bit further on the problematic language behind the Net Zero by 2050 agenda.   The advocates of Net Zero by 2050 talk in very rosy terms about how they want to eliminate the bad practices. In particular, they say their plan is to de-carbonize society and thereby eliminate carbon dioxide pollution. Trudeau’s carbon taxes are all about achieving these ends. You have to pay more, but that’s necessary because Trudeau says we need to de-carbonize and eliminate carbon dioxide pollution. But stop and think about that.    Trudeau and his ideological allies are twisting language here to advance their agenda. This is part of a trend of course – remember the Liberals don’t use...

In this post I am republishing a commentary originally published on the brand new BC Green Caucus website . Going forward you will be able to find all the legislative work of the BC Green Caucus, including videos of our work in Question Period and on Bills to media releases, statements and commentaries. In the future, commentaries such as the one below, will be used to provide greater clarity, insight and detail that cannot be captured in a media release or statement. Over the coming weeks and months our legislative communications team will be populating the website with our work from prior to the its launch. Finally, we also have a new BC Green Caucus Twitter account . I hope you will follow us to track our work in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic we have continued to work with the provincial government. We are providing them feedback and input on our values and priorities to inform their initiatives on the economic recovery resulting f...