News & Reports
Articles
Notes from Flight 163, the oil sands shuttle from Toronto to Edmonton
"On a recent Monday morning, I found myself on Air Canada Flight 163 from Toronto Pearson to Edmonton," writes Stewart Muir. "As the plane loaded, I began to sense there was something not so regular about the passengers boarding the Airbus 320 for a regularly scheduled flight."
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Resource sector finds ways to carry on despite COVID-19 crisis
But government support needed to weather the storm. Don Hauka filed this report assessing the status of natural resource projects underway in British Columbia.
Read moreOur LNG? Yes, there is a market.
It was sad to see Andrew Weaver citing health reasons as he stepped down as leader of the BC Green Party, and announced he would not seek re-election as MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head. We had to respect his tenacity in the legislature as a champion of fighting climate change, and for seeking to keep governmental feet to the fire on the issue. But we still shake our heads over some of his pronouncements on LNG in BC.
Read moreNational energy policy? Where?
It should be no surprise to learn that Teck’s decision to back-burner its $20-billion Frontier oilsands mine was preceded by secret thumbs-down signals from some federal cabinet ministers.
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Health authority monitoring on-leave employee heading up taxpayer-funded protest camp
A British Columbia civil servant has a surprising second job – she is a director at the Unist'ot'en camp originally created to block any pipeline that might be planned for a North West corridor. Her government employer is monitoring the situation, just weeks after $400,000 in public funding was announced for the camp. Veteran journalist Stewart Muir assembled a number of facts about the situation.
Read moreConsultation, accommodation, no veto
We will ignore, for the moment, the Twitter photo of BC First Nations activists with raised middle fingers, and the adolescent message: “F*** your white supremest #TransMountain pipelines!” We will note, though, this from Tsleil-Waututh Nation member Will George: “if it has to get ugly, it will get ugly.”
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Another century, another pipeline
In 1956, the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent was tasked with defending the decision to establish a Crown Corporation in order to build the Trans-Canada Pipeline. Sound familiar?
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Who’s “right” on the CGL pipeline?
Thoughtful and intelligent views do exist on the natural gas project across British Columbia's north. Many others are stunningly simplistic, and are often emotional, and/or romanticized. Others are outright racist.
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Resource Labour Market Information Report 2020
Report will identify job growth in forestry, mining and mineral exploration, oil and gas extraction including liquefied natural gas, paper manufacturing, primary metal products, resource-based construction, utilities and wood product manufacturing in British Columbia.
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Start 2020 right with January 14 must-attend conference
Historic changes to British Columbia’s legal system are now in place that will affect how business is done in the province. And, soon, across Canada. It's a step forward for Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. Don't be left out: attend this event January 14 to know what's in store for 2020.
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New Frontier for the oilsands
There’s a constant lack of long-term thinking, and business basics, on the part of so many vocal opponents of major resource projects.
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Declaration of rights opens the door to billions in First Nations partnerships
The benefits to First Nations that participate more fully in the B.C. economy will be measured in billions of dollars. A win-win result will create society-wide benefits. A full-day gathering in Vancouver on January 14, 2020 will look at how a new legal landscape will affect this trend.
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FORESTRY CRISIS: Messages for community leaders
From the Interior to the Island to Metro Vancouver and its suburbs, British Columbia forest workers are facing the biggest threat in decades.
Read moreSeeking a way to compete: British Columbia forestry at a crossroads
Longtime forestry journalist Gordon Hamilton went in search of solutions to the crisis in the woods.
Read moreExamining the Evidence
Do climate lawsuits serve the interests of municipalities and local residents?
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Mining and the green economy
Radical improvements needed for metal mining to impact climate change as much as it needs to in coming decades.
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The City of Richmond's contorted relationship with fossil fuels
After voting to sue fuel companies for their role in climate change, local officials signed off on a jet-fuel pipeline project that will create decades of emissions. Awkward? Stewart Muir looks at the issue.
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How things were made right after the Mount Polley spill
Dr. 'Lyn Anglin, founding president and CEO of Geoscience BC, takes a look at what happened at the British Columbia copper and gold mine after its 2014 tailings accident.
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Another shipload of Canadian heavy oil sails for China
Despite some myths, crude oil from the Alberta oil sands has a ready market across the Pacific, writes Stewart Muir.
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Why I work in oil and gas – a personal narrative
Deidra Garyk is a Canadian energy advocate based in Calgary.
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The shame "is on us" if we don't grasp opportunity
Agri-foods visionary Murad Al-Katib – Saskatchewan's lentil king – shared advice on pursuing resource options with Stewart Muir of Resource Works.
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Saskatchewan's resource reliance facing "unnecessary uncertainty"
Bronwyn Eyre, the province's minister of energy and resources, expressed frustration about constraints facing forestry, mining and energy opportunities.
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Regional Canadian, U.S. policy leaders gather to scope out economic future
Resource Works is among sixty non-governmental organizations attending the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) 2019 summit, being held in Saskatoon July 21-25.
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The 1990s image of high cost, high emissions Canadian fossil fuels is now completely out of date
TRANSCRIPT: Canadian oil & gas should be on the global market, because greenhouse gas emissions will go down when Canadian products replace competing fuels from any other source in the world. Steve Laut of Canadian Natural Resources explained this trend.
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Swapping dirty cooking fuels for natural gas & LNG shows life-saving results
If all of India's households transitioned to clean fuels, 13% of premature mortality could be averted from the reduction in ambient pollution, says a recent study.
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How Resource Works became a Top 50 energy influencer in just five years
A consortium of Canadian universities including UVic and the University of Alberta, backed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, ranked our not-for-profit as one of the country's 50 most serious voices to be reckoned with in 2019.
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REPORT: Measuring the impact of natural resources on PNWER economies
Statistical data and information is essential for making informed decisions about natural resources. Here's our take on how some provinces, territories, and states in the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region are treating the issue - and how they can improve.
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How the Trans Mountain expansion will make Vancouver more affordable
The fact that British Columbia residents pay more in road fuel tax than just about anywhere in North America is a deliberate policy to reduce consumption and GHG emissions.
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Vancouver’s council should examine other Canadian cities before committing to climate lawsuits
Last week, Vancouver City Council voted in favour of a motion to set the city on a path to pursue a lawsuit against major energy producers in an attempt to hold them liable for climate-change related damages. Stewart Muir analyses the situation and offers a way forward
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Universities fund $4.5 million fishing expedition to expose "conflicts of interest and malfeasance", but come up dry
The University of Victoria found $730,000 to be part of a $4.5 million, publicly funded corporate smear campaign against energy professionals. The end product is an amateurish grab bag of inaccurate information, writes Stewart Muir
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LNG offers massive advantages for the evolving global energy mix
If you have to burn a fossil fuel for power or heat, natural gas should be the first choice. Energy specialist Ian King makes the case for liquefied natural gas from British Columbia.
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Summer reading for resource people
Some books to haul to the cabin, mountaintop or beach this summer
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Blackwater mine means decades of high-paying jobs
New gold and silver mine in central British Columbia will contribute to social and economic well-being locally and in the entire province through expenditures on labour, goods, and services.
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Getting over the rhetorical yelling on climate
Agriculture, air, fish, hydro, land, minerals, natural gas, oil, seafood, solar, water, wind, wood...there is no nation on earth blessed with a greater variety and abundance of natural resources than Canada.
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Why sustainably managed forests mean green jobs
Resource Works caught up with Jessica Kaknevicius (pictured), vice president of community engagement, Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Project Learning Tree Canada, to hear about innovation and new ideas in forestry.
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Trans Mountain: Reflections on a polarizing decision
Ignorance is what I kept encountering in my quest to understand the validity of the opposition against Trans Mountain, says writer Paula Arab.
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With a decision made on TMX, we can get back to building the country we want
After years of rhetoric and politics it is time to get the Trans Mountain project done. Stewart Muir, executive director of Resource Works, explains why.
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IPSOS POLL: Most British Columbians agree Trans Mountain pipeline expansion needs to get underway
After years of rhetoric and politics, it is time to get the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project done, writes Stewart Muir, Executive Director of Resource Works.
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North Vancouver residents hear from Resource Works
Resource Works head greets residents at public library, discusses pipeline issues alongside Sophie Harrison of the Dogwood Initiative
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Golden story for golden years: Canada Pension Plan’s heavy resource reliance
4.7 million CPP pensioners have investments in resource and resource-supporting business to thank.
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Anti-LNG campaign funding linked to ‘serial mine discoverer’
Strange anomalies highlight a donation campaign aimed at preventing adoption of the world's most sought-after clean energy alternative, reports Grant Warkentin.
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Resource champion Richard Neufeld: Thank you for your service
As British Columbia's Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources from 2001 to 2009, Senator Richard Neufeld was on the job as the province's north west oil & gas assets were being brought to maturity. As a senator for the past decade, he helped to gather and share knowledge on an extraordinary number of resource issues. Now he's retiring from the Senate.
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Waterfront spill response demonstration shows current state of preparation
Marine spill response experts gather in Vancouver for a conference on June 18 – the same day federal Cabinet is expected to issue its decision on the fate of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
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Helping a neighbour - it's the western way
Alberta's "energy war room" was launched in Calgary with a mission to educate Canadians about necessary facts. Stewart Muir explains why he was happy to take the stage in support of this venture.
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Time for a pro-Canadian approach to solve the impact assessment crisis
To quote Rex Murphy, employment is not just a damn paycheque. It is the spine of most people's existence. As politicians seek to legislate future jobs out of existence, Stewart Muir looks at how resource-sterilization lobbyists brought this about.
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Some pertinent information for the nation to contemplate
Let's pause, as Canadians, for a moment and contemplate Hansard from the Legislature of Alberta on the morning of May 23rd, 2019. Stewart Muir looks at the situation.
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Activist-backed male chiefs’ attempt to ‘unperson’ female leaders ends up in court
Female hereditary chiefs who are fighting for the future of their people share their stories in harrowing court documents. Journalist Grant Warkentin looks at the situation for Resource Works.
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Tracking progress: B.C.'s low carbon industry initiative
Companies across the economy are leveraging technology, innovation, best practices and low-carbon energy resources to reduce their carbon footprint and provide low-carbon solutions to international customers in a carbon-constrained world.
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No matter how you measure it, Canadian energy is headed upward
Production is up, consumption is up, and we are both importing and exporting more energy than before. Stewart Muir looks at the latest numbers.
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