News & Views

British Columbia is the planet’s leader in using the best technologies and standards to get our resources to the world while protecting the environment. Our recent symposium drew together recognized experts to look at how this balancing act will continue into 2017.

A living legend of western Canadian industry and public service steps aboard our community group as we tell the story of British Columbia's green resource brand.

They packed the room in C.K. Choi Building at UBC on a snowy Friday afternoon looking for insights into energy policy and climate change. And Resource Works Executive Director Stewart Muir delivered a fresh perspective on Canada's sometimes-puzzling public policy on pipelines.

"I am a mum and a grandma and I have lived in the north all my life. I am also the Mayor of Fort St. John, BC – right smack in the middle of one of the world’s largest supplies of oil and gas." 

The contribution of the B.C. resource sector is large enough to be the financial backbone of infrastructure projects like transit tunnels or of public-education improvements.

Community Conversations by Resource Works is designed to foster better, more inclusive discussions about important issues. 

"When trying to answer a big question without much information, it is tempting to assign great significance to the few facts that can be found. So it is with Donald Trump and the Republican Congress that will be sworn in next year." – The Economist, November 19, 2016.

That's the takeaway from this selection of charts from some of the country's leading economic minds.

Ottawa's expert panel on environmental processes hears about values-based principles developed by our made-on-the-west-coast initiative. 

Low demand for metallurgical coal led to shuttered coal mines and lost jobs. And then this happened...

We are so conditioned by fear that it takes only one situation or event to establish a long-term aversion to the prospect of it happening again.

It can be difficult to grasp just how important the resource sector is to the province's economy. But a research report produced by economist Philip Cross for Resource Works gives us a useful picture

But industry players and analysts caution the $6.8-billion project approved Nov. 29 still has a lot of hurdles to jump before it gets the final green light, reports Don Hauka for Resource Works.

As John Turner, P.Ag, takes the reins of the Resource Works Board of Directors, our little organization is at a critical juncture with important decisions ahead on supporting a vibrant society that needs responsible resources.

The province of Ontario also toyed with a ban on natural gas until seeing the $200-billion price tag. The City of Vancouver, meanwhile, is undeterred by impacts on consumers and the environment as it presses forward with its own ban. 

News from Ottawa that coal is going to be phased out for Canadian electricity raises the question – what will replace this energy source?

Calgary's mayor Naheed Nenshi visited Vancouver to share his views on a wide range of topics, the most relevant of which for Resource Works involved access to markets for essential resource products.

Jobs are the most direct and significant way that natural resources benefit society. Here are 10 standout facts about this powerful relationship.

Brody Rokstad interviews Koneline: Our Land Beautiful director Nettie Wild about the nuanced account she gives of the complexity surrounding resource projects in North West British Columbia.

Concerned that a small increase in Vancouver's sea-based trade might be "not worth the risk"? Vancouver's mayor can rest easy: over the past half century, the clearest trend in global air and sea transportation has been the near elimination of accidents. 

Residents of British Columbia's North West are looking for economic opportunities at a time when jobs are disappearing. Here are three authentic voices from the struggling region.

The Canadian oil sands are at a threshold moment, and British Columbia's vast reserves of clean electricity are seen by some to hold the key to that future. Here's a glimpse behind the headlines.

Canadian natural resources are 12.2% of the Canadian economy, resulting in deep impact in our daily lives – and here are some examples.

What do you call a high-tech resource society driven by green innovation? Read what Resource Works commentator Stewart Muir had to say in this Vancouver Sun article for B.C. Day.

An emerging viewpoint has it that restrictions on exporting logs are a "net loss" to the Canadian economy. Meantime, American critics are disputing the policy on different grounds...

A common thing heard from resource people is: have we lost the battle for public trust? Positive signs on a number of fronts point to some useful emerging models for developing the economy-environment story.

Carbon pricing is not a bad idea, but there are bad ways to implement it. Sending our energy jobs to other countries is not a good way.

Newspaper columnist Tom Fletcher muses on the intellectual gymnastics required to oppose a major clean energy project in British Columbia's North East.

Forty years ago, British Columbians lost a towering figure of resource wisdom with the passing of this author and educator. Could his example be helpful to those caught up in today's resource culture conflicts?

At change.org, an online petition platform favoured by groups seeking to build grassroots support, a search on the word “ban” comes up with 5,772 hits.

Many millennials are opposed to liquefied natural gas exports, but is this position informed and aligned to their principles? Writer Brody Rokstad observes that if there was just a little more FOMO ('fear of missing out'), the situation might be different.

A Vancouver Island First Nation takes issue with civic politicians attempting to limit aboriginal forest activity

Individual reflections on the $36 billion Pacific North West LNG project, which received its environmental seal of approval this week.

Canadians have until Sept. 30 to share their views on a planned crude oil tanker moratorium on British Columbia's north coast. What are the issues?

The central processing unit of a computer provides the basic logic and operations to run the machine. According to one eminent professor, it bears a striking similarity to the resource economy.

As federal cabinet prepares to decide the future of the Pacific Northwest LNG project, it’s vital the project be judged fairly using information that is both current and complete. 

National Forest Week is a reminder of Canada's long dependence on its forests. Keeping them healthy is the only path toward future sustainability.

A lifetime in government, industry and environmental protection causes prepared Resource Works leader to join major review process.

Carefully staged public displays of indignation have become an art form in the social-media age. When they are brought to a violent head, as in Montreal at oil pipeline hearings on Aug. 29, do they give up legitimacy? It all depends on whom you ask.

Natural resources not only account for one-fifth of the economy, they also produce the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of being seen as part of the problem, resource people must be (and be seen to be) the solution provider. 

Latest news is a reminder that national prosperity is intricately linked to the west coast.

After years of protests, lawsuits, and even a hunger strike, Canada's federal government approves British Columbia's largest clean-energy project in decades.

Writing in The Asian Post, Stewart Muir of Resource Works takes stock of our options for strong communities and a dynamic broad economy.

For technical experts, wading into public conversations can be frustrating. Here's one website devoted to improved understanding.

21 federal departments contributed to a remarkable mapping project that is now in soft-launch phase.

Researchers at North Carolina's Duke University recently lauded the B.C. carbon tax, observing that it has been "a politically difficult policy to implement, because support and opposition are concentrated in particular groups."

There have been some memorable headlines in the world of journalism: “Red tape holds up new bridge” . . . “Grandmother of eight makes hole in one”.

Natural resources are the backbone of the Canadian economy, and in Winnipeg the nation's energy and mines ministers come together to find a way forward.

A new ministerial panel on the TransMountain Pipeline Expansion proposal is currently hearing from the public about the project. Resource Works offers this guide to understanding what may, at times, seem to be contradictory information being put forward.

The long-waited BC climate policy update must not punish residents with unfair anti-affordability measures that let other provinces off the hook.