News & Views

Resource Works is just over two years old now, and there is new evidence that our values are resonating across society at a time of peak interest in our issues.

Stewart Muir of Resource Works joins other Environmental Non-Government Organizations (ENGOs) at a breakthrough ministerial panel in Burnaby.

Understanding the modern resource economy opens our eyes to a virtuous circle of discovery, development, social growth, technological innovation, and environmental protection. How can resource people succeed in telling this story? 

Should our trees only be processed in local mills? Or have global markets irreversibly affected how forest products are manufactured today? Here are 8 arguments for taking a global trade approach.

Let's move on from an "and-or" to an "and-more" mindset about how we fuel our daily lives, writes Resource Works executive director Stewart Muir. This commentary appeared in The Vancouver Sun on July 14, 2016.

It’s been a classic month for both pessimists and optimists who watch the world of LNG:

Is the Paris Agreement on climate change a license for draconian, ill-considered attempts to radically overturn the world’s existing energy distribution systems? 

The 1st annual Race for Resources took place on the 25th of June 2016. 

Michelle Pockey inspired many, not just in forestry and mining where she left a deep mark as an environmental lawyer. Her passing is a loss for resource leadership in British Columbia. 

Emcee of the 1sth annual Race for Resources is steeped in British Columbia's rural heritage and the continuing reliance on responsible natural resources. 

The history of the so-called offshore oil and gas moratorium and subsequent tanker exclusion in BC has little to do with environment and everything to do with contested territory.

Though natural gas from LNG is proven as the safest way to lower greenhouse gas emissions, there is a lot of competition to get it to market. Here is what federal scientists said about one project, the Pacific North West LNG proposal near Prince Rupert.

City residents use British Columbia’s resource products such as natural gas on a daily basis, but how often do they stop to think about the significance of these goods in their own personal lives?

We saw a national headline that read: “One in six First Nations vows to block pipelines; all claim veto power.” 

A presentation by a Japanese company at a Canadian LNG conference shows that Japan wants Canada's LNG for very specific reasons related to its own energy strategy. 

Last week we asked what you thought about Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson's latest attack on the National Energy Board.

One remarkable quality of British Columbia's natural resource economy is that it does its work quietly, yet in plain view. 

Imagine the thrill of standing in the Winner’s Circle and hearing your name over the loudspeaker at Hastings Park.

If you are a supporter of economic opportunity, job creation, benefit sharing with communities, and new markets for Canadian energy, here’s your opportunity to write to the National Energy Board and reiterate the reasons for why the pipeline should go ahead.

Renewable energy has an enviable position in the court of public opinion. All the while, natural resources that make renewables possible are regularly decried by self-proclaimed progressives pushing to leave everything in the ground.

Resource Works stars, and spreads its messages, in a special series in The Vancouver Courier.

There are three parts to it:

Race for Resources is an event in the long tradition of summertime equestrian events.

You’ve heard of Royal Ascot, the Kentucky Derby, and Vancouver’s own Deighton Cup. Race for Resources is something like those events—and has a great cause attached to it. 

Here are some words to think about as we see quality projects that are of clear benefit stalled by protracted and increasingly unpredictable public processes. 

The following excerpts are drawn from a new paper by Professor Monica Gattinger of the University of Ottawa. 

We’ve mentioned some of the highlights of our Resource Works “Race for Resources Day” at Hastings Racecourse on Saturday, June 25:

A buffet lunch, friends, photos, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, live music, a roaming photographer, and our own personal betting kiosk.

We have tipped our hat several times to the “real people” of BC’s pro-LNG campaigns: FSJ for LNG, FNforLNG, and their members who took the LNGorBust bus to Ottawa.

In BC, the greening of bitumen may not be all that far off. Earlier last month, the Kitimat Clean Refinery took the first step towards seeking environmental assessment from the BC government for a project to refine bitumen. 

We need to your help to protect prosperity in British Columbia. Buy a ticket for Race for Resources, or sponsor a race. Failing to act means placing our responsible, prosperous future at risk. 

The “LNG or Bust” campaigners have done far more than drive a one-time BC HandiDart bus from Fort St. John to Ottawa, by way of Edmonton, Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg.

We often hear it lamented that resources make city life possible, yet urban dwellers are noticeably detached from the realities of their material existence. 

Pressure from the international community to minimize increases in global temperature is mounting, and CO2 emissions reduction strategies are becoming valuable political capital for environmentally-conscious political parties the world over.

It’s a piece of oh-so-predictable theatre that we have seen before, as the recent headlines illustrate:

Despite strenuous campaigns by some in the environmental movement, there is little public opinion pressure on the Liberal government to scrap these projects, according to Abacus Data

At Resource Works, we have worked relentlessly for two years to build understanding about the benefits of responsible resources. If you value this, here is your chance to help ensure the project can continue.

British Columbia's largest export is minerals, accounting for $140 billion in export value over the decade to 2014. We know this means lots of jobs, so why do mining people struggle to illustrate this to others?

A range of activities are scheduled for this Thursday as business leaders across the country take a close look at resource activities.

June looks to be busy for your executive team, and a glance at the calendar reminds us there are many events coming up that will help us to get the word out about the cause.

New Canadian leads convoy to Ottawa with a clear message on LNG

What does it look like when a major infrastructure project is hardened in the crucible of years of intense public scrutiny?

For journalists covering the Trans Mountain Expansion Project decision on May 19, 2016 we've put together this handy guide to key topics likely to come up.

They call it 'FSJ for LNG'. And it shows a lot of community support for BC natural-gas to be tuned into LNG.Writer Dean Pelkey asks if Justin Trudeau and his cabinet will listen. 

Travelling through Prince George, our advisory council member Mona Forster snapped this photo at Summit Insurance. 

Many sectors of our economy rely on our coastal waters as their “marine highway.”

In Part One of our examination, we looked at issues raised by coastal marine management and regulatory developments.

Now Karen Graham and Denise Mullen look further into it all.

Geologist Andrea Cade reports on our SheTalks Resources event in Vancouver, and looks forward to the 2017 edition.

In general, 2015 was another difficult year for the mining industry in British Columbia, given the continued downturn in global metal and mineral prices. In its annual report on BC mining, released during Mining Week in Vancouver, PwC illustrated this story in detail. 

The Trudeau government’s endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, unflatteringly known as UNDRIP, is already causing gloom and glee.

These posts on BC’s marine regulatory regime originate from the February 2016 issue of the Environment and Energy Bulletin for the Business Council of British Columbia.

Here's what happened when British Columbia mayors visited Fort St. John, the heart of the province's most resource-rich region. 

We were shocked to find out that of the first 163 forest fires in BC this spring, 160 were started by humans.

"Canadian shale gas investment not a mistake": That's the message this week from new CEO of the Malaysian energy company that is behind the largest-ever project planned for British Columbia. 

The road to transitioning British Columbia and Canada to a lower-carbon economy will have bumps, roadblocks and many twists and turns that we may not even be able to see today.