News & Views

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.

LNG promises a way to lower CO2 reductions for Asian nations heavily dependent on coal - and that is why so many countries are beating a path to Canada's door.

You may (we hope) have seen our series of infographics that we related to Earth Day on April 22.

Like it or not, two-thirds of the large double doubles and grande decaf soy lattes consumed in the province are ultimately paid for by non-metropolitan activities. Any discussion of the future of British Columbia’s economy must begin with acknowledgement of the reality that this is a resource dependent province.

We read yet another online complaint about how slowly Canada works on approval of major LNG projects, and wondered how bad (or good) we really are.

Happy Earth Day. Earth Day can be a day to honour the precious gift that is our planet. Often, however, it is also an occasion to lament, or at least feel guilty about, the way we use it.

There is no question of the importance of natural resources in the BC economy. They are as much as 37.4% of total activity. But what about an equally pressing question: How well are we treating Mother Earth while earning our living on the land?

British Columbia ranks third highest among the provinces in new report card, and when compared to non-resource nations its energy habits could be improved.

Chiefs of five key Tsimshian nations are insisting on "respectful consultation and engagement" rather than PR stunts in assessing a major LNG project, but sadly that is not what we are seeing. 

Alberta's new carbon levy matches British Columbia's $30/tonne level, placing both jurisdictions ahead of others. The premiers of both provinces are showing determination to be leaders, but not sacrifice their economies while others lag.

In an alt-energy world, how do you turn on the power when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing?

No, it’s no optical or cerebral illusion: There really are two rival proposals to build in BC a “green” oil refinery to turn Western Canadian oilsands bitumen into refined fuels for export.

Within minutes of his return last week from a trade foray to Japan, BC’s LNG minister, Rich Coleman, was once more facing a barrage of questions:

Compared to other North American jurisdictions, the carbon price in British Columbia is between twice and 100 times higher. An effort to have BC escalate even higher, while still allowing others to lag behind, increasingly feels like a carnival game in which the odds are stacked against the player. 

It’s time once again to showcase what is surely, bare none, the proudest achievement of Resource Works in the category of sending an important message in a not-so-serious way: the Natural Runners program.