News & Views

With its energy exports to Asia reducing world-wide emissions, Canada could benefit from an international carbon credit trading agreement. But flawed carbon accounting and insufficient liquidity in the international market stand in the way.

Northern communities are increasingly ready to play their part, contribute and benefit from this new era, writes Sean Willy.

Canada boasts an impressive abundance of water resources, but jurisdictional overlap and over-regulation are drying up opportunities. As the federal government plans a new Canada Water Agency, stakeholders urge greater consultation.

The biggest hold-up is split processes, both provincial and federal, whether it’s cutting permits for forestry or mining assessments. Walter Cobb explains.

This Valentine's Day weekend, Arctic chills froze wind turbines and blackouts descended on Texas. Demand for gas soared as homes were left without heat. 

Gulf Coast refineries need Alberta's heavy oil. But without Keystone XL, that oil will move by rail instead of pipeline. That's bad news for jobs, and it's bad news for our environment. 

BEHIND THE NEWS: ResourceWorks News takes a look at how GIS data is being employed to create a highly misleading picture of forest practices. What we discover is confusing, to say the least.

Hydrogen makes a splash with the promise of jobs, green energy, and an emerging industry. But what stands in the way?

BC needs a working forest, not activist misinformation. Carl Sweet, a founding director of the BC Forestry Alliance, shares his perspective.

As a society, we should want these operations in BC where we have some of the highest environmental, social and governance standards of anywhere in the world. Kendra Johnson explains.

Despite mixed reviews on its Clean Fuel Standard, the federal government attracts enthusiasm for hydrogen and biofuels.

With thousands of Vancouver Island jobs and a $1.4 billion investment on the line, BC salmon farmers take Ottawa to court Federal Court over forced closure of Discovery Island operations.

Electric vehicles are improving, but battery and cost problems persist.

"If activists are going to attack the Canadian oil industry they should understand what the science really says about the relative GHG intensity of Canadian crudes," says scientist and public communicator Blair King, Ph.D.

"UNDRIP does not just provide Indigenous peoples with the right to say no to development; it also supports our right to say yes." National Council of Chiefs tells Prime Minister.

With Biden blocking Keystone, the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project is more important than ever.

In December, the federal government shuttered nineteen fish farms on the Discovery Islands, putting over 1,500 Vancouver Island families out of work. With the future of BC aquaculture in question, Josiah Haynes compares where the federal parties stand.

Government can’t print money forever—we’ll need private investment. So what would happen without investment from mining, oil, and gas? Josiah Haynes investigates.

Can Biden be persuaded to keep Keystone XL? Canadian industry and government urge energy cooperation.

Nanwakolas Council and forestry companies make groundbreaking agreement to ensure monumental trees are protected within traditional territories.

From battling misinformation during the Wet’suwet’en crisis to launching the Resource Innovation Forum, Resource Works proved itself a critical advocate for Canada’s resource sectors. We look back on 2020, a year of adapting to meet new challenges and emerging opportunities.

Canada Energy Regulator: The TMX pipeline will help Canada meet global demand for crude oil, despite misinformation campaign.

"Scientists have spoken but the government prefers to listen to activists and not to the people who live and work here,” says Port Hardy Mayor Dennis Dugas. Phasing out open-net salmon farming would mean more costs on industry, less benefit to communities.

As the federal government drives towards its Paris Agreement goals, concerns abound regarding economic sustainability.

Sustainably reaching climate targets requires meeting the double bottom line—reducing GHGs while boosting commercial viability. Hydrogen experts Marty Reed and Chris Reid say that the road to green energy is blue.

Though he long had "difficulty" with the venture, British Columbia's new Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Minister now acknowledges the project deemed to be in the national interest has its approvals and is going forward.

Critics of the pipeline project are outdoing themselves to seed doubt and confusion. In spite of this, those who care about Canadian economic-environmental balance needn't worry: TMX will be productive, profitable and climate-friendly for many decades. Stewart Muir explains why.

Local leaders are the ones closest to public anxieties – they live it every day. In the pandemic response, these are the voices coming to the fore in support of doing the right thing.

Even when the market price of natural gas is low, natural-gas developers pay millions of dollars of royalties to the BC government each month. 

The quality of the Premier’s Cabinet lineup will determine whether the government’s agenda on these issues will land right – for their future electoral odds and for our province’s economy.

According to recent findings by the Canadian Energy Centre, revenue generated from oil and gas eclipsed the federal government's contribution to family allowance and children’s benefits since 1970. The CEC's Mark Milke and Lennie Kaplan weigh in.

A Chemist in Langley, Blair King, recently wrote about yet another flawed publication by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). We've reprinted his expert review of the dodgy analysis in that report.

WATCH: Our second instalment of the Resource Innovation Forum featured Wes Jickling, Chief Executive of Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), for a discussion on the collaboration that advances the environmental performance of Canada's major oil sands producers.

WATCH: On Thursday, October 28th, we were joined by University of Calgary Chancellor Deborah Yedlin and RBC Senior Vice-President John Stackhouse for a discussion with moderator Stewart Muir on how institutional partnerships can advance innovation in Canada's oil sands. 

We’re still awaiting the rules and regulations that the federal government is drafting to execute its plan to achieve net-zero emissions in Canada by 2050. Industries and resource projects from coast to coast to coast know they will be compelled by 2050 to eliminate or offset greenhouse-gas emissions, but how?

As the world becomes more and more digital, and manufacturing becomes greener, there will be increasing demand for critical metals, minerals and rare earths. And Canada can play a key role in supplying them.

BC's mining industry contributes $7.4 billion to BC’s economy (GDP). It spends $3 billion to purchase goods and services from 3,700 small, medium and Indigenous businesses in 215 BC communities. And it spends $330 million on exploration.

So how is this critical industry coping with the carbon price? And why do governments seem set on making it more difficult and expensive for our mines to operate, and more difficult to compete in world markets? 

Climate statistics from California show that the long-awaited new pipeline will usher in an era of cleaner choices for the populous state. Skeptical? Stewart Muir assesses the big picture.

The federal Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) is coming soon. Here are 12 things you need to know (and what it will cost you).

A fellow we see constantly on social media greets pretty much every post about oil and gas with a simple: “H2 is the answer.” We can understand his enthusiasm for hydrogen, a fuel you can burn to provide energy, and the only emission at the end is ... water. No greenhouse gases, no noxious particles, no pollution, no problem.

Trouble is, that word "simple” is all too true.

Residents of Campbell River looked to define and describe the pillars of the local economy.

When everything goes right and a major resource project moves forward, the benefits flow for decades. Stewart Muir explains why this is.

EXCERPT: Enjoy this sampling of Brian Lee Crowley’s important new book Gardeners vs Designers: Understanding the Great Fault Line In Canadian Politics.

Slapping the word "clean" on a policy signifies high hopes for its environmental effects. That sparkle wears off quickly if the result turns out to be costly, clunky or counterproductive because it is driven by the stick of regulation rather than the carrot of positive business incentivization. Stewart Muir looks at how market-driven solutions can show promising results in creating climate improvement.

Patricia Mohr, an advisor to the Task Force for Real Jobs, Real Recovery, was a guest on CBC's The Current to discuss options for federal action.

Scientist and public communicator Blair King, PhD, explains why the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project is a good bet for Canada.

Radio host Adler invited Muir onto his program on Sept. 17, 2020.

Canadians agree strongly that oil and gas is important to the country's current and future economy, they support environmentally responsible development of the sector, and they support oil and gas exports. 

First Nation-owned transmission line near Merritt brings BC Hydro green power to Trans Mountain pipeline.