An excerpt from a new book on the dam project that’s divided B.C. Damming the Peace: The Hidden Costs of the Site C Dam Wendy Holm James Lorimer & Company (2018) Site C is a behemoth of a project. Its every twitch initiates a chain reaction in no less than five spheres. I recently contributed, […]
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Pain, Anger, Sorrow after Boushie Verdict
The Colten Boushie case should be a wake-up call for Canadians, says Jerilynn Webster, an activist from Nuxalk and Onondaga nations who did much of the planning for Vancouver rallies Saturday and Tuesday. Hundreds of people came to Saturday’s rally to show their dissatisfaction with an all-white jury’s decision to find farmer Gerald Stanley not guilty […]
Site C: What Happens Next?
From expropriation to First Nations lawsuit to political shifts, dam decision brings change. Premier John Horgan has announced his government will continue building the Site C dam, increasing the project budget to $10.7 billion from $8.8 billion. Work should never have started under the previous government, Horgan said, but stopping now would would mean writing […]
Surprised to be Heard: Presenters at Site C Inquiry Find Their Voice
‘I’ve been to many of these things and this was refreshingly good.’ On a Saturday afternoon in late September, the 12th-floor room in a downtown Vancouver office tower was buzzing. People looked around for familiar faces, quietly talking. The list of speakers read like signatures on a petition. Folks seemed nervous; they were full of […]
New York Times’ Daily 360 video: Spelunking for Antibiotics
It can take decades of research and more than billions of dollars to create a new antibiotic drug. Sometimes, the first step of the process starts underground, deep inside a mountain. I filmed this video with Emily McCarty, and Tim Chaffee and Nathan Griffiths did the editing.
Site C called first test for NDP’s commitment to Indigenous rights
‘It’s the issue that’s out front and in everybody’s faces.’ Recent experiences with the federal government have left Prophet River First Nation member Helen Knott wary of government promises. So while she and other Indigenous people are excited about NDP provincial government commitments to adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, words […]
Tough Task Ahead for Site C’s Reviewers
Utilities commissioners will need to get knee-deep in data. Can it really be done in 12 weeks? The last time Site C was fully reviewed by the BC Utilities Commission, it was 1983. The commission investigated for just over a year and ultimately concluded that Site C was unneeded and recommended BC Hydro begin investigating […]
Wildfires: Should BC Do More to Help Homeowners ‘Stay and Defend’?
It’s risky, but many saved their property by not evacuating. The Tl’etinqox First Nation fought side by side with firefighters. As wildfires ravage much of B.C., strange reports of evacuation dodgers were coming in. Of course, you don’t have to evade evacuation orders here, but that’s how the coverage sounded. People were “defying” or “ignoring” evacuation […]
Everything you want to know about the Site C dam — answered
It’s been two months since we promised to dive deep into the Site C dam and asked what you want to know about the megaproject. We’ve tackled the big questions: Is it past the point of no return? Why did the BC Liberal government block independent review of the project? We also looked at what First […]
Do We Even Need the Site C Dam?
Recent data suggests we don’t. Decreased load forecasts give us more time to consider less costly energy options. Do we need the $8.9-billion Site C dam? When we promised to dig deep into the megaproject and asked what you wanted to know, that was one of your big questions. And it’s an issue that’s been […]