Please join us – it’s FREE! - at the Wosk Centre for Dialogue on November 17 to explore how BC’s laws and policies about land use need to evolve in light of climate change. The principal focus will be on high-level facilitated dialogue among topic- knowledgeable participants, seeded by short presentations from three guests that introduce scientific, legal and economic perspectives. (NOTE: space is limited and pre-registration is required – our dialogue event last January was standing room only)
On Twitter? The hashtag for the forum is #dialWCELaw. If you’re interested in live-tweeting the event, let us know when you register and we’ll save a seat at our Twitter table.
- Click here to learn more about the dialogue and to register.
Just in time for Hallowe’en – What does BC’s cabinet shuffle have to do with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? The answer has to do with a new Ministry that has wide environmental powers, with not much in the way of environmental responsibilities.
Read about why West Coast is spooked (and not in a good, Hallowe’en way):
- Click here to read what the cabinet shuffle could mean for the environment.
- Click here to read our media release warning that this could well compromise environmental protection.
West Coast lawyer Josh Paterson was invited to speak to the board of the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee in Portland, Oregon, earlier this month. He told US power utilities & BC officials that people in BC have big concerns about the BC government’s Clean Energy Act and its plans for renewable electricity generation, and the environmental impacts of these developments.
- West Coast briefs US energy officials on BC’s renewable energy policies here.
On October 1st the Chiefs of the First Nations Summit, representing a majority of First Nations and Tribal Councils in BC, stated that the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines and oil tankers project must not proceed without the free, prior and informed consent of affected First Nations. West Coast provided legal analysis of this development to the public and the press, stating that a federal decision to approve this project without First Nations’ consent would violate Canada’s international legal obligations, and make Canada vulnerable to an international human rights challenge.
- See First Nations Chiefs strong message to Ottawa here.
On October 15th, our Environmental Alert Blog joined over 5500 other bloggers around the world to talk about water. Our water-related blog post revealed that until last July the province’s Oil and Gas Commission (OGC), responsible for regulating water use by the oil and gas industry, did not have a single hydrologist or other water specialist on staff. Will hiring a hydrologist change the Commission’s approach to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and other industry water use?
- See our Blog Action Day post on our concern about the way the OGC regulates water use here.
- Learn more about Blog Action Day here.
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