The Hook: Political news, freshly caught
BC to ban all-ages events at several bars and nightclubs
A new policy directive released by the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch (LCLB) will ban dozens of liquor-serving establishments from hosting all-ages events. Read more…
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Do you think Naheed Nenshi will win the Alberta NDP leadership race? Read the results of that poll here.
BC Conservatives leader John Cummins confirms bid for Langley seat in May election
B.C. Conservative Party leader John Cummins confirmed today he will run for the MLA seat in Langley this May provincial election. Read more…
BC committee seeking to replace auditor general John Doyle
VANCOUVER - British Columbia auditor general John Doyle -- whose investigations into payments related to the BC Rail corruption trial and other allegations of financial mismanagement have routinely embarrassed the governing Liberals -- will be replaced after a legislative committee declined to reappoint him. Read more…
New research questions climate benefits of natural gas
Methane may be leaking from some natural gas operations at roughly three times the limit deemed acceptable for the climate, suggests new research from several top-ranked U.S. scientists.
If preliminary results from a field study in the Uinta Basin of Utah are representative of the broader “fracking” industry, they could seriously undercut B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s claim that natural gas is a “clean energy.” Read more…
Government exempts 'low-impact' mining activities from permit process
The B.C. government has proposed to change what activities would be regulated by the Mines Act, in what the province characterizes as an attempt to cut "unnecessary red tape," by exempting certain "low-impact" activities. Read more…
Audit shows asbestos troubles continued on BC Ferries
A BC Ferries official worried in an email that continued problems with asbestos would leave the publicly owned company vulnerable to a $150,000 fine if its management of the material again comes to WorkSafe BC's attention. Read more…
Stop bragging about protecting BC species enviro group tells Forest Products Association
The Wilderness Committee has blasted a timber industry group for claiming a strong record on protecting endangered species and seeking a voice in revising the legislation. Read more…
Minister Lake says a Pembina LNG policy prescription 'does not make sense'
British Columbia Minister of Environment Terry Lake says Pembina Institute analyst Matt Horne got it right two out of three times when, writing in The Tyee, he listed his "musts" for the province regarding developing and shipping liquefied natural gas. Read more…
Government announces ban on gas extraction in Sacred Headwaters
The B.C. government announced Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to ban gas extraction in the Sacred Headwaters. The ban will take effect on the day that a four-year moratorium on all activity related to coalbed methane extraction was set to expire. Read more…
Premier Clark may pay price for lagging women's earnings in BC: report author
Women who work in B.C. are earning comparably less than women in the rest of Canada and public policy is to blame, says a new report. One person who may pay a big price for that is Premier Christy Clark, says the Simon Fraser University professor who authored the findings. Read more…
Federal Court turns down union bid for foreign worker injunction for miners
VANCOUVER - A Federal Court judge has dismissed a bid by two unions for an injunction preventing more temporary foreign workers from entering Canada for jobs at a British Columbia coal mine. Read more…
Days after Nexen approval, PetroChina invests big in AB natural gas
Prime Minister Stephen Harper declared last week he didn’t want to see Canada’s economy “bought and controlled by foreign governments.” But he apparently has no problem with PetroChina’s $2.18 billion entry into Alberta’s natural gas sector. Read more…
Fracking ban in Sacred Headwaters set to expire Dec. 18
A moratorium on a large coal bed methane project in northern B.C. is about to expire. The moratorium has prevented Shell Canada from conducting "any oil and gas activity or related activity" in the Sacred Headwaters project since December 2008, according to the original Order in Council. Read more…
Clark says BC's gas export plans on same scale as Alberta's oil sands
VICTORIA - Premier Christy Clark says her government's plan to export liquefied natural gas to Asia is British Columbia's economic equivalent to Alberta's oilsands. Read more…
Moody's drops outlook on BC debt rating to negative
The credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service announced today it has downgraded the outlook on British Columbia's debt ratings from stable to negative. Read more…
Municipal councillor seeking Green nod in Capital Region
Central Saanich councillor Adam Olsen announced this morning he's seeking the Green Party nomination to run in Saanich North and the Islands in the May 14, 2013 provincial election. Read more…
Canadians won't be working at BC mine for more than four years: docs
VANCOUVER - Court documents reveal that a company planning to bring 201 Chinese miners to a project in northern B.C. would be using temporary foreign workers in its transition plans for the next 14 years. Read more…
Call to reform MLA expenses distracts from 'other fiscal imprudence': Simpson
A government watchdog is calling on the province to make a New Year's resolution to keep MLA expenses in check, but one MLA thinks that call misses the core of B.C.'s financial troubles. Read more…
Lower Mainland dikes need major upgrades to fend off rising sea: BC report
VANCOUVER - Renewing southern British Columbia's flood-defence network to protect against rising sea levels will cost up to $9.5 billion over the next 90 to 100 years, says a provincial government report. Read more…
Researcher expected to receive Alzheimer's drug data
When former British Columbia health ministry employee Ron Mattson spoke to the media last week, he released his termination letter which said he'd improperly prepared to release data to researcher Bill Warburton. Today, through his lawyer, Warburton made a statement. Read more…
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