This week Metro Vancouver announced Stage 3 water restrictions banning the use of lawn sprinklers as reservoirs sit below 73%. As BC’s drought saga continues, Canadians are getting a first-hand lesson in the value of water. But do we really understand it—where our water comes from and the costs of over-use? B.C Drought Makes Water […]
British Columbia is parched and veiled in a haze of smoke and ash. Records for the number and size of wild fires, low water reservoir levels, and extreme temperatures have been smashed in recent weeks. The month of June is now predicted to be the hottest on record. Metro Vancouver, home to over half of […]
Never Waste a Good Crisis: What Can We Learn from California? California’s extreme drought continues to make headlines. No doubt Canada will feel the ripple effects, for example, through potential shocks in our commodity markets. But is there anything we can actually take away from this disaster? Our perception of Canada as a water wealthy […]
Clean water is a vital, valuable resource for Canada. We drink it. We grow food with it. We generate power using it. We use it as an input to industry, from manufacturing to oil and gas production. We swim, splash, and paddle our canoes in it. And clean water isn’t valuable just to humans; it […]
The following is an excerpt from The Policy Opportunity of Our Generation: Ecofiscal Reform in Canada’s Provinces and Cities, published in Public Sector Digest, February 2015, and made available online January 15th. This is the second of a four-part blog series that highlights how ecofiscal policies can help cities and provinces conserve water, fight traffic […]