ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR INVESTMENT PROFESSIONAL BEFORE MAKING ANY INVESTMENT DECISION
Stewart Muir
Stewart Muir is founder and executive director of the Resource Works Society, a Vancouver-based group open to participation by British Columbians from all walks of life who are concerned about their future economic opportunities. He is an author, journalist and historian with experience on three continents including a financial editor of The Vancouver Sun responsible for mining and markets coverage. Since Resource Works was established in 2014, the group has gained international recognition for its practical approach to the public challenges of responsible natural resource development and use.
May 4th, 2021 | Energy Security and the Road to Net Zero by 2050
Resource Works - Canada is diversifying energy sources. But reaching net zero also requires energy availability and affordability writes Dr. Monica Gattinger. February’s power outage in Texas was a devastating reminder of the importance of energy security. Like the ubiquity of electricity in our lives, we don’t realize how pivotal energy security is until we don’t have […]
Resource Works - The Canadian Energy Regulator’s April 29th announcement is good news for Canadian energy and the integrity of the public process, writes Josiah Haynes. After nine years of painstaking scrutiny, divisive debate, and dramatic if not disingenuous protest, Canadians could be forgiven for asking: “Why are we still talking about Trans Mountain’s Expansion Project?” As we […]
April 29th, 2021 | Don’t Ban Plastics, Recycle Them
Resource Works - Inspired by BC’s model, Elena Mantagaris says Canada needs a national recycling program to boost jobs and the green economy. The federal government is pressing on with a ban on some single-use plastics by the end of this year, covering such things as plastic grocery bags, straws, and food packaging. British Columbia has already approved bans on […]
April 23rd, 2021 | RNG: Opportunity in Unlikely Places
Resource Works - BC has a lot of waste. But thanks to local innovators, BC companies are finding a way to use that waste to bring down emissions and supply renewable natural gas. Pete Schouten (pictured) of Fraser Valley Biogas, a facility in Abbotsford, BC that turns waste into natural gas. Photo from Spudsmart. With the push for decarbonization, […]
April 22nd, 2021 | What British Columbia’s Budget Tells Us About Resources and Reconciliation
Resource Works - Numbers show how the province’s forest sector is quietly the biggest contributor to the hopes and dreams of First Nations. The April 20, 2021 budget reveals that over the next four years, government revenues from British Columbia’s forest sector will provide significant funds for advancing First Nations reconciliation. Over the four years to 2023/24, the […]
April 21st, 2021 | Budget 2021 and natural resources
Resource Works - From R&D to low emission fuels and national trade corridors, Budget 2021 means big things for natural resources, says Margareta Dovgal. Following the release of the federal budget, Resource Works published a thread of analysis on points relating to natural resources, edited below. Resource Works is pleased to see many items relating to recommendations provided by the Task […]
April 21st, 2021 | Federal & BC Budgets Support Resource Development
HoweStreet.com Radio - First Nations tell logging protestors get off our land
April 19th, 2021 | Nuclear Power for Canada, IKEA-Style
Resource Works - With immeasurable amounts of energy and zero CO2 emissions, it’s nuclear’s moment, says Resource Minister Seamus O’Regan. Canada has long been a leader in nuclear power. But with emerging 21st-century nuclear technologies, Canada is talking nuclear-generated electricity in a way it never has. We now generate some 15% of our power from nuclear reactors, with 18 in […]
April 15th, 2021 | What Happens if Canada Loses an Oil Pipeline?
Resource Works - A Parliamentary committee has looked at what would happen if the United States goes through with Michigan’s threat to cripple the Canadian economy by unilaterally shutting down the Line 5 pipeline. It might sound like a scenario from Ukraine-Russian relations, but in fact it is happening right here, right now on the world’s longest undefended […]
April 14th, 2021 | Pacheedaht First Nation: An Example of Reconciliation and Development
Resource Works - In spite of a concerted pressure campaign to sideline the Indigenous group’s economic opportunities, this Vancouver Island people is an example of how reconciliation and development go hand-in-hand, writes Josiah Haynes. Not long ago, two-thirds of Pacheedaht First Nation band members lived outside their ancestral land. Work was hard to find, and of its 163,000 […]
April 13th, 2021 | What an Educated Millennial Thinks about Forestry
Resource Works - Social media stoked his belief that old-growth forestry was something to oppose. Now: “After seeing firsthand how forests are managed in British Columbia, I am firmly against a ban on old-growth harvesting.” British Columbia’s coastal forests are very important to all citizens. Personally, I am a frequent user of our coastal forests for recreation and I […]
April 12th, 2021 | What Kind of Energy Bill are You?
Resource Works - In the battle for energy hearts and minds, are you a Gates or a McKibben? Stewart Muir weighs two different approaches to how humanity might be powered in future. In a new book, Bill Gates argues that defeating the reality of climate change means eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by a mixture of solutions, including investments […]
April 11th, 2021 | Mining Plans New Future in BC
Resource Works - Amidst uncompetitive tax and regulatory regimes, a new roadmap from the province and the Mining Association of BC hopes to overcome challenges through innovation, ESG, and a revitalized workforce. With the provincial government’s support, the Mining Association of BC (MABC) has launched the BC Mining Innovation Roadmap, outlining ways to achieve critical objectives and improve environmental […]
Resource Works - In a last-ditch effort to stop TMX, its insurers are being targeted and intimidated. Resource Works supports Trans Mountain’s request to make insurer identities confidential, support civil dialogue, and uphold the public process. Nine years ago in February 2021, Kinder Morgan Canada first proposed to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline to the west coast. After […]
April 7th, 2021 | Staggering 81% of Canadians Favour Resource Development
HoweStreet.com Radio - First Nations key in evolving economy, resources
Resource Works - Renowned natural resource scholar Ken Coates tells Parliamentarians: “We don’t see resource development as being particularly attractive or compelling these days. I think it’s fair to say that our country’s urban areas, which are very powerful and very appropriately powerful, are disconnected from the sector.” Ken S. Coates of the Joynson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public […]
April 2nd, 2021 | South Vancouver Island’s Abundant Intact Watersheds
Resource Works - Examining recent claims about the status of pristine watersheds on south Vancouver Island. For months now, a pressure campaign has been underway in the woods west of Victoria. Logging roads that exist to allow forest companies to carry out permitted harvesting work have been blockaded by interest groups. Their argument is that this is the […]
Resource Works - Do changing attitudes about oil, and projected shifts in global demand for it over coming decades, affect whether the Canadian pipeline is needed? Stewart Muir looks at what oil sands companies are telling investors about this. How do you evaluate the financial prospects of a complex project like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX)? One […]
March 30th, 2021 | Danish Scientists Say Old-Growth Forests’ Climate Role Overestimated by 1/3
Resource Works - Incorrectly analyzed data led to mistaken view about the climate mitigation impact of old and unmanaged forests. The claim that old-growth forests play a significant role in climate mitigation, based upon the argument that even the oldest forests keep sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere, is being refuted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen says a […]
March 29th, 2021 | Here’s The Real Story on Fairy Creek and the Future of Responsible Forestry
Resource Works - If all your information is from high-volume advertising campaigns, the following might come as a surprise: the Fairy Creek watershed near British Columbia’s Port Renfrew is not at risk because of forestry. In fact, writes Stewart Muir, its lovely appearance today is a direct consequence of many decades of successful forest management practices. As I […]
March 26th, 2021 | Meeting Canada’s Aggressive Green Targets a Tall Order
Resource Works - OPINION: In this commentary for Resource Works, Jock Finlayson and Denise Mullen of the Business Council of British Columbia explain what a green recovery from COVID-19 might actually look like – and what it might cost. Building back ‘clean’ and ‘green’ means trillions of dollars of investment, and the electrification of many machines and activities […]
March 25th, 2021 | Go For The Gold, BC
Resource Works - BC finds a silver lining in exploration investments but won’t strike gold without reform. Without regulatory and tax reforms, BC may lose two-thirds of its mines by 2040. In 2020, the global economy came to a screeching halt as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe. Uncertainty in world markets drove investors to safe-haven investments […]
March 24th, 2021 | First Nations Vital in Canada’s Resource Development
HoweStreet.com Radio - Vancouver City Council’s unrealistic view of the world
March 18th, 2021 | Natural Gas: A Way Forward for BC and First Nations
Resource Works - Natural gas makes our province an energy giant. But what is LNG, and what does it mean for BC? Josiah Haynes explores. Simply put, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a scientific marvel. It’s clean, cheap, and efficient. That mix of qualities is hard to find, and it’s part of what makes BC’s LNG so promising. […]
March 12th, 2021 | How Canadian Pipelines Reduce Global Emissions
Resource Works - Want to bring down global emissions? Clean Canadian energy can help, but we’ll need pipelines to do it. As anti-pipeline protests continue to flare up in Canada, like this downtown Vancouver blockade in early March, here’s a long-term thought for short-sighted protesters: Every reputable forecaster sees world demand for oil and natural gas continuing for decades. If […]