Andrew Weaver Steps Down

He's been a true stalwart of the Green Party movement in Canada. Our very own climate scientist, U. Vic's Andrew Weaver. Now he's announced that he won't be seeking re-election to the provincial legislature. This is it. He's done.

In 2013, Weaver left his post as Canada Research Chair in climate modelling and analysis at the University of Victoria. He was elected in May 2013 in Oak Bay-Gordon Head as the first provincial Green politician in Canada, and acclaimed as the party’s leader in 2015. 

He ran with a focus of making a difference in the area of climate change, explaining he viewed the B.C. Green Party as the best vehicle to do that work.

I wonder if Dr. Weaver is throwing in the towel, giving up the fight. The latest polling results show the federal Greens going nowhere. We might be back to the Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands bastion when the votes are tallied. A failure of Elizabeth May's Greens to stage a breakthrough will mean that climate change, the climate crisis/breakdown and our national climate emergency will fade once Scheer or Trudeau prevails.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise if Elizabeth May follows Weaver out the door. She has been fighting hard for close to 14 years. Susan Riley named her the "hardest working MP on Parliament Hill."  Like Weaver, she knows that Canada and the world stand at a crossroad and the petro-state isn't likely to change course. Time is not on Canada's side or humanity's. We haven't got another four years to squander on disingenuous half-measures as we have the past four years. But sometimes the clock simply runs out.

The Myth of Clean LNG

Liquid natural gas is regularly pitched as a "transition fuel" to help wean us off oil and gas as our economy moves to alternative clean energy.

That's a lie.  Green Party MLA and University of Victoria climate scientist, Andrew Weaver debunks the myth.

This myth has been espoused loudly by proponents of LNG, including corporate directors and the BC NDP. And it is just that – a myth.

...LNG Canada will be the largest single point of greenhouse gas emissions in B.C. It’s also sourced via hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Fracking causes earthquakes, leaks significant amounts of fugitive methane emissions, and contaminates water tables. The government’s own scientists have stated that we do not know the extent of the environmental implications, much less those for human health. 

Fracking is the primary suspect in a spike of extremely rare and lethal cancers in the very communities LNG claims to be benefiting. Doctors are actively advising pregnant women to leave these towns during their pregnancies. 

...Let’s also take a look at the business case of LNG Canada’s “$40 billion dollar” investment: LNG Canada itself estimates $25 billion to $40 billion for a two-phase project (only Phase 1 has been approved). Between $7 billion and $11 billion of this amount will be spent on foreign soil. And, the NDP government has given LNG Canada over $5.35 billion in tax breaks (they’ve also created a system where LNG Canada is able to avoid paying the complete carbon tax). Not to mention that the cost of worsening climate change for B.C. could be dragged into the trillions. 

The 10,000 jobs that LNG Canada purports to be creating? I asked the minister of finance if there is a guarantee that these jobs will be in B.C. Her answer? No. There has also been reporting on leaked internal documents, which estimated that only 35% to 55% of the construction workforce will be British Columbians. 

...Nowhere in this debate are the environmental and health impacts, let alone the true economic costs, being given the emphasis they deserve. Canada is warming at twice the global rate. Over a million species are facing imminent extinction. We are in a planetary crisis that requires immediate action. We don’t have time for a 60-year so-called “transition phase.” 

LNG might represent a path towards profits for a small group of corporations, but for British Columbians, the harm far outweighs the benefits. Millions of youth have been striking around the world this year – and it’s not because they simply fail to grasp something that a few adults “understand.” It’s because we are gambling with their futures.