Stefan Labbé

Two former consultants helped advance B.C.’s massive KSM gold mine in the private sector. Metadata shows they are now directly drafting its permit from inside the B.C. government. See the details of my investigation here: www.biv.com/news/economy...

BC’s gold standard for urban wildlife safety has fallen into a bureaucratic void, with lead roles unstaffed, applications piling up, and oversight quietly halted The province’s absence comes as two Bear Smart communities that failed audits in 2024 face threats of expulsion in the coming months

Wow, bombshell report by @stefanlabbe.bsky.social about how the BC Ministry of Forests may be overestimating the annual harvest rates by more than double, using unscientific methods and extremely optimistic assumptions to set rates. People should lose their jobs for this. www.biv.com/news/resourc...

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has approved Teal-Jones' interim sale of a Fraser Valley forest licence before the province could consult First Nations. Some worry the deal leaves endangered spotted owl habitat open to logging. Others claim the deal represents an “end run” around Indigenous rights.

B.C. and Alberta have shared a major electricity intertie for almost 40 years. It has chronically failed to meet capacity — offering lessons on what stands in the way of the Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan for an east-to-west grid

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority says it is in the early stages of a plan to dredge Burrard Inlet to allow more oil to be shipped through the harbour. The project raises environmental concerns and questions over Indigenous rights via @brentrichter.bsky.social

At least 260 ha. of tidal marsh that protect Metro Vancouver's dikes have disappeared in recent decades. Some worry the 9 million tonnes of sand dredged out of the Fraser River annually is playing a role. But unlike other jurisdictions, Canada stopped measuring the problem years ago.

A network of “bot-like” social media accounts targeted Liberal Leader Mark Carney in the lead-up to the federal election, a new analysis says The accounts claimed Carney's old firm would benefit from the party’s “net zero agenda” in what experts say is a familiar climate disinformation tactic

Vancouver-based The Metals Company says it is now seeking U.S. approval for deep sea mining in international waters. The head of the United Nations seabed authority warned the move would be “violation of international law” and undermine multilateral efforts to govern the world's oceans.

Nearly half of 1,300 landslides that occurred during B.C.'s November 2021 atmospheric river event started in areas burned by wildfire or disturbed by logging. The study raises questions over the long-term safety of B.C.’s highways and communities downstream of disturbed hillsides.

B.C. company says its fusion reactor will produce more power than it consumes by 2027 — a breakthrough that could eventually help scale the technology into a power plant without risks of emissions, a runaway reaction, nuclear waste or weaponization. I visited the new test reactor to learn more

Climate change could improve grape-growing conditions in British Columbia -- at a cost

Across Canada, more than 50 oil and gas companies and their industry groups have influenced K-12 education on climate change, a new report has found. Among them is the FortisBC-funded “Energy Champions”program that sends BC Lions football players into schools

A new financing program will help protect communities from disaster, but it won't help those still vulnerable from the last strike Merritt's Sean Strang said the city has been left behind “It’s frankly a slap in the face.” www.biv.com/news/economy...

Logging records show Drax still sources whole trees from primary forests felled by other companies in B.C. despite its own sustainability criteria saying the company will "avoid damage or disturbance to high carbon forests" including “primary forest" www.bbc.com/news/article...

The B.C. government has sanctioned a Chilliwack slaughterhouse and is “re-focusing the role of inspectors” at all slaughter facilities across the province. Their new mandate, said the ministry — focus on both food safety and the humane treatment of animals. www.nsnews.com/resources-ag...

Big trees crucial to migrate B.C. forests under climate change, finds study The goal of the experiment was: - find out how Douglas fir trees handle human-assisted migration - if they would do better in forests left partially intact after logging www.nsnews.com/environment/...

A legal challenge claiming the planned expansion of Canada’s largest port would threaten the survival of endangered southern resident killer whales has been struck down by a federal judge.

Underwater volcano off B.C. coast is primed to erupt. The Axial Seamount is not expected to threaten human population centres but it could help scientists forecast the eruption of more dangerous volcanoes.

“We’re going to spin it. And we’re going to knit it. And we’re going to see what happens.” www.biv.com/news/bc-rese...

British Columbia's government expects to plant nearly 60 million fewer trees next year — a 23 per cent drop from this year's planting season. The steep decline is the biggest in years and comes after two massive wildfire seasons.

New data shows parts of B.C. are losing icy winters faster than the rest of Canada Vancouver leads Canada's major cities, losing 19 days of winter over the past decade And at the regional level, two Island communities lead the rest of the country www.nsnews.com/highlights/t...

I wade into the perennial eco-friendly tree debate: plastic, freshly cut or something else altogether? Here’s what some of the science says: www.timescolonist.com/environment/...

Audit finds delays to approve dozens of B.C. mines were largely caused by market forces — not government permitting. “These fly directly in the face of this narrative that these mines are delayed by regulation,” said one researcher

'Are they going to walk away?': Charges 10 years after B.C.'s Mount Polley disaster

A new study links leaded gasoline to surge in U.S. mental health illnesses — especially for people born between 1966 and 1986. Experts warn the same multi-generational problem could be quietly playing out in Canada

Metro Vancouver has approved a motion seeking federal intervention on what is truly "flushable." The move comes as mislabeled sanitary wipes continues to cost Canadian cities hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Canada will keep tabs on Paper Excellence’s promises, says natural resources minister www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Vancouver council stays course on natural gas ban in new homes At the meeting, the mayor questioned the validity of his own staff’s report on the effects of electrification

A first national estimate shows Canadians dump 1,465 tonnes of microplastics into the environment. Here are some ways to help: www.timescolonist.com/highlights/c...

Critical natural areas shield half of Canada's population from flooding, a new study has found. B.C. & Quebec — two particularly wet and forested places — receive the most natural flood protection. www.timescolonist.com/highlights/c...

ICYMI this week After denying links for years, the owner of Canadian forestry giant Paper Excellence has quietly moved to take control over Asia Pulp & Paper. The conglomerate has long been accused of widespread deforestation.

Alright, let’s give this website a try again. In one of my latest, scientists map out a previously unidentified hot spot for whale-ship collisions off the coast of Vancouver Island. www.timescolonist.com/animal-stori...

McMillan LLP —the “independent third-party” firm that reviewed links between Paper Excellence and Asia Pulp and Paper — previously advised the forestry giant on several multi-billion-dollar deals. www.timescolonist.com/resources-ag...

B.C. scientists have decoded how killer whales breathe. Here's why it matters

GoFundMe disaster fundraising is surging across Canada at ~34%/year. In B.C., where last fall a government watchdog said emergency supports are broken, crowdfunded aid per capita leads the country. Early evidence suggests the wealthy tend to benefit most. www.timescolonist.com/economy-law-...

An endless source of contamination, legacy flame retardants are woven through nearly every built environment—in buildings, furniture, computers & cars. Now, Canadian scientists have found peregrine falcons could be the most polluted animal on the planet. tinyurl.com/4b86ean9

With the “forestry is good for wildfires!” propaganda from the logging industry in steady circulation again right now (see this article from @stefanlabbe.bsky.social: vancouverisawesome.com/highlights/c...), it’s important to talk about just how false this narrative is. #bcpoli 1/6