Zoë Yunker

The news has been heavy these days, and it was such a treat to have the chance to learn about this project and energy solutions that may be waiting in the wings.

Thanks to @michellecyca.com for the brilliant edits!

B.C. First Nation taps geothermal power for food security | The Narwhal In northeast B.C., fresh food is scarce. West Moberly First Nations is turning to an underground clean-energy solution

Food systems are on the edge in West Moberly First Nations' territory, but they have plan to change that.

Their geothermal-powered greenhouse could be Canada's first, drawing on hot water trapped inside an ancient seafloor to grow food for the northeast.

My latest for @thenarwhal.ca

B.C. First Nation taps geothermal power for food security | The Narwhal In northeast B.C., fresh food is scarce. West Moberly First Nations is turning to an underground clean-energy solution

Accessing fresh produce is a challenge in many northern communities, but for one First Nation in northeastern B.C., harnessing geothermal energy may offer a path to better food security. @zoeyunker.bsky.social reports: thenarwhal.ca/west-moberly...

‘First Nations Would Not Exist Without Canada,’ Rustad Tells Crowd | The Tyee Conservative MLAs held a town hall to criticize DRIPA. Community members and Indigenous leaders pushed back.

A staggering report from @amandafollett.bsky.social on Rustad's town hall on Indigenous rights and DRIPA in Smithers (Wet’suwet’en territory) last weekend:

BC Must Overhaul the Province’s Forestry Industry, Report Says | The Tyee A council created as part of the Greens’ decision to back the NDP says the government can’t ‘keep kicking this can down the road.’

BC's forest advisory council released its long-awaited report this week.

It says BC should scrap timber supply reviews and replace them with locally shaped plans.

Will the plan turn the corner before it's too late?

My story for @thetyee.ca 🌲

#bcpoli

BC Must Overhaul the Province’s Forestry Industry, Report Says | The Tyee A council created as part of the Greens’ decision to back the NDP says the government can’t ‘keep kicking this can down the road.’

A forest advisory council has recommended shifting B.C.’s forest regime towards more local decision-making.

The plan has received applause, but some experts warn the plan lacks teeth and risks putting fragile forest ecosystems at risk. @zoeyunker.bsky.social reports. #bcpoli #OldGrowth

BC Halts Plans to Make Polluters Pay for Cleanup Costs | The Tyee The province billed its Public Interest Bonding Strategy as a key step to protect the public from massive cleanup bills. Now it’s on hold.

Cleanup at Port Alice's bankrupt pulp mill has cost the public $170 million and counting.

BC said this was a "symptom of a wider problem" facing taxpayers, and vowed to close the legal loopholes that allowed it to happen.

Now it's quietly halted that process.

My story for @thetyee.ca

#bcpoli

BC Halts Plans to Make Polluters Pay for Cleanup Costs | The Tyee The province billed its Public Interest Bonding Strategy as a key step to protect the public from massive cleanup bills. Now it’s on hold.

B.C. has halted work on a strategy aimed at ensuring taxpayers don’t bear the massive cleanup costs arising from abandoned industrial sites and disasters like the Mount Polley mine breach.

@zoeyunker.bsky.social reports. #bcpoli

Drax manager questioned public statements on wood sourcing, tribunal documents show Power station owner has received billions of pounds in subsidies to convert former coal-fired station to burn biomass

Illuminating comments from a senior policy specialist at Drax during a 2023 internal probe:

“I don’t think we should take from Primary Forests, even if they’re [the trees] dead, we’ve been saying we don’t source from these forests when it appears we might be."

#bcpoli

Then there are the opportunity costs of investing $36 billion in a pipeline that, climate change considered, should be a stranded asset in 20 years.

Are there better things we could have spent that money on?

Meanwhile, workers saw job numbers plateau, and Canada’s fossil fuel-driven economy went on an inflationary rollercoaster, costing an average of $12,000 per household from oil company profits alone, also according the Centre for Future Work.

Feeling Broke? Blame Big Oil | The Tyee Canada’s affordability crisis and fossil fuel company profits are linked, says report.

Do oil company profits make us better off?

Lessons from the oil price spike during the peak COVID era are instructive. Company profits rose 996% — most of that went into shareholder dividends, according to analysis from the Centre for Future Work, covered below:

Okay, but don't those losses pale in comparison to the added royalties, taxes and GDP growth Canada stands to gain?

Even on purely economic grounds, I have questions:

Is Trans Mountain’s Profitability an Accounting Illusion? | The Tyee How the finances of Canada’s government-owned pipeline may look better than they are.

As pipeline talk swirls, below are some thoughts and a reshare of my December article for @thetyee.ca on Trans Mountain’s apparent financial boom.

(Basically, don’t believe it — it’s an accounting illusion. Canadians lost many millions last year.)

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The Town That Asbestos Built. The Cancer It Left Behind | The Tyee Former residents of Cassiar say they weren’t warned about the risks. Now, they struggle to find support.

Must-read from @amandafollett.bsky.social on the ongoing struggle of those impacted by Cassiar's asbestos mine, which covered the town in "green dust."

"Children playing in the snow cautioned each other to “eat between the green” to avoid ingesting it, Joseph remembers."

thetyee.ca/News/2026/01...

Is Trans Mountain’s Profitability an Accounting Illusion? | The Tyee How the finances of Canada’s government-owned pipeline may look better than they are.

Trans Mountain is making big profits now, right?

Actually, no.

Thanks to accounting wizardry and a shell company, the pipeline has transformed Canadians' losses into gains on its balance sheets.

My deep dive on this for @thetyee.ca:

thetyee.ca/Analysis/202...

'Sorry prime minister, I'm no longer your man': Steven Guilbeault on leaving cabinet In Steven Guilbeault’s first English-media interview since resigning over Prime Minister Mark Carney’s decision to pursue a pipeline agreement with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the former cabinet m...

Industrial carbon price needs to jump to $400 to make up for lost clean electricity regs, according to Guilbeault in this critical interview by @woodsideful.bsky.social 👏

LNG Is the ‘Elephant in the Room’ at BC Climate Plan Update | The Tyee The province’s plan to reduce emissions can be salvaged. But expansion of gas exports needs scrutiny, reviewers say.

BC's climate plan reviewers issued their report card yesterday.

Their verdict: Focus less on targets and more on getting stuff done.

Also, LNG could blow everything out of the water.

My collab with @amandafollett.bsky.social for @thetyee.ca

thetyee.ca/News/2025/11...

LNG Is the ‘Elephant in the Room’ at BC Climate Plan Update | The Tyee The province’s plan to reduce emissions can be salvaged. But expansion of gas exports needs scrutiny, reviewers say.

Experts reviewing CleanBC say the plan to reduce carbon emissions is working — but the province needs to take a closer look at LNG.

My story with @zoeyunker.bsky.social for @thetyee.ca
thetyee.ca/News/2025/11...

The Oil Tanker Ban That Dims Alberta’s Pipeline Hopes | The Tyee The law is six years old. But federal promises to protect BC’s north coast from spills date back decades.

ICYMI: critical background on the history of Canada's tanker ban from @amandafollett.bsky.social

thetyee.ca/News/2025/11...

Thanks to @tyolsen.bsky.social for editing and supporting with files + photos!

Will BC Electrify Its Economy? BC Hydro Doubts It | The Tyee The Crown corporation’s new long-term plan for BC’s energy future is a missed opportunity to commit to electrification, experts say.

David Eby says BC will be Canada's "economic engine," powered by clean electricity.

BC Hydro has other, less flashy plans.

Among them: a major shortfall in the energy BC would need to meet its climate targets.

My latest via @thetyee.ca

Will BC Electrify Its Economy? BC Hydro Doubts It | The Tyee The Crown corporation’s new long-term plan for BC’s energy future is a missed opportunity to commit to electrification, experts say.

Premier Eby recently described B.C. as Canada’s future “economic engine,” one that would be powered “by clean, reliable, affordable power.”

Ten days later, BC Hydro quietly released a more muted vision of the path ahead. @zoeyunker.bsky.social explains. ⚡️ #bcpoli

Double down on push to abandon fossil fuels, 82 countries urge at climate summit Governments across Europe, the Pacific islands, Latin America and Africa embraced the call. The United States did not.

82 countries are calling for a "roadmap" to phase out coal, oil and natural gas at #COP30, making it "one of the most substantial and likely divisive topics of the two-week negotiations"

Ksi Lisims LNG Makes Federal List of ‘Nation-Building’ Projects | The Tyee The prime minister sidestepped questions about US ownership and First Nations opposition at a northern BC presser.

Who owns Ksi Lisims? Helpful context on the project from @amandafollett.bsky.social

In four minutes, Carney revealed his energy policy In four minutes at the Canadian Club Toronto, Carney gave away more than he has all year.

Seriously appreciating this close-up translation of Carney's energy plans from @arnokopecky.bsky.social 👏

quickest way to get an ancient tree cut down in B.C. is to put it in a recommended deferral zone, apparently! important story from @zoeyunker.bsky.social

Thank you to Lindsay Sample and @michellecyca.com for editing!

For the first time in BC's history, it also provides data on the remaining unlogged primary forests and those that have been degraded.

This is key info B.C. has yet to disclose, say report authors Karen Price and Dave Daust.

How logging has sent B.C. forests into freefall | The Narwhal A Sierra Club BC report reveals a gap between B.C.’s forestry promises, including old-growth deferrals, and reality

Old growth in recommended deferral zones was four times more likely to be logged than forests outside, according to a new report out today from Sierra Club BC.

My latest for @thenarwhal.ca

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