B.C.’s New Democrats are calling for new and stronger actions from the B.C. Liberals to ensure long-term sustainability and environmental quality, greater public accountability, and best practices in the natural gas industry as the practice of hydraulic fracturing (‘fracking’) grows.

New Democrats are introducing a bill calling for the creation of a sustainable development board which would report to policy makers about key indicators of economic, environmental and social progress.

New Democrats are calling on Environment Minister Terry Lake to stand with the City of Kamloops and the Thompson-Nicola regional district in calling for Ottawa’s Minister of the Environment to order a federal-provincial Joint Review Panel (JRP) as the preferred environmental assessment method for the proposed Ajax Mine.

New Democrat environment critic Rob Fleming is outlining a new vision for the Pacific Carbon Trust which would end the practise of subsidizing big polluters using funds taken from schools and hospitals.