New article in CJPS

I am excited to share my new article in the Canadian Journal of Political Science (CJPS), "Explaining Variation in Oil Sands Pipeline Projects." Through a cross-case analysis of mega oil sands pipelines, I find the increase in socio-political and legal conflict around these pipelines significantly impact whether they get built or not. I owe a …

Bill C-69 can’t fix what’s really plaguing pipelines

This piece was first published by The Hill Times on June 6, 2019. Since this piece was published, the House of Commons rejected about half of the Senate’s amendments and C-69 has become law. The Hill Times file photograph At the end of May, the Senate accepted a committee report with an enormous package of …

Redrawing the battle lines in the fight over Canada’s price on carbon

My partner Scott Janzwood and I decided to write a short piece on Canada’s carbon pricing system because we noticed that most industries are at least conditionally supportive of the output based pricing system. This development has been lost among coverage of provincial opposition to the system. This piece was first published on OpenCanada. I …

Will science-based targets save us? Insights from the global food industry

Caitlin Scott and I wrote an opinion piece for Global Policy Next Generation explaining why food companies have committed to science-based targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We also argue that the unique challenges of the agricultural industry compromise the effectiveness of these targets. Read the full piece here. Huge thanks to the team …

Reflections on the Utrecht Winter School on Earth System Governance

In November, the Earth System Governance (ESG) Project hosted a Winter School at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The five-day Winter School took place in advance of the ESG Conference (read Emma Lecavalier’s summary of the conference here). The School provided an opportunity for early career researchers to engage with the themes of the Project’s new Science and Implementation …

The new NAFTA – what’s the deal with energy?

I was very curious about why a little known clause in the new NAFTA got removed, so I wrote about it for the Behind the Numbers blog by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). Thanks to Sujata Day from the Council of Canadians and Hadrian Mertins-Kirkwood, Scott Sinclair and Stuart Trew at the CCPA …

Deer and hare and candy, oh my! Using game theory to teach environmental politics

I was recently invited to facilitate a workshop at a social justice conference for youth. The Power of Being You conference was organized by several not-for-profit organizations in Waterloo Region. The conference was designed for grade 8 students to promote discussion and dialogue, social justice, action and allyship. My workshop, “Earth Allies,” was designed to …

Rewiring our “trade brains” for the climate crisis

I wrote this piece, below, for the summer issue of the CCPA's Monitor. Trade etches patterns and relationships into our global economic system that become deeply entrenched over time. This is not dissimilar to the way that neurochemical patterns are etched into our brains in a way that makes overcoming addiction, mental illness or trauma …

Getting socially progressive trade right (how Canada ought to approach trade and gender with the Pacific Alliance)

Erin Hannah and I wrote this short piece for Canadian International Council's The Signal Board. Scroll down for our takeaways! Earlier this month, Canada and the Pacific Alliance – founded by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – completed their second round of negotiations for a free trade deal. The ongoing negotiations for the Canada-Pacific Alliance Free …

What kind of civil society? Debating trade at the WTO Public Forum

An article I co-authored with Erin Hannah, James Scott and Rorden Wilkinson was published today in the Journal of World Trade about the WTO's changing relationship with civil society. This article was motivated by the changes that we were witnessing at the WTO's annual Public Forums. By analyzing a unique dataset of participation in the WTO's …