Menu

News & ResearchArticles by: Marc Lee

Marc Lee

Marc Lee is a Senior Economist at the CCPA’s BC Office. In addition to tracking federal and provincial budgets and economic trends, Marc has published on a range of topics from poverty and inequality to globalization and international trade to public services and regulation. Marc is Co-Director of the Climate Justice Project, a research partnership with UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning that examines the links between climate change policies and social justice. Follow Marc on Twitter

  • <a target="_blank" href="https://flic.kr/p/9QqJ1g">Takver</a> / Flickr” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_fall2017_carbontax_20year.jpg 900w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_fall2017_carbontax_20year-300×133.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_fall2017_carbontax_20year-768×341.jpg 768w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px” /></a><div class=
    Climate Change
    Income/wages
    Policy Note
    Tax Policy
    The Economy
    BC Office

    Climate justice and the BC carbon tax: 20th Anniversary retrospective

    BC’s carbon tax was announced in February 2008, a year after the landmark February 2007 Throne Speech that focused extensively on climate change. That set…

  • <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos/28745826105/in/photostream/">Province of British Columbia</a> / Flickr” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_oct2017_eight-reasons-site-c.jpg 1280w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_oct2017_eight-reasons-site-c-300×141.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_oct2017_eight-reasons-site-c-1024×480.jpg 1024w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_oct2017_eight-reasons-site-c-768×360.jpg 768w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px” /></a><div class=
    Climate Change
    Environment & Sustainability
    Fracking & LNG
    Policy Note
    BC Office

    Eight reasons the Site C dam is not needed: My testimony to BC Utilities Commission

    Last week, I appeared before the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) at their Technical Presentation Session in Vancouver, and gave a brief presentation about my findings…

  • Housing & Homelessness
    Policy Note
    BC Office

    Vancouver looks to more ambitious affordability proposals

    When the previous BC government brought in a 15% foreign buyer tax in August 2016, Metro Vancouver’s housing market paused: real estate transactions dropped dramatically,…

  • <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgovphotos/28745826875/in/photostream/">Province of British Columbia</a> / Flickr” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote-sep2017-challenging-site-c.jpg 900w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote-sep2017-challenging-site-c-300×134.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote-sep2017-challenging-site-c-768×342.jpg 768w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px” /></a><div class=
    Climate Change
    Fracking & LNG
    Policy Note
    BC Office

    Challenging Site C: The BC Utilities Commission preliminary report

    The BC Utilities Commission preliminary report demonstrates why independent review of mega-projects like Site C is so essential, even with the short timeframe imposed by…

  • <a target="_blank" href="https://pixabay.com/en/lightbulb-concept-cork-bulletin-2692247/">Gino Crescoli</a> / Pixabay” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_sep2017_nine-things.jpg 1280w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_sep2017_nine-things-300×141.jpg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_sep2017_nine-things-1024×480.jpg 1024w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote_sep2017_nine-things-768×360.jpg 768w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px” /></a><div class=
    Policy Note
    Provincial Budgets
    BC Office

    9 things to look for in Monday’s BC Budget

    BC’s new government is set to table its first provincial budget on Monday, September 11. While it is expected to be less comprehensive than a…

  • Economic Indicators
    Energy Policy
    Environment & Sustainability
    Reports
    BC Office

    Revisiting the Economic Case for Site C

    Download

  • Climate Change
    Environment & Sustainability
    Fracking & LNG
    Policy Note
    The Economy
    BC Office

    Australia’s LNG catastrophe: Why Petronas’ LNG cancellation is a blessing for BC

    British Columbians should not be lamenting Petronas’ decision to pull its Pacific Northwest Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) proposal. Instead, they should be celebrating the demise…

  • Policy Note
    Provincial Budgets
    The Economy
    BC Office

    How big is BC’s budget surplus?

    Some recent media commentary has taken to flights of fantasy by assuming that large personal tax increases would be needed to fund the policies contained…

  • Climate Change
    Energy Policy
    News & Commentary
    National Office

    Greenhouse gas emissions and the Energy East Pipeline

    I submitted the following to the National Energy Board, which is seeking comments on what should be included as part of the upcoming hearings on…

  • © Joshua Berson
    BC Election Commentary
    Housing & Homelessness
    Policy Note
    BC Office

    Searching for affordable housing in the 2017 BC election platforms

    Housing affordability is one of the top issues for voters in the 2017 election campaign, particularly for those in pricey Metro Vancouver. While most of…

  • <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/istargazer/277044367/">Albert Lynn</a> / Flickr” style=”border-radius:0px;–objectFit:cover;–imagePosX:50%;–imagePosY:50%” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” srcset=”https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote-april2017-climate-energy-bc-election-platforms.jpeg 900w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote-april2017-climate-energy-bc-election-platforms-300×133.jpeg 300w, https://www.policyalternatives.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/policynote-april2017-climate-energy-bc-election-platforms-768×341.jpeg 768w” sizes=”auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px” /></a><div class=
    BC Election Commentary
    Climate Change
    Environment & Sustainability
    Fracking & LNG
    Policy Note
    Tax Policy
    BC Office

    Climate change and energy issues in the 2017 BC election platforms

    From the fracking fields and Site C dam in BC’s northeast to an LNG terminal and Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and tanker expansion in the southwest,…

    • Updates from the CCPA

    Read the latest research, analysis and commentary on issues that matter to you.

    CCPA Updates