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Marvin Shaffer
Marvin Shaffer is a consulting economist and adjunct professor in the Public Policy Program at Simon Fraser University. He has a PhD in Economics from the University of British Columbia and received his BA, Honours in Economics, from McGill University. Marvin has managed his own consulting firm specializing in energy, transportation and natural resource economics for over thirty years. Marvin previously held senior positions with the Government of British Columbia (head of the Crown Corporations Secretariat and Chief Executive Officer of the British Columbia Transportation Financing Authority). As well, he lectured in economics at the University of British Columbia, and at the University of Queensland and University of Tasmania in Australia. Follow Marvin on Twitter
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British Columbians will pay the LNG industry’s power bills
In his Tyee article BC’s LNG Fraud, Andrew Nikiforuk pointed out that the government’s new eDrive policy—under which BC Hydro will supply electricity to LNG plants at…
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Investing in youth aging out of foster care
It should be enough to know that it is the right thing to do. We should support foster youth in their transition to adulthood—youth for…
How the so-called “Clean Energy Plan” still wreaks havoc on BC Hydro’s rates
My wife says I hold on to things too long. Still, when I read BC Hydro’s most recent rate application to the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC), I…
The BC economy’s unbalanced and inequitable growth
Skyrocketing property transfer tax revenues have been in the news the past few days, but the bigger story, well-documented in a recent Huffington Post article,…
What’s wrong with a revenue neutral carbon tax?
The political appeal of a revenue neutral carbon tax is clear. The tax provides an incentive to reduce fossil fuel use, and the revenue neutrality…
Massey Tunnel Replacement: where’s the data to support this project?
It seemed like a good thing to do on a cold rainy day — curl up by the fire and read the long delayed, potential…
What’s Wrong with Site C
In a #SiteC tweet no doubt designed to complement an unabashedly political debate taking place in the legislature this week, the Liberal caucus stated that…
Inconsistency in BC’s GHG Regulations
It is no doubt quite naive to think that the BC government (or any government for that matter) would transparently ensure that it imposed the…
LNG Project Agreement – A Risky Business
The Project Development agreement that the provincial government negotiated with Petronas (Pacific Northwest LNG) and now plans to enshrine in legislation has only one purpose. It…
Economic Development and the Environment
The biggest challenge facing the new NDP government in Alberta, and an NDP government in British Columbia should one be elected in 2017, is finding…
Transit referendum: if no vote wins, what is Plan B?
I got my plebiscite ballot today and of course voted yes. Whatever you think of TransLink management, its governance, the rough and largely undefined edges…
The early and fatal undermining of TransLink
Pete McMartin wrote an excellent column in the Vancouver Sun documenting the many ways that the provincial government has undermined TransLink. The upcoming referendum isn’t the…