It is spun in government press releases as a "first" for any jurisdiction in North America, an achievement that places British Columbia "on the leading edge" of efforts to combat climate change.

But scratch the surface just a little and questions arise about the legitimacy of Environment Minister Terry Lake's recent claim that "from this point forward, every government building in our province will be carbon neutral."

Anyone wanting to see just how dysfunctional politics in B.C. has become should check out Bob Simpson's recent Private Members' statement in the provincial legislature.

For seven minutes Simpson, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Cariboo North and one of two Independent MLAs, spoke about why he and fellow Independent Vicki Huntington (Delta South), had called on Premier Christy Clark to appoint a special committee of the legislature to investigate B.C.'s ballooning unconventional gas production and its public policy implications.

MP (Trinity-Spadina) Olivia Chow's office has compiled a list of websites, contact numbers and information for Toronto residents living in and around the convention centre where the G20 summit will be held:

Access to your home or work: G8-G20 Integrated Security Unit

The G8-G20 Integrated Security Unit is in charge of security, traffic and access for the event. For information about access to your homes or offices, please visit www.G8-G20isu.ca or call 1-888-446-4047.

Security zone