A British Columbia First Nations leader says the federal government's silence on the turmoil over the Site C dam in the province makes him wonder how serious Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is about his promise to treat First Nations issues as a priority.
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, leader of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said Ottawa's lack of reaction on the issue is "disappointing," and that the Liberals are missing a chance to show they are serious about reconciliation with Aboriginal people.
One of the more intriguing demands by those opposing the Site C dam is that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau step in and block its construction, using the argument that the dam infringes First Nations' rights and poses environmental risk.
The odds of the Trudeau government taking such an extraordinary action are, of course, fairly remote. But the root of the argument -- that the dam tramples on First Nations' rights -- remains very much alive even while the dam's construction proceeds every day.
We recently travelled to northeastern B.C.’s Peace Valley to meet with First Nations members and local landowners camped out at a remote historic fort site slated for destruction by the Site C dam.
The Treaty 8 Stewards of the Land told media they’re willing to risk arrest to stop BC Hydro from clear cutting forests around Rocky Mountain Fort, on the west side of Moberly River. The site, selected by explorer Alexander Mackenzie as mainland B.C.’s first trading post, is on Treaty 8 First Nations’ traditional territory.
Ontario Power Generation will unveil plans Monday for a $12.8-billion refurbishment of four nuclear reactors at the Darlington generating station east of Toronto.
The Canadian Press has learned the provincial Liberal cabinet has given approval to start the rebuild of the first reactor this fall, and OPG will have to come back to the government for approval of each subsequent reactor refurbishment project.
Saying the utility was "reckless" and escalating tensions, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs Grand Chief Stewart Phillip called on BC Hydro to "back off" a First Nations encampment near Site C dam construction Friday.
On Friday, the UBCIC issued a release supporting a small group of campers living on the south bank of the Peace River at Rocky Mountain Fort, an 18th-century fur trade post that will be inundated beneath the $8.8 billion project's reservoir.
Clay and Katy Peck are just the type of young farming family that B.C. Agriculture Minister Norm Letnick says his government wants to support to ensure “a reliable food source for years to come.”
The Pecks own a 65-hectare farm in the Agricultural Land Reserve overlooking the Peace River, and are preparing for organic certification of a fruit and vegetable business to serve the northern area around Fort St. John.
On the surface, the Sturgeon refinery project has just about everything Albertans would hope for as their economy sputters.
It will create jobs by processing scads of gooey crude from the oil sands into diesel fuel. It has long-term bitumen supply agreements with the province and one of Canada's largest oil companies.
Its carbon emissions will be piped away for use in old oil reservoirs to help produce leftover crude rather than vented into the atmosphere. That fits well with the province's new climate framework.
