US firm Kiewit, a major player in BC construction ruled 'reckless' in worker's death, has piled up other safety violations.
Bent low over the shattering racket of the power drill he was driving into solid rock, without a radio and wearing ear protection that muffled the shouts of other workers, Sam Fitzpatrick may never have seen the boulder that killed him.
Washington State officials have privately complained about a lack of information — vital for an oil spill response — on the ingredients of the diluent used to help Alberta bitumen flow through Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline.
VANCOUVER, Canada—For nearly two weeks, beginning August 1, the skies over Vancouver were filled with the smoke of forest fires burning in central and northern British Columbia. The smoke from those fires and others farther afield has waxed and waned over much of North America since July. Three days ago, Vancouver and coastal BC and Washington State gained a respite thanks to a weather front from the Pacific Ocean that pushed the smoke eastward. But the respite could end soon, depending on the vagaries of weather patterns.
The Kwantlen Student Association is contributing $6,000 to the project
With some financial support from the Kwantlen Student Association, the Kwantlen First Nation is planning a building project meant to throw an obstacle in the way of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.
The KSA will contribute $6,000 towards a healing lodge that will be constructed on Kwantlen First Nation Territory, directly in the path of the planned oil pipeline. The build is expected to begin in August with the lodge to be fully functional by September.
The last time Site C was fully reviewed by the BC Utilities Commission, it was 1983. The commission investigated for just over a year and ultimately concluded that Site C was unneeded and recommended BC Hydro begin investigating alternative energy sources in earnest.
Thirty-four years later, with sunk costs increasing every day, the Site C review ordered this week by the new NDP government has an unusual urgency. But the questions on the dam’s economics are complex with a huge amount of data to be examined. The review needs to be quick, but not too quick.
British Columbians should not be lamenting Petronas’ decision to pull its Pacific Northwest Liquified Natural Gas proposal. Instead, they should be celebrating the demise of a project built on bad economics, climate change denial and wishful thinking.
A few pundits have told the Petronas story as a tragedy. Some are blaming the new NDP government, others their B.C. Liberal predecessors for not moving faster to land a deal.
