A coalition of First Nations, environmentalists, doctors and other community leaders are calling on the British Columbia government to launch a judicial inquiry into mining, given flaws they have cited in oversight of the industry.
“It’s in the public interest to do it. We have had repeated instances where it has been shown that the regulatory system has failed,” said Calvin Sandborn, legal director of the University of Victoria Environmental Law Centre, which has helped rally the coalition.
The problem of corporate influence in politics and government is heating up in BC as we head towards the May election. 2017 kicked off with an explosive story in the New York Times, aptly titled “British Columbia: The Wild West of Canadian Political Cash.” The story drew widespread attention to the complete absence of limits in BC on political donations by wealthy corporations and individuals, including foreign donations and contributions from outside the province.
We already know that Christy Clark wants to export Alberta’s dirty oil. Now it seems her supporters want to import Alberta’s toxic politics.
Jim Shepard, the premier’s former economic adviser and architect of a million-dollar blast of anti-NDP attack ads in 2013, published a piece last week called, “B.C. should be concerned about NDP Leap Manifesto.” It could have been cut and pasted directly from the Wildrose party playbook.
A major climate-change study predicts temperatures in Metro Vancouver will exceed those of present-day Southern California in the coming decades.
Frost and ice will become virtually a thing of the past, heating bills will drop, and farm crops will flourish virtually year-round in the Fraser Valley.
[Wepage editors note: More evidence that the Trudeau Liberal government is 'more of the same']
The Massey Tunnel replacement project will not be subject to a federal environmental review, according to a letter sent to Metro Vancouver’s board of directors.
Kinder Morgan Inc (KMI.N) has begun talks with institutional investors including major Canadian pension funds and private equity firms to raise capital for the $6.8 billion expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline project, according to people familiar with the process.
Kinder Morgan has held discussions with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, three of the biggest Canadian pension funds, the people added. It was unclear whether these talks were continuing.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines due diligence as: “The care that a reasonable person exercises to avoid harm to other persons or their property.” As the debate on British Columbia’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry enters its fourth year, it is past time to bring one aspect of that industry under scrutiny – the safety of people in proximity to LNG vessels and terminals.
The provincial government views the multiple benefits agreements for Metlakatla and Lax Kw’alaams as a win for both the LNG industry and First Nations reconciliation.
In conversation with John Rustad, the minister of Aboriginal relations and reconciliation, on Feb. 16, the day following the landmark deal, he explained that even if the Pacific NorthWest LNG project doesn’t follow through with a final investment decision (FID) some land will still be transferred to First Nations.
