Jan 2, 2017 - As oil prices rose and fell, the federal government somehow wrestled a national agreement on climate change — with two notable exceptions. The fates of pipelines that had consumed public interest for years were drawn, while others were punted into the future. Canada’s beleaguered oil and gas industry faced an uncertain year with a new Liberal government in Ottawa, and 2017 looks like it will have its own share of big shifts.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley have cooked up a sweet deal. Trudeau and Notley get their pipeline to tidewater, while Clark gets federal approval for the Site C dam and the Petronas liquefied fracked-gas plant.

The three-way political backscratching has a high price, and the people of British Columbia will be paying it.

[VESG member reports:"David Black of Black Press was on the CBC Early Edition this morning arguing against Kinder Morgan and for setting up a refinery on the north coast instead (Prince Rupert?).  He had some interesting nuggets on the Exxon Valdez grounding.

1) The ship lost only 8% of its load. [Editor: Black said an eighth of its load]

2) The most intensive part of the cleanup took four years.

3) 11,000 workers and 1,400 vessels were involved.

4) Only 7% of the spill was actually able to be cleaned up.

As oil prices rose and fell, the federal government somehow wrestled a national agreement on climate change — with two notable exceptions. The fates of pipelines that had consumed public interest for years were drawn, while others were punted into the future. Canada’s beleaguered oil and gas industry faced an uncertain year with a new Liberal government in Ottawa, and 2017 looks like it will have its own share of big shifts. For the year that was, here are the top five energy stories.

B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office has issued two new enforcement orders for Site C, an 1,100-megawatt hydroelectric project under construction on the Peace River.

It has also posted an inspection record that found several issues of non-compliance related to erosion and water management.

Dear Prime Minister Trudeau,

Allow me to introduce myself. I am a lifelong, pretty old British Columbian who loves his province with the same passion I’m sure people in Trois Rivières love theirs. Your inferential calling BC’s patriotism into question because we will vigorously oppose your approval of the Kinder Morgan pipeline demonstrates clearly that you’re quite unable to understand this, your connections to BC notwithstanding.

The environment in British Columbia has taken a beating since the arrival of Captain James Cook at Nootka Sound in 1784, when his crew traded small items for rich sea-otter furs.

The pelts were later sold in China for up to $300 apiece, which would be equivalent to roughly $5,000 today. So the fur trade stirred its own kind of gold fever, and in no time Pacific Coast sea otters were on the verge of extinction.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Christy Clark and most of Canada’s premiers recently signed the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. “Framework” is a good title for this agreement — it is barely a start on what is needed. But it contains a policy shift that could dramatically reduce climate pollution from transportation.

OTTAWA - The federal government is seeking a way to regulate underwater shipping noise as part of its plan to protect an endangered group of killer whales from increased oil tanker traffic off Vancouver.

The news comes as environmental groups are poised to file a new lawsuit challenging the Liberal cabinet's approval of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, alleging the government failed to mitigate the project's impact on the iconic southern resident killer whales.