British Columbia

14/12/16
Author: 
Jacinda Mack

The Fraser River watershed is the bloodline of our beautiful province.

It reaches from deep in the Rocky Mountains and winds 1,375 kilometres south to the Straight of Georgia at Vancouver. Its major tributaries, the Nechako, Quesnel, Chilko and Thompson Rivers, expand its watershed across the province. It provides vital habitat for endangered salmon and sturgeon, water for crops, recreation for fishers, support for local economies and a living connection between diverse regions. All of this is threatened when reckless mining operations pollute our watershed.

14/12/16
Author: 
Peter McCartney
Paul George, centre, holds signs during a protest against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion in Vancouver on Nov. 29. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the $6.8-billion project that will nearly triple the capacity of the pipeline that carries crude oil from near Edmonton to Burnaby to be loaded on tankers and shipped overseas. DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s pipeline sales pitch has fallen flat in B.C. People are right to be skeptical when an oilsands champion comes to town and assures everyone that they have our best interests in mind.

There are a few things the Alberta leader and her friends in the fossil-fuel industry should understand about West Coast opposition to Kinder Morgan. On so many fronts it’s a non-starter.

13/12/16
Author: 
Dogwood Initiative Staff
Coal Train along BC coast

Beyond Coal

Fraser Surrey Docks wants to ship up to eight million tonnes a year of U.S. thermal coal to power plants in China. For the sake of our communities and the climate, we have to stop them.

Why are American coal companies using B.C. as a back door to China? Because citizens in Oregon and Washington have shut down five coal export terminals in a row. Together we can make Fraser Surrey Docks number six.

12/12/16
Author: 
Matthew Claxton
Led by drummers, a march against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project was held Sunday in Fort Langley.— Image Credit: Matthew Claxton/Langley Advance

More than 100 people marched through Fort Langley Sunday afternoon to protest the federal approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

Organized by the Kwantlen First Nation and the PIPE UP Network, the march began with drumming and remarks at the Fort Langley Community Centre before winding down Glover Road and to the Fort Langley National Historic Site.

“We didn’t give permission for the first pipeline that was laid, so why would we give permission for the second?” said Brandon Gabriel, a Kwantlen First Nation member and one of the leaders of the march.

11/12/16
Author: 
The Canadian Press
Amnesty International campaign takes aim at first Canadian project with Site C

VANCOUVER — An annual Amnesty International human-rights campaign is taking aim at a Canadian project for the first time — the Site C dam.

The $8.8-billion hydroelectric dam project in northeast British Columbia was one of 10 global issues targeted by the Write for Rights campaign on Saturday.

The campaign involves events held across the world where people write letters petitioning leaders for action on human-rights causes.

10/12/16
Author: 
Shawn McCarthy and Justine Hunter

The fragile victory by protesters at Standing Rock has galvanized indigenous communities north of the border, with some leaders now pledging to block the bitterly contested Trans Mountain pipeline. With his recent approval of that project, write Shawn McCarthy and Justine Hunter, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s biggest challenge may be yet to come

06/12/16
Author: 
Tat7ush - Theresa Peters

I did a column about the Standing Rock Sioux’s stand against the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) in October. On Sunday (Dec. 4) news broke that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not allow the pipeline to be built on its current route near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

It’s a huge victory for the water protectors — the term Standing Rock activists used and what I will call them in this column. But it took months of action and sacrifice to get to this point.

Back in October, not much media coverage was given to this environmental and Indigenous rights issue.   

05/12/16
Author: 
Tanya Fletcher
Protesters stand outside a Vancouver, B.C. bank on Dec. 1, 2016. (CBC)

Rally targeted banks protesters say will benefit from the pipeline

Protesters once again marched through downtown Vancouver on Thursday night, carrying signs and chanting anti-pipeline sentiments.

While it's a scene familiar to the west coast, the rally didn't have a local target — instead, it was meant as a symbol of solidarity for the Standing Rock demonstrators in North Dakota.

05/12/16
Author: 
Chantal Hébert
B.C. Premier Christy Clark will be campaigning for re-election in the spring. If she supports Trudeau's move, it will be her provincial Liberals who will first test the post-announcement waters. She could be in for a choppy crossing, writes Chantal Hébert. The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

[Editor:  pipeline politics!]

A betting person might reasonably wager that Justin Trudeau will not want to open another front in the pipeline wars between now and the 2019 election. And that probably makes Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, who could be facing an uphill re-election battle in less than two years, a collateral winner of this week's developments.

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