British Columbia

As one Kinder Morgan crew worked on stemming an oil leak from its Trans Mountain pipeline in British Columbia on Thursday, another worked on winning over the province’s reluctant public for a major expansion of the line.

For the second time in as many weeks the company was forced to shut down the only pipeline linking the Alberta oil fields with a westcoast shipping port because of a leak, this one about 40 kilometres east of Hope, B.C.

A group of more than 20 hereditary chiefs and matriarchs in the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation is crying foul over an aboriginal leader whose battle against a B.C. liquefied natural gas project includes a lawsuit.

The group belonging to the Gitwilgyoots tribe of the Lax Kw’alaams is upset at Donald (Donnie) Wesley, alleging he doesn’t have the authority to act on behalf of the tribe.

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Supreme Court is being asked to reverse the provincial government’s decision to approve a pipeline proposal over an alleged conflict of interest between the premier and the project’s proponents.

Democracy Watch and PIPE UP Network have applied for a judicial review of the environmental assessment certificate granted earlier this year by the province for Kinder Morgan Canada’s $6.8-billion project.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

OTTAWA – Today, Democracy Watch and the PIPE UP Network applied to the B.C. Supreme Court for an order quashing the approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline approval on the basis that more than $550,000 in donations to the B.C. Liberal Party by Kinder Morgan and pipeline-connected companies created an apparent conflict of interest that prohibited Premier Christy Clark, Environment Minister Mary Polak and Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman from deciding the pipeline approval.

VICTORIA — The Globe and Mail

The Tsilhqot’in First Nation played host to federal Indigenous and Northern Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett on Friday, wrapping up her visit to their territory in B.C.’s Interior with a signing ceremony committing the two governments to reconciliation. It’s a well-timed pact, as both sides will be in court together on Monday, fighting the latest effort by Taseko Mines Ltd. to revive its proposed $1.5-billion New Prosperity open-pit gold and copper mine project.

Until the mid-twentieth century, much of British Columbia lacked reliable and affordable electricity. To resolve the privation, W.A.C. Bennett created BC Hydro, a publicly owned utility. The province’s leader acted because the private sector had refused to meet growing needs for electricity. Unlike less effective successors, Premier Bennett was a pragmatist, not an ideologue.

The Site C hydro dam in northeastern B.C. may be more than a year into construction, but the federal government still hasn’t determined whether the mega dam infringes on treaty rights — and, according to a Federal Court of Appeal ruling this week, the government isn’t obligated to answer that question.

The Federal Court of Appeal has rejected a legal challenged filed by two British Columbia First Nations that argued the $8.8-billion Site C dam project violated their treaty rights.

The Prophet River First Nation and the West Moberly First Nation appealed a Federal Court judge’s decision to deny an application for a judicial review of the federal government’s approval of the project.