The federal government has rejected a call from the Royal Society of Canada and some 250 scientists and academics to put a halt to British Columbia’s Site C hydroelectric project despite concerns that the federal-provincial approval in 2014 ignored serious environmental impacts and trampled on First Nations’ rights.
May 19, 2016 4:19PM EDT - The National Energy Board has conditionally approved the $6.8-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.
The regulator said Thursday that Kinder Morgan Canada Inc.’s Trans Mountain project must meet 157 conditions.
“These conditions would address issues such as safety, protection of the environment and other considerations,” the NEB said in a 533-page report. The conditions address areas such as engineering, safety, the environment, socio-economic issues and emergency management.
For all the political noise coming from municipalities and provinces in opposition to various pipeline projects, in reality they may lack any legal leverage to stop the projects or insist on conditions.
Tuesday, May 17 - In the spring of 2015, B.C. Premier Christy Clark challenged jurisdictions around the world to meet or beat her province’s world-leading climate action plan. Now her government is wrestling with rising CO2 levels while Alberta and Ontario have moved aggressively to reduce their provincial greenhouse gas emissions.
Local First Nations leaders were quick to call the federal Liberals hypocrites for formally adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) while construction proceeds on the Site C dam.
But a pair of constitutional law professors from the University of British Columbia (UBC) say they shouldn't be so quick to judge.
May 10 2016 - Opposition to Kinder Morgan is not limited to British Columbia. In fact, the effort by First Nations, municipalities, and environmental groups to stop the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline from the Alberta tar sands to the Pacific coast is just one part of a rising tide of resistance to the corporate behemoth that bills itself as “the largest energy infrastructure company in North America.”
