The sinking of a diesel-laden tug near Bella Bella has a First Nations community on Vancouver Island becoming even more committed to renewable energy.
Hesquiaht First Nation, on the west coast of Vancouver Island near Hot Springs Cove, relies on a diesel generator to provide electricity for about 70 residents.
That means the diesel engine runs round the clock. A barge with three tanker trucks carrying full loads of diesel fuel, totalling 45,000 litres, docks at Hesquiaht every eight weeks to replenish the village tank farm.
Former New Democratic premier Mike Harcourt has called on the NDP to cancel the $9-billion Site C hydroelectric project if his old party defeats the Liberal government in the provincial election next spring.
Speaking at a clean-energy conference on Monday in Vancouver, Mr. Harcourt, who gave up his party membership after the NDP blew the 2013 election, said the dam project on the Peace River is damaging environmentally and economically and fails to respect First Nations rights.
Rally at SkyTrain station joined anti-Dakota Access Pipeline protests across Canada this weekend. Other locals journeyed to the North Dakota frontline.
Several British Columbians have made a pilgrimage to join the Standing Rock Sioux people’s standoff over a controversial oil pipeline.
One of them, Vancouver Anglican priest Laurel Dykstra, has been near Cannonball, North Dakota since last Wednesday and participated in a prayer event with more than 500 interfaith clergy in support of the Sioux.
At least 13 demonstrators from Canada, including five from British Columbia, have so far been arrested for “illegal protest activity” related to a Native American-led movement aimed at stopping construction of a pipeline through North Dakota, according to statistics released by the Morton County Sherriff’s Department.
A total of 438 people have been arrested since August in relation to the ongoing movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline LLC construction in North Dakota, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
As cabinet ministers weigh the pros and cons of a major oilsands expansion project that would send tanker traffic soaring in southern B.C. waters, the federal government has announced an unprecedented $1.5-billion investment in marine safety along Canadian coastlines.
Coastal First Nations say Canada’s federal investments an important first step.
The proof will be in the delivery
November 7, 2016 (Vancouver) – Coastal First Nations, CFN, say Prime Minister Trudeau’s announcement today of new federal investments to improve marine safety and shipping management are an important first step. The proof of their success will be in the delivery.
West Coast Environmental Law reacts to federal marine safety announcement
VANCOUVER, BC, Coast Salish Territories – West Coast Environmental Law Association issued the following statement in response to the federal government’s announcement today regarding new marine safety initiatives:
Federal Transportation Minister Marc Garneau says the sinking of the tugboat Nathan E. Stewart shows that oil spill response resources on Canada’s West Coast are inadequate.
In a meeting with the leaders of the Heiltsuk Nation on Sunday, Mr. Garneau also promised he will deliver a promised ban on oil tanker traffic off British Columbia’s North Coast by the end of the year. In fact, an announcement on spill response is expected as early as Monday.
The ministerial panel appointed by the federal government to review the National Energy Board’s appraisal of the Trans Mountain pipeline proposal concluded its report last week without any recommendations.
Instead, the panel posed six troubling questions for the cabinet to consider before it rules on the controversial pipeline next month.
Ottawa had not wanted any recommendations from the panel, but rather sought a broad report that would allow the government to make its own unencumbered decision.
