British Columbia

15/05/15
Author: 
Vancouver City Staff
Crews on spill response boats work around the bulk carrier cargo ship Marathassa after a bunker fuel spill on Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, B.C., on Thursday April 9, 2015. The federal coast guard is defending its response to an oil spill in Vancouver's harbour amid questions about how the slick washed up on beaches to the north. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

“This new report outlines the alarming consequences for local wildlife and ecosystems in the event of a major oil spill in Burrard Inlet, the Salish Sea, or the Fraser River Estuary,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson

In response to Kinder Morgan’s failure to carry out analysis of the potential consequences of an oil spill, the City of Vancouver, City of Burnaby, and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation conducted an independent oil spill trajectory modelling of four major oil spill scenarios in the Burrard Inlet.

13/05/15
Author: 
The Canadian Press
Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert, BC, is the proposed site of the Pacific Northwest LNG project, backed by the Malaysian energy company Petronas.

A natural gas benefit offer worth more than $1 billion has been rejected by a First Nation on B.C.'s northwest coast, but not everyone thinks it will necessarily scuttle the project.

Pacific NorthWest LNG was proposing to build a pipeline and terminal in the Lax Kw'alaams Band territory just south of Prince Rupert.

Band members were asked to vote on a $1.15 billion offer over 40 years in exchange for their consent for the project.

The vote in Vancouver on Tuesday was the third in a series conducted by the First Nation that rejected the project.

12/05/15
Author: 
The Canadian Press
West Moberly First Nation Chief Roland Willson holds a frozen bull trout in front of the Victoria Legislature on Monday, May 11, 2015 he says is contaminated with mercury. - See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/first-nations-bring-contaminated-fish-to-legislature-to-protest-site-c-project-1.1931355#sthash.sD2Z9WZJ.dpuf

VICTORIA - West Moberly First Nations Chief Roland Willson held up a frozen bull trout Monday and said the large fish is contaminated with mercury.

"Typically, you'd be proud of this fish," he said. "But we can't eat this."

Willson and members of the McLeod Lake Indian Band, located in northeastern British Columbia, arrived at the legislature in Victoria with more than 90 kilograms of bull trout packed in two coolers.

12/05/15
Author: 
Office of Mayor Derek Corrigan of City of Burnaby
walk the line

To ensure the National Energy Board has access to detailed, expert information on the significant potential public and environmental dangers associated with Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion of the Burnaby Mountain Tank Farm, the Burnaby Fire Department has prepared a comprehensive risk assessment that analyzes the fire and safety risks, hazard events and consequences associated with the proposed project.

09/05/15
Author: 
Ian Gill
Flora Bank

Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian theologian and writer known for his work among the poor and the excluded, is credited with coining a phrase that is as true as any you'll ever hear: ''The opposite of poverty is not wealth -- it is justice.''

It is a phrase that has also been attributed to Bryan Stevenson, founder of America's Equal Justice Initiative and a man Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called, without qualification, ''America's Nelson Mandela.''

07/05/15

Vancouver Ecosocialists discussion on Vancouver transit plebiscite

 

Introduction:

 

Below is the text of an email exchange among some members of the Vancouver Ecosocialist Group between February and April 2015 regarding the Metro Vancouver transit plebiscite.

 

07/05/15
Author: 
Brent Jang
Chatham Sound

A major energy project seeking aboriginal support for a plan to export B.C. liquefied natural gas has run into strong resistance from a First Nations group worried about the plight of salmon.

The Lax Kw’alaams band is weighing the promises of LNG prosperity against the perils of losing a traditional way of life that relies heavily on salmon and other marine food and resources.

07/05/15
Author: 
Brian Morton
The Site C dam construction is facing delay due to lawsuits.

VANCOUVER —The province hopes to start construction of the $8.8-billion Site C dam this summer, but that might be optimistic, say academic experts following the project.

It all depends on whether a court-ordered injunction is imposed in either of two cases in B.C. Supreme Court involving the controversial hydroelectric megaproject.

“I think the chances are that Site C will see the light of day, with perhaps some delays,” said Werner Antweiler, an associate professor specializing in energy economics at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business.

05/05/15
Author: 
Justine Hunter and Ian Bailey
Sacred Headwaters region in BC. The area is important to the Tahltan Nation because the headwaters of three important salmon rivers – the Stikine, Skeena and Nass – are there.

The B.C. government has devised a unique solution to head off conflict between a First Nations community and the developers of a proposed a coal mine, using its Crown corporation BC Rail to buy and hold coal licences during talks with the Tahltan Nation on managing the resource.

05/05/15
Author: 
Donald Gordon

Some fantastic news!  Breathe deeply the spring air! Grin! Dance! After our first court loss, we have continued to gnaw-away against this obscene and destructive project, including working with other communities, opposing the Surrey permits, and working on our powerful second court case for later this year.

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