British Columbia

Last week, the Tseil-Waututh Nation announced in no uncertain terms that it was not supporting Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion of its Trans Mountain Pipeline. And while the project has had more than its share of setbacks over the last year, the press release from the TWN – one that included supporting legal statements, an environmental assessment and the assertion of a de-facto veto – might represent the most serious one yet.

In one of the gloomiest forecasts yet for British Columbia’s nascent LNG sector, the International Energy Agency says prospects for export projects have ‘darkened’ and deferrals are likely.
 

In a five-year outlook on global demand for natural gas published Thursday, the Paris-based agency throws cold water on the B.C. government’s hopes of being home to three liquefied natural gas projects by 2020.

Up to 120 LNG tankers a year could ply the south arm of the Fraser River after a U.S. company secured a licence to export LNG from a facility on Tilbury Island in Delta.

The National Energy Board of Canada approved the plan on May 7.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of this,” said MP Fin Donnelly (New Westminster-Coquitlam-Port Moody), the NDP critic for West Coast fisheries and oceans.

A report that shows a widespread fallout zone for mine-waste storage facilities in northern and central B.C. has led to a call for more protection of watersheds, assurance that communities receive long-term benefits, and creation of a cleanup fund.

The survey being released today was commissioned by the B.C. First Nations Energy and Mining Council in the wake of Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine-waste dam failure last year.

VANCOUVER - A group of environmentalists and B.C. First Nations opposed to Arctic oil exploration are protesting a multinational oil and gas company's movements through the West Coast's Inside Passage.

International environmental organization Greenpeace says Royal Dutch Shell is transporting its oil-spill-containment vessel, the Arctic Challenger, up B.C.'s coastline to the Aleutian Peninsula in Alaska.

Almost six months after the B.C. government approved construction of the Site C dam, BC Hydro is still waiting for the province to issue the dozens of permits needed before shovels can touch the ground.

The permits have been held up because the province needs to conduct “meaningful consultation” with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association on the hydroelectric project.

This 3.5 min video interview with the long-serving President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs touches on the Petronas LNG proposal, opposition to the Site C Dam and being arrested on Burnaby Mountain protesting the Kinder Morgan pipeline proposal.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Grand+Chief+Stewart+Phillip+explains+pow...

. . . Seven major projects worth an estimated $9 billion – including an LNG facility, a gravel mine, an industrial waste energy plant, a ski resort, and housing developments for an estimated 10,000 new residents – are proposed on the shores of Howe Sound.

Last week, I held a press conference with Harold Steves, former NDP MLA and a founder of the Agricultural Land Reserve, speaking out against the B.C. Liberal Site C dam. This project is not only a human-rights violation—depriving people of the right to food and water—but breaks Treaty 8 itself and, if constructed, will also be a contravention of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

New evidence proves the expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline presents a grave threat to the City of Vancouver’s health, economy and environment, said Mayor Gregor Robertson.

The city commissioned expert reports on the potential impacts of the $5.4 billion proposal and the findings were presented to council on Wednesday.

“Today we heard overwhelming evidence that the Kinder Morgan pipeline proposal and the oil tankers associated with it are incredibly disastrous for Vancouver,” said Robertson outside council chambers after the meeting.