British Columbia

Port officials in Prince Rupert are watching a bulk carrier very closely, and the Transportation Board of Canada (TSB) have deployed a team to assess the situation, after the ship ran aground late Monday night near the entrance to the harbour on B.C.'s North Coast.

The 228-metre Amakusa Island was about 15 kilometres from Ridley Island, the coal-loading facility south of Prince Rupert.

A healthy majority of First Nations in British Columbia have joined the opposition to federal government approval of the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline, arguing that it fails to respect the human rights of Indigenous peoples and violates Canada's legal obligations under both federal and international law. In particular, the "right to exclusive use and occupation of land" and the "right to choose to what uses land can be put" -- is specifically excluded from Joint Review Panel's mandate.

A new study suggests the Supreme Court of Canada ruling to extend Aboriginal territorial rights will mean a more active role for government to ensure oil and gas development.

It's hard to believe the current federal government could do more to actively promote Prime Minister Stephen Harper's longstated ambition for Canada to be a "global energy superpower" but that's what the Fraser Institute predicted in a report Thursday.

New science shows that Pacific Northwest LNG and Prince Rupert LNG are smack dab in the most sensitive spot for millions of Skeena salmon, treasured by fisheries, anglers, First Nations and sushi lovers.

The gas terminals couldn't be in a worse spot, say scientists.

Two multi-billion-dollar LNG marine export facilities slated for the province’s northwest are under fire for being smack dab in the most critically important waters for rearing millions of wild B.C. salmon, a new Simon Fraser University scientific study reveals.

Last month, the Canadian government announced its approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. It was not unexpected. Neither was the reaction. On the one hand, it has given Harper’s opponents a convenient platform to score political points for the next election. On the other, it has given the NGOs the chance to try to boost their campaigns with predictable statements and rallies in the streets.

A chorus of critics that includes the province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver claim that Kinder Morgan has failed to answer many of the questions put to the company through the regulatory review process for its proposed Trans Mountain pipeline.

The City of Vancouver submitted 394 written questions as part of the National Energy Board's regulatory review process, covering everything from emergency management plans to compensation in the event of an oil spill, but said the Texas-based company did not respond to 40 per cent of them.

. . . Koyama was visiting from Tokyo, where he's chief economist at the Institute of Energy Economics Japan, and an advisor to the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

He's also a globally recognized expert on natural gas markets. These days there's a lot to keep track of. So many countries are now scurrying to supply Asia with LNG that Koyama describes the competition as "very severe." As a result, he says it's "quite difficult to expect a big profit margin for any LNG supplier," especially for the costly projects being developed in B.C.

. . The decision prompted one Tsilhqot'in tribal leader to say Northern Gateway is dead, while another said Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) proposals may be sorely affected too.

VICTORIA — Three decades ago Nisga’a Chief James Gosnell declared in the midst of the national constitutional debate that aboriginal people owned British Columbia “lock, stock and barrel.”

Back then he generated headlines and more than a little outrage and disbelief. Today, thanks to a judgment for the ages from the highest court in the land, we should admit that he was well on the way to being right.

B.C. businesses worry a landmark high-court decision released Thursday that broadens First Nations’ land rights could create barriers to development and stall key industrial projects worth billions of dollars.

Proposed projects that could be affected include Enbridge’s $7.9-billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline, Kinder Morgan’s $5.4-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline, and tens of billions more in liquefied natural gas plants and gas pipelines. Mining and forestry projects could also be at risk.