Published Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 12:01AM EST

More than 1,000 early-career scientists from across Canada have written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and key members of his cabinet urging the government to do a better job of assessing the environmental impacts of developments.

The scientists say they are “concerned that current environmental assessments and regulatory decision-making processes lack scientific rigour,” and that the health of Canadians and the environment are being put at risk.

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.

For weeks a lot of international attention has been focused on North Dakota, where hundreds of protesters backed by more than 1.4 million online supporters are supporting the Sioux’s bid to stop construction of a pipeline.

Arrests, tear gas, violence and even a herd of buffalo showing up may be the reasons behind the global interest. Because if the news hook is indigenous people defending their land from the impacts of resource development, there’s a much bigger story in northeast B.C.

[Webpage editor: The author below is not happy with a recent negative report (see here) about BC's carbon tax. A proposed carbon tax in neighbouring Washington has divided environmentalists in that state.

Download this Nov 2016 report by the Iron and Earth organization of tradesworkers in Alberta from their web page.

New Video: Cutting Through the Spin on the Site C Dam with Harry Swain

http://www.desmog.ca/2016/10/26/new-video-cutting-through-spin-site-c-dam-harry-swain

By Carol Linnitt • Wednesday, October 26, 2016 - 12:28

Water flowing from the dam area into Dene territory protected under agreements, says Bill Erasmus

Dene leaders in the N.W.T. are calling for an immediate halt on construction of the Site C Dam in northern B.C., saying it violates treaty rights on their traditional homeland.

In a news release, Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said the federal government has an obligation to respect land agreements with the Dene, including the protection of water flowing from the dam area into Dene territory.