Oil - Pipelines

Alberta Premier Alison Redford says she's optimistic her deal with B.C. Premier Christy Clark will increase the flow of oil west to the Pacific to diversify Canadian energy markets. She spoke Tuesday to the Vancouver Board of Trade after the two premiers unveiled what they called a framework agreement for cooperation on new heavy oil pipelines. "It makes it clear, officially, that Alberta's royalties are off the table," Redford said. "The economic benefit cannot be provided or guaranteed by the government of Alberta." While B.C.

A lawsuit the Coldwater Indian Band filed against Kinder Morgan could set precedent for a series of other legal battles, said both the pipeline company’s lawyers and an environmental lawyer. Matthew Kirchner, who is defending the band, argued on Wednesday that Kinder Morgan was illegally operating the Trans Mountain pipeline on the  reserve. Coldwater is seeking a judicial review of an assignment to a right-of-way that Kinder Morgan has applied for to expand the pipeline’s production three-fold by twinning it.

By Roger Annis

Another oil train derailment and explosion in Canada has sent nearby residents fleeing from their homes in the middle of the night. It happened at 1 a.m. on Saturday, October 19 on a CN Rail line outside the hamlet of Gainford, Alberta, 85 km west of Edmonton. The accident coincides with new steps by the Canadian government to extend oil and other resource extraction into the Arctic.

New environmental review rules anger oilsands critics
Government unveils changes to review requirements

Last week saw a remarkable shift in the pipeline standoff between B.C. and Alberta over the contentious problem of getting Alberta's oil to B.C. ports, for shipment to Asia.

Until recently, government officials on both sides of the Rockies had described this particular interprovincial relationship as "frosty." With neither side even willing to seriously discuss it.

Last summer, the then-unelected premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark, hit the ‘pause’ button on promotion efforts for the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline across northern British Columbia. She said that ‘five conditions’ had to be met in order for the project to proceed.

B.C. and Alberta acknowledged Tuesday that if the Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain pipelines to the west coast are not built, rail will fill the “void” to the coast.

It’s the first time the B.C. Liberal government has stated that Alberta oilsands bitumen will flow to the B.C. coast and onto tankers destined for Asia whether or not pipelines are built...more

Across Turtle Island, a powerful resistance is rising. As corporations attempt to enter a new era of even dirtier fossil fuel production, indigenous communities are standing up to take direct action to protect Mother Earth. From Fort Chip to Beaver Lake, Red Lake to Lakota, communities are organizing. Some are pursuing legal challenges against violated treaties. Others are creating internet-driven mass movements such as Idle No More. Others still are reclaiming their roots by going back to the land to assert traditional law.

Something about the Canucks versus Canadiens hockey game Saturday night has stayed with me, producing a mental itch that won’t go away.

It wasn’t Dan Hamhuis scoring on his own net on a whiffed pass, double ricochet off Roberto Luongo , although that will haunt the Canuck defenceman for the rest of his career.

By Roger Annis