The September issue of National Geographic includes a large map of British Columbia it calls "Claiming British Columbia." The map has three themes: First Nations' traditional territory, the routes of proposed pipeline projects, both LNG and diluted bitumen, and it features a sub map that looks at what the map calls the "Troubled Salmon" fishery. […]
The National Energy Board has indefinitely suspended its consideration of the $7.9 billion Northern Gateway pipeline project, including the request by Enbridge to extend the deadline for starting the controversial project. The Joint Review Panel conditions had set December 31, 2016 as the time that Enbridge had to start the project. In a letter to […]
In a two to one decision, the Federal Court of Appeal has overturned the Harper government's approval of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline, finding that the federal government's consultation process with First Nations on the BC coast that occurred after the NEB decision and the Joint Review Panel Report was inadequate, saying: We conclude that Canada […]
The B.C. government acted improperly and "breached the honour of the crown" when it signed away a provincial review and gave the federal Joint Review Panel for responsibility for assessing the environmental impact of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, Madam Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg of the Supreme Court of B.C. ruled Wednesday. In a largely technical […]
A pile of slash at a quarry site for the Pacific Trail Pipeline near the Little Wedeene River. (Robin Rowland) Complete photo gallery at my photography site.
Diluted bitumen, also known as dilbit, a mixture of oil sands bitumen and natural gas dilutants can seriously harm fish populations, according to research study at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada published this week. At toxic concentrations, effects of dilbit on exposed fish included deformities and clear signs of genetic and […]
The headline on Thursday’s CBC.ca coverage of the sudden controversy over a boycott in British Columbia of Tim Horton's over the Enbridge ads sums up everything that's wrong about media coverage not only of the boycotts, but of northwest energy and environment issues overall. “Tim Hortons yanks Enbridge ads, sparks Alberta backlash.” The anger at […]
Updated Feb. 26, 2015 Court challenges and rising costs will stall the Northern Gateway project for most of 2015, Enbridge says in its Fourth Quarter (2014) Strategic Update, released Friday. That means if the Northern Gatway project actually goes ahead, the company now says it will not be completed until at least 2020 or 2021. […]
Enbridge Northern Gateway officials are loath (to put it mildly) to speak to the media but sometimes they let things slip. Earlier this summer, at a social event, I heard an Enbridge official (probably inadvertently) reveal that when the company's engineers came before District of Kitimat Council earlier this year they were surprised and somewhat […]
There's a dumb, dumb, really dumb idea that just won't go away—that Enbridge could solve all its problems if only, if only, it would send the Northern Gateway Pipeline to Prince Rupert. Enbridge long ago rejected the idea. Before Enbridge updated its website to make Gateway Facts, to make it slick and more attractive, the […]