All posts by Common Sense Canadian

New report: Canada-EU trade agreement threatens fracking bans

May 8, 2013Economics, Energy and Resources, Fracking, International, PoliticsCommon Sense Canadian

The Council of Canadians, along with the Transnational Institute and Corporate Europe Observatory, released a report this week examining the threat that a proposed Canada-EU free trade deal would have on a community’s ability to implement fracking regulations and fracking bans on both sides of the Atlantic.

Canada began negotiations with Europe on the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) in 2009 and hope to conclude the agreement by this summer. As Canadian negotiators visit Brussels this week to continue negotiations, the report, The Right to Say No: EU-Canada trade agreement threatens fracking bans, warns the proposed investment protection clauses in the agreement would jeopardise governments’ ability to regulate or ban fracking.

The report draws attention to Lone Pine Resources’ lawsuit against Quebec’s fracking moratorium under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Last fall, Lone Pine Resources, a U.S.-funded energy firm, filed a notice of intent to challenge Quebec’s moratorium on fracking under NAFTA and is asking for $250 million in compensation.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial process that uses massive amounts of water mixed with sand and toxic chemicals to blast apart shale rock or coal beds to extract natural gas or oil. Fracking fluid can contaminate drinking water with substances that cause cancer and organ damage, and affect neurological, reproductive and endocrine systems. Safely disposing of fracking wastewater is incredibly difficult. Fracking has also been linked to earthquakes and methane leaks that exacerbate climate change.

“The Right to Say No” looks at how CETA threatens fracking bans, the North American companies already invested in Europe and the state of fracking in both Canada and Europe.

The report is timely as the County of Inverness in Nova Scotia voted Monday to pass a by-law banning fracking within county limits. Cumberland County in Nova Scotia has also passed a motion banning fracking. Burnaby, B.C., Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and a number of Quebec municipalities have passed resolutions calling for the protection of water sources and provincial moratoria. Nova Scotia is not issuing permits until their review on shale gas is complete and Quebec has implemented a moratorium within the province.

With the growing community opposition to fracking, we’ll likely see more by-laws banning fracking in the coming years and it’s crucial that we protect communities’ right to say no to fracking. An appellate panel of the New York Supreme Court recently upheld municipal bans on frackingin the state of New York. So while it’s not a Canadian example, the New York Supreme Court decision is a strong precedent for respecting municipalities right to ban fracking in North America.

The EU and Canada must exclude an investor-to-state dispute settlement process in the agreement, or not only will they be hamerping communities’ democratic right to determine their own environmental laws but Canada and EU countries could also find themselves targets of CETA lawsuits.

The report is available in English and French.

Emma Lui is a water campaigner with the Council of Canadians based in Ottawa. Emma’s work focuses on the Great Lakes, human rights, water privatization and the connection between energy and water.

Damien Gillis Talks BC Election on SFU Radio

May 1, 2013Politics, Western CanadaCommon Sense Canadian

Listen to this half-hour interview by CJSF 90.1 FM’s Sylvia Richardson of The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis on the eve of the provincial election. The two compare the Liberals’ and NDP’s true economic records and their positions on pipelines and tankers, private river power projects, forestry policy, Site C Dam, natural gas fracking and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

MISSING AUDIO

Bait and Switch: Red Chris Mine, ‘Green’ Funding and the Northwest Transmission Line

April 29, 2013Hydropower, Metals and Minerals, Mining, WATERCommon Sense Canadian

The Northwest Transmission Line (NTL), a 344-kilometre, 287 kilovolt transmission line currently being built by BC Hydro between Skeena Substation (near Terrace, B.C.) and a new substation to be built near Bob Quinn Lake, is expected to be in operation by spring 2014. The NTL runs through rugged, avalanche-prone terrain. During construction, cost estimates for the first phase of the NTL have ballooned from $404 million to $617 million.

While AltaGas has contributed $180 million to the NTL, and $130 million comes from the federal government, BC Hydro is responsible for the extra costs, which have grown to over $300 million. In the future, it’s likely that B.C. residents can expect skyrocketing hydro bills to help pay the growing financial burden of NTL construction.

To help fund the NTL, the B.C. Government received $130 million from the federal Green Infrastructure Fund. The contract between the two parties states that the Province was obligated to deliver plans for an extension of the NTL to Iskut – to get the community off diesel power – by June 30, 2012, or risk being in breach of contract and defaulting on the funding agreement.

B.C. did not deliver the plans in time. In fact, it wasn’t until March 2013, almost nine months after the deadline, that Imperial Metals and BC Hydro announced that the mining company would build a 93 km extension of the NTL to Tatogga Lake and its proposed Red Chris mine. BC Hydro agreed to buy this NTL extension for $52 million, and to build a smaller power line from Tatogga Lake to Iskut.

The line to Red Chris will not require a new environmental assessment, and is exempt from reviews that would normally be required to determine if it was necessary or if construction costs have been properly assessed. In other words, the power line to Red Chris is being fast-tracked.

If allowed to proceed as planned, the open pit Red Chris mine would destroy prime wildlife habitat for Stone sheep and grizzly bear, and leave a tailings impoundment that would pose a long-term risk to fish habitat and water quality at the headwaters of the Iskut River. It’s hard to see what’s “green” about that.

Apart from connecting Iskut (population 350) to the grid, little about the NTL would seem to qualify for green funding. According to the Federal Government website, the Green Infrastructure Fund supports “projects that will improve the quality of the environment and…that promote cleaner air, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and cleaner water.” It’s a stretch to say the NTL does any of those things.

In reality, the transmission line could be the catalyst for an unprecedented wave of industrial development in northwest B.C., including up to 11 new mines in the Unuk, Iskut and Stikine River watersheds. These transboundary watersheds – flowing from B.C. into Alaska – are some of the last remaining largely intact watersheds in North America, sustaining robust populations of wild salmon and wildlife such as Stone sheep, grizzly bears, wolverine, and migratory birds.

If built, the new mines would bring open pits, industrial roads, greenhouse gas emissions, tailings ponds, and the risk of acid mine drainage throughout the watersheds. Red Chris would be the first of these mines to be developed.

Impacts are already occurring. Contractors clearing the right-of-way for the NTL have piled the cut trees into giant fifty foot tall tipi-shaped piles. Instead of selling the wood – some 490,000 cubic metres are being cut to clear the NTL right-of-way, enough wood to fill 16,000 logging trucks – the trees are simply being burned, with towers of flame turning the once living forest into smoke and ash.

As independent MLA Bob Simpson points out in the Vancouver Sun, the clear-cut and the wood-burning may put the province in violation of two of its own laws: The Clean Energy Act, which sets targets for carbon emissions reductions, and the Zero Net Deforestation Act, which contains a pledge to replace tracts of forest removed from the land base with plantings elsewhere.

In the name of “improving the environment”, the federal government gave $130 million of Green Infrastructure funding to the NTL, a project that could lead to the construction of multiple open pit mines in the transboundary watersheds. In order to receive the funding, the Province of B.C. was contractually required to deliver plans for the NTL extension by a certain date, but missed the deadline for delivering the plans. They still took the cash. Now it turns out they need a lot more money.

B.C. is quietly piling on the debt at BC Hydro as the cost of the NTL balloons – costs that may ultimately be paid by ratepayers in increased energy fees. While proponents tout the NTL as a “green” project that will provide cleaner energy and economic stimulus to a depressed region, in reality, it is a massive subsidy to industry, opening the region to large-scale mining and the subsequent destruction of wildlife habitat, and increased threats to water quality and wild salmon habitat in the transboundary rivers.

Tadzio Richards is Rivers Without Borders’ Transboundary Conservation Campaigner.

Stressed at Work? Add a Daily Dose of Green

April 24, 2013UncategorizedCommon Sense Canadian

Is your office bad for your health and well-being? Unfortunately, a growing body of scientific evidence says yes.

The modern workday pose – fingers on keyboard, slight slouch, glassy eyes fixed on glowing screen, bathed in unnatural light – can drain vitality, happiness and creativity. Designed to maximize efficiency, this sterile setup actually reduces productivity and job satisfaction.

In fact, modern workplaces are the main reason adults now spend about 9.3 hours a day sitting. Medical journal The Lancet estimates this unprecedented level of inactivity is causing 5.3 million deaths a year worldwide, similar to smoking – prompting the Harvard Business Review to suggest “Sitting is the smoking of our generation.”

The good news is that researchers have built an increasingly persuasive case for what most of us know intuitively: nature is good for us. Being regularly immersed in a natural setting can reduce stress while boosting immunity, ingenuity and energy.

As neuroscientist Marc Berman explains, adding a daily dose of green to your routine may be the best prescription for dealing with workday stress. His research shows that even simple, brief interactions with nature can improve cognitive control and mood.

Why does green time reduce stress? Various studies suggest exposure to natural settings stimulates “soft fascination” – something New York Times reporter Gretchen Reynolds describes as “a beguiling term for quiet contemplation, during which directed attention is barely called upon and the brain can reset those overstretched resources.” Hard fascination, by contrast, is stimulated by bright, loud activities like watching TV or sports, which require little or no effort but don’t allow for mental rest.

Researchers at the University of Michigan estimated that memory performance and attention span can improve by 20 per cent after an hour in nature, while University of Rochester studies concluded that being outside for 20 minutes a day is enough to boost vitality. And a new study from Scotland demonstrated brain fatigue can be eased with just a 10-minute walk in the park.

But how can we fit more green time into our hectic schedules?

The David Suzuki Foundation has a solution. The 30×30 Nature Challenge asks Canadians to commit to spending at least 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days in May. Participants can take the 30×30 pledge at davidsuzuki.org/30x30Challenge and receive tips about how to add green time to their routines.

Finding your nature fix can be easy. Hold your next meeting outdoors – maybe make it a walking meeting. Invite colleagues to have lunch in a nearby park. Take the scenic route home and go for a walk in a neighbourhood green space along the way. Stop to smell the flowers and take notice of critters, trees and plants. Skip the gym, and head outside for a jog or bike ride.

Even if you can’t make it outside for a daily dose of nature, simple changes inside can help make you happier and healthier. As Alan Logan and Eva Selhub document in their book Your Brain on Nature, workers in windowless settings are more anxious, hostile and depressed than colleagues on windowed floors. Increasing natural light within the workplace has been linked to improved productivity and contentment. Researchers in Texas even found employees in offices with plants or green-space views felt greater job satisfaction and reported a higher overall quality of life.

Increased exposure to nature also leads people to nurture closer relationships and build stronger community bonds. When Capilano University professor Joe Kelly spent at least an hour a day outside each day this March, he observed that “free of the distractions and background noise present in the city, the serenity of nature provides a perfect venue to connect with others.”

Even the world’s worst boss should know employees who are less stressed and healthier are more productive. So why not sign up for the 30×30 Nature Challenge – and encourage your office mates to join? Challenge your entire company to head outside for 30 minutes a day for 30 days. And be sure to take part in the surveys before and after. Tell us how you feel. Does regular time in nature make you calmer? More alert? Happier? Let’s all get into the nature habit. It can make our lives better.

Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Communications Specialist Jode Roberts.

Audio: Rafe Mair talks WATER + POWER Tour on CBC Kamloops

April 23, 2013Canada, International, Politics, Western CanadaCommon Sense Canadian

Common Sense Canadian co-founder Rafe Mair appeared on CBC Kamloops Tuesday morning to discuss his upcoming tour, titled “WATER + POWER: The Future of BC’s Energy, Environment and Democracy.” A former Socred MLA and Environment Minister from Kamloops, Mair returns to his old community this evening to kick of afour-city tour in the lead-up to the BC election on May 14. “This is not like ordinary elections,” Mair told host Shelley Joyce. “We now are facing these enormous pipeline and tanker problems and we’re facing the bankruptcy of BC Hydro.”

The discussion – which begins at 7 pm on April 23 at the Desert Garden Seniors’ Centre in Kamloops – will cover everything from proposed oil and gas pipelines to fracking, Site C Dam, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and private river power projects…to an alternate vision for managing BC’s resources and economy to the benefit of the public and environment.

AUDIO here

Click here for more event details.

WATER + POWER: Upcoming Presentations by Rafe Mair and Damien Gillis

April 19, 2013Energy and Resources, Fracking, Hydropower, LNG, Pipelines and Supertankers, Politics, WATER, Western CanadaCommon Sense Canadian

In the lead-up to the BC election, Common Sense Canadian co-founders Rafe Mair and Damien Gillis are travelling to four BC communities – Kamloops, Merritt, Williams Lake and Prince George – to discuss key issues shaping the future of our province. The multi-media presentations, titled “WATER + POWER: The Future of BC’s Energy, Environment and Democracy,” will include video clips from filmmaker Gillis, a speech by Mair and an audience Q&A session.

On the agenda is a web of proposed energy projects which represent the vision of both our provincial and federal governments for the economic future of BC – all with profound impacts on our vital freshwater and coastline. The discussion will cover everything from proposed oil and gas pipelines to fracking, Site C Dam, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and private river power projects – to an alternate vision for managing BC’s resources and economy to the benefit of the public and environment.

The non-partisan events will scrutinize the BC Liberals’ economic and environmental record over the past decade, while examining the NDP’s policy positions on issues the like the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion to Vancouver and the nexus of Site C Dam, natural gas “fracking” and the plan to build a massive LNG industry on BC’s coast.

“Our goal is to provide the public with accurate information and connect the dots between interrelated projects of enormous environment, social, cultural, and economic significance,” says Gillis. “We’re furthering a much-needed dialogue about the future of our province at a key moment politically.”

The details for the upcoming events are as follows:

April 23, 7 pm: Kamloops, BC @ Desert Garden Seniors’ Centre (540 Seymour St. – Mojave Room)

April 24, 7 pm: Merritt, BC @ Merritt Civic Centre (1950 Mamette Ave.)

May 8, 7 pm: Williams Lake, BC @ Williams Lake Secondary School (640 Carson Dr.)

May 9, 7 pm: Prince George @ UNBC (stay tuned for room information)

The Kamloops and Williams Lake events are co-hosted by the local Council of Canadians chapters. All events are by donation.

Fractured Land Subject Caleb Behn in Vancouver to Discuss Indigenous Law, Resources

February 27, 2013Canada, Energy and Resources, First Nations, Western CanadaCommon Sense Canadian

Caleb Behn, a young, Indigenous law student from northeast BC and the subject of the forthcoming documentary film Fractured Land, will be at the Vancouver Public Library this Thursday evening, February 28, to give a talk sponsored by Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada.

Behn, who recently completed his legal studies at UVic with a concentration in environmental law and sustainability, derives from Treaty 8 country in northeast BC – one of the most heavily industrialized regions in the world. On side of his family is Dunne Za and Cree from West Moberly First Nations in the Peace River Valley, the other being Eh-Cho Dene from Fort Nelson. Both territories have been heavily affected by natural gas “fracking” operations, among other industrial activities – including logging, mining and large hydroelectric dams.

Behn’s presentation, which starts at 7 pm in the Alice McKay Room at the Vancouver Public Library’s downtown branch (350 W. Georgia), is titled “Indigenous Law as a Solution to Resource Conflict in Treaty 8”.

Event host Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada describes it as follows:

Unconventional energy development made possible by hydraulic fracturing (“Fracking”), has massively increased energy development in Treaty 8, which contains the second largest hydrocarbon deposit on earth. This has led to litigation, blockades and other forms of conflict with indigenous communities. Caleb Behn examines the potential of indigenous laws and legal traditions to ensure preservation of the environment as a condition of energy development and to effect reconciliation.

Behn’s profile has increased of late, partly due to his involvement in the documentary film Fractured Land, co-directed by The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis. The soon-to-be-lawyer recently completed a speaking tour through the Yukon, discussing proposed fracking operations there, and another with The Council of Canadians’ Maude Barlow, dealing with proposed oil and gas pipelines and tankers in BC.

Thursday’s night’s event is free of charge, but seating is limited.

MP John Weston, Rafe Mair Debate Pipeline Risks, Environmental ‘Process’

February 11, 2013Canada, Politics, Western CanadaCommon Sense Canadian

The following letter to The Common Sense Canadian came from the office of John Weston, Conservative MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, in response to Rafe Mair’s January 28 column. See Rafe’s further reply below.

In Rafe Mair’s article “Environmental ‘Process’ a Myth in Stephen Harper’s Canada”, published on January 28th, 2013, he makes many contentious accusations. Regrettably, he has adopted an extremist position, rejecting a Northern Pipeline in principle, no matter what the cost to the community, to jobs, to our country, or to our economy. When asked at a gathering in North Vancouver where I heard him speak, he rejected out of hand that a Northern Pipeline should be built, under any circumstance. For my part, I maintain an open mind; call for a robust environmental assessment process; and would support a pipeline only if demanding environmental safeguards are in place.

Extremists are sometimes tempted to engage in personal attack rather than to focus the debate on the principles at hand. It saddens me to observe Rafe not only adopt an extremist position, but also to yield to that temptation in his January 28th piece. Over the years, I have expressed my admiration for him, when I worked for him as BC Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs; when he took a stand on Senate Reform, that I still endorse today; and when he performed so passionately as one of our Province’s most listened-to talk show hosts. I still admire Rafe for his knowledge and the conviction of his beliefs.

But I regret it when he undermines his own credibility and respect by reducing important arguments, about the environment and other things, to personal attack. He can still be a strong voice of influence in our Province without stooping so low.

Rafe Mair responds:

Of course I’m an extremist when it comes to preserving our environment, as I would be defending my wife and family.

John continually ignores the fact that spills from the proposed Enbridge line and consequent tanker traffic are not “if” but “when”. Even the federal Environment Department tells us that – not to mention Enbridge itself.

BEING AGAINST A PROJECT THAT IS BOUND TO SPILL, WITH HORRENDOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR MY PROVINCE, YOU’RE DAMNED TOOTING I’M AN EXTREMIST.

This applies equally to Kinder Morgan and its proposal to massively ramp up oil tanker traffic through Burrard Inlet.

What is the process Weston suggests for once sacred fish habitat? The same appalling process that contaminates the “run of river” and Gateway exercises? Why won’t Weston be honest (a matter I will return to) – and admit that in the case of Gateway and presumably Kinder Morgan the Minister and Prime Minister has said they will go ahead regardless of what the Joint Review Panel recommends. These are like “Soviet show trials” – first the decision, then the process; done deals are given a fake process to make them look good.

Now as to Weston’s “honesty”.

At this very meeting Weston made it appear he was supporting “process”. There is no other word for that – he was lying through his teeth. He wouldn’t utter a peep because it was stuck inside the Budget Bill, thus beyond the ability of the parliamentary poodles in the Conservative Party to speak against it – no matter what was in it.

This bundling of a contentious issue within the budget is a parliamentary disgrace as Weston well knows and he is a part of it. Weston voted forBill C-38 because if he did not, he would say farewell to a hoped-for cabinet post – but even more, he would have been tossed out of caucus, thus out of politics. (If anyone is in doubt, just google John Nunziata)

John Weston did not support the removal of habit protection out of any personal principle but because he put party and his own political survival ahead of protection of our sacred fish. In short, when Weston told the meeting he was supporting the bill on principle, he was LYING.

I must remind Weston that when he sought my advice as to whether or not he should run, this was the very conundrum I warned he would constantly face.

I might close by saying that I couldn’t believe Weston’s abysmal ignorance of the 7 species of salmon we have on this coast. He represents a coastal riding and he knows nothing about the very soul of our province, not to mention the staple food of many First Nations.

If Weston would like to debate this issue with me I would be delighted.

Rafe Mair

New Fractured Land Trailer, Crowd Funding Campaign Enters Final Stretch

January 17, 2013Energy and Resources, First Nations, Fracking, UncategorizedCommon Sense Canadian

In addition to my work documenting resource issues at the Common Sense Canadian, for the past two years I’ve been privileged to co-direct a forthcoming documentary film, Fractured Land, which examines our key energy challenges through the eyes of a compelling, young First Nations law student from northeast BC. In a recent Globe and Mail story, reporter Mark Hume described Caleb Behn as “one of B.C.’s bright, emerging native political leaders”, working to “move the debate over oil and gas development away from the confrontational front lines and into the living rooms of the nation.”

For the past month our team has been running a crowd funding campaign, offering the public an opportunity to support the film, in exchange for some great rewards. Now, in the final stretch of this funding drive, we’re proud to unveil our new trailer for Fractured Land – featuring Naomi Klein, Wade Davis, Bill McKibben, Josh Fox, Maude Barlow, Tom Mulcair, Oscar Dennis and Chief Sharleen Wildeman. We hope you’ll consider supporting our film and help share Caleb’s inspiring story with the world.

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Rocky Year for Taseko Mines

December 18, 2012MiningFish Lake/Teztan Biny, Mining, TasekoCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from Mining.com on embattled Prosperity Mine proponent Taseko Mines and the challenges they’ve faced with two major projects over the past year. (Dec. 12, 2012)

Canadian Taseko Mines (TSE:TKO) is having a rocky end of the year as workers threaten to strike at the company’s copper-molybdenum Gibraltar mine, in British Columbia. Were that not enough First Nation representatives are calling the company to “stop wasting everyone’s time” and withdraw the controversial New Prosperity mine project proposal.

The miner said it has received a 72-hour strike notice by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Union, which represent workers at Gibraltar.

On Monday, an independent panel reviewing the gold-copper New Prosperity project told Taseko that major deficiencies with the proposal must be addressed before the group can consider proceeding to public hearings.

In an e-mailed declaration, Tsilhqot’in National Government Tribal Chair, Chief Joe Alphonse, remarked this is not the first time the miner received a letter from the authorities outlining deficiencies in the company’s environmental impact statement (EIS).

Alphonse added that Taseko has spent years and over $100 million on this project, “despite being advised of serious concerns with the project in 1995 by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Governments and the Tsilhqot’in Nation, among other First Nations.”

The proposed open-pit mine, to be located approximately 125 kilometres southwest of Williams Lake, has raised the ire of environmentalists and First Nations groups for the proposed destruction of a lake to be used as a tailings impoundment.

The original $1.1 billion proposal was rejected in 2010 by the federal government due to the company’s plan to drain Fish Lake for the storage of non-acid generating rock.

In the spring of 2011, Taseko came back with a new proposal that would save Fish Lake, but the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) criticized the plan as, from an environmental perspective, worse than the original one.

In response, the Vancouver-based firm filed suit against WCWC and its outreach director, Sven Biggs, for defamation regarding the project.

Read original post: http://www.mining.com/taseko-mines-weathers-multiple-storms-60159/