All posts by Common Sense Canadian

Harper Tells China He Will Ensure Enrbridge Pipeline is Built

February 14, 2012Canada, Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and Supertankers, Politics, Western CanadaBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gas, Politics, Stephen HarperCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from Reuters reporting on on Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent assurances to the Chinese that the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline will be built, despite heavy opposition in BC. (Feb 10, 2012)

(Reuters) – Canada’s prime minister on Friday made his strongest comments yet in support of a proposed pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to the Pacific coast, saying his government was committed to ensuring the controversial project went ahead.

Enbridge Inc’s Northern Gateway pipeline, which is strongly opposed by green groups and some aboriginal bands, would allow Canada to send tankers of crude to China and reduce reliance on the U.S. market.

An independent energy regulator — which could in theory reject the project — last month started two years of hearings into the pipeline.

In remarks that appeared to cast some doubt on the regulator’s eventual findings, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it had become “increasingly clear that it is in Canada’s national interest to diversify our energy markets”.

He continued: “To this end, our government is committed to ensuring that Canada has the infrastructure necessary to move our energy resources to those diversified markets.”

Harper stepped up talk of oil sales to China in the wake of a U.S. decision last month to block TransCanada Corp’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of the United States.

Enbridge CEO Complains Chinese Growing “Frustrtated” at Pipeline’s Regulatory Delays

February 14, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from The Globe and Mail on Enbridge CEO Pat Daniel’s recent joint trade mission to China with the Harper Government. (Feb. 10, 2012)

Chinese oil executives are growing frustrated with regulatory delays in plans for the Northern Gateway pipeline, even as interest in Canadian oil and gas surges in the energy-hungry country, the head of Enbridge Inc. says…

…“They’re frustrated, as we are, in the length of time it takes,” Mr. Daniel said in an interview on the sidelines of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s mission to China. “They’re very anxious to diversify their supply, they’re very dependent on the Middle East for crude.

“[Canada] seems like the perfect match that should last a long time, but if you don’t move it along, people do lose interest. We don’t have forever,” he continued. “The fundamentals in the business can change and you must take advantage of opportunities if and when they present themselves.”

Mr. Daniel said they hope to have approvals completed within two years and construction in three, so that oil can begin flowing by late 2016 or early 2017, despite heavy opposition from environmental groups and first nations who fear the impact of an oil spill on some of Canada’s most untouched wilderness and coastline.

Two Thousand Gather in Prince Rupert to Speak Out Against Enbridge

February 14, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this report from the Vancouver Observer on the recent historic gathering of Frist Nations and British Columbians in Prince Rupert to protest the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. (Feb 5, 2012)

“It was an incredible day,” Prince Rupert city councillor Jen Rice said.

“We may associate negative feelings and negative emotions with this project, but the irony of it is that it actually brings people together.”

According to the CBC, Hartley Bay councillor Cameron Hill has said in the past that he is willing to die to stop the Enbridge project.

“Because I don’t know any other life,” he explained. “This is the life I have and been brought up in. This is what I want my kids to enjoy. And I want them to have the life that I have had, which I consider to be the best life ever.”

In-Depth Coverage Coming on Historic Prince Rupert Enbridge Protest

February 6, 2012Energy and Resources, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, Enbridge, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Both Rafe Mair and Damien Gillis of The Common Sense Canadian were on hand in Prince Rupert this past weekend to witness and take part in a historic gathering to protest Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline and associated Tar Sands supertankers on BC’s rugged coast. Mair was the evening’s key-note speaker, while Gillis discussed the role of citizen media, arts and culture in the battle against Enbridge.

Gillis also captured the day-long event on camera – as well as interviews with First Nations leaders, local citizens and politicians – and will be unveiling a series of video clips from the event over the coming weeks at TheCanadian.org.

The day began with a series of welcoming speeches at Pacific Mariners’ Park from the local Tsimshian Nation and the Gitga’at Nation of Hartley Bay – the festivities’ main organizers. From there, a crowd later estimated by the RCMP to be approaching 2,000, marched to the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre, where the remainder of the event unfolded until to the late evening. The police facilitated the march by blocking Highway 16 – the first time they have ever done so for a planned event.

Guests were welcomed by Prince Rupert Mayor Jack Mussallem and local NDP MLA Gary Coons – both reiterated their support for the First Nations opposition to the Enbridge project.

The diverse crowd heard from a number of First Nations leaders and elders – including a group representing the Gitxsan First Nation, who apologized for the actions of its rogue treaty team that signed a since-invalidated deal with Enbridge this past December.

The day was full of music and cultural highlights too, including the Hartley Bay drummers and dancers, young First Nations singer Ta’Kaiya Blaney, and a number of guest performers, including popular BC singer Bif Naked.

Watch for more articles and video highlights on the historic weekend at TheCanadian.org.

“Flawed” Pro-Asbestos Study by McGill Researchers Questioned

February 3, 2012UncategorizedHealth and EnvironmentCommon Sense Canadian

Read this report from CBC.ca on criticism of a study produced by McGill University researchers that minimizes the health impacts of asbestos. (Feb 2, 2012)

A major 40-year study on asbestos safety completed by a group of scientists at McGill University is flawed, lacks transparency and contains manipulated data says Dr. David Egilman, a professor at Brown University, health activist and longtime industry critic.

The study, which followed the health of 11,000 miners and mill workers in Quebec between 1966 and the late 1990s, is used by the Chrysotile Institute — a lobby arm funded by, overseen and closely associated with both Liberal and Conservative governments — to promote the use of asbestos overseas.

According to Egilman, as the dangers of asbestos became better known in the 1960s, the industry decided to do its own research and hired Dr. John Corbett McDonald at McGill University’s School of Occupational Health. Industry documents obtained by CBC News showed it wanted to conduct research similar to that in the tobacco industry, which stated that “Industry is always well advised to look after its own problems.”

LEDs Should Revolutionize Lighting and Energy Efficiency – If GE Doesn’t Get in the Way

February 2, 2012Uncategorizedenergy efficiency, LEDCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from Forbes.com on the incredible benefits of LED lights. The only problem is, some of the big players in the lighting game, like General Electric, don’t hold LED pattents like they do with competing and clearly inferior CFL lights. (Jan. 27, 2012)

“It’s projected that the shift to LED lighting is going to be huge. It’s going to capture 60 percent of the market globally in the next ten years.”

That shift will be motivated not only by a global response to climate change, but especially by the economic benefits of LED lights.

“They’re clearly a superior product,” Weissbourd said, “but not yet market accepted.”

That slow acceptance derives, in part, from higher initial cost. An LED “bulb” costs $35, compared to $1.25 for an incandescent bulb or $3.95 for a compact fluorescent that illuminates at the same brightness.

But that LED light will cost only $95.95 to operate for the next 50,000 hours, compared to $652.50 for the incandescent and $159.75 for the CFL.

The economics of LED lights are so favorable that as market acceptance develops, and as start-up costs drop, building owners will be able to shift to LED lighting without requiring much, if any, financial assistance, he said…

…“Whether we can compete in the green economy depends on whether we have companies that can redeploy their assets into it,” Weissbourd said.

The light bulb market is dominated by a small number of manufacturers, including Sylvania, Philips and GE. Those companies offer LED lighting but have not promoted it. Weissbourd compared them to Kodak, which he said invented the digital camera, then shelved it to avoid competing with its more traditional products. Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 19.

Read this story: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2012/01/27/led-poised-to-light-up-the-world-study/

Vancouver Sun on City’s Firing of Planning Director Brent Toderian

February 1, 2012Canada, Politics, Urban & TransportPolitics, Transportation and Urban PlanningCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from Jeff Lee of The Vancouver Sun on the firing of the City of Vancouver’s director of planning, Brent Toderian. (Jan 31, 2012)

This morning Frances Bula, the former Vancouver Sun reporter who now freelances for The Globe and Mail, used anonymous sources to break the story of Toderian’s firing.

Council has since ratified Toderian’s termination, and everyone from Mayor Gregor Robertson and Ballem on down are being nice in how they describe what can only be described as a major change, both for Toderian and for the city. (See Ballem’s internal memo and the public statement below.)

Toderian told me in a telephone conversation that he was surprised by his firing and that it was done “without cause”. That precludes a wrongful dismissal suit, but it also preserves his much-valued integrity because his termination comes down to a difference of opinion, rather than a messy split. It has cost the city plenty: at least one year’s salary at more than $200,000.

As can be expected, people have weighed in on all sides about what caused his departure and what it means in the long term.

Toderian is brash, hard-nosed and ambitious. That style created among some developers, architects and community groups. But that Type-A personality was also in direct conflict with at least one other similar personality, that of Ballem, who has consolidated decision-making under her reign.

Video: Norway’s TV2 on BC Fish Farms – feat. footage by Damien Gillis

February 1, 2012Oceans, Salmon Farming and AquacultureAquaculture, SalmonCommon Sense Canadian

Watch this video news story from Norway’s TV2 on the battle raging over Norwegian salmon farming in BC – featuring footage from The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis. (Jan. 30, 2012)

Watch video: http://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/trusler-mot-norsk-lakseoppdrett-tas-ikke-alvorlig-3696035.html

Federal Hearings Into Revised Prosperity Mine Poroposal Begin

February 1, 2012MiningFish Lake/Teztan Biny, Mining, Prosperity Mine, Taseko, Tsilquot'inCommon Sense Canadian

Read this story from CTV.ca on a new round of federal environmental hearings into the proposed Prosperity Mine at Fish Lake. (Jan. 29, 2012)

With all eyes on hearings for the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline that would link Alberta’s oil sands to tankers on the B.C. coast, a federal environmental review of another contentious B.C. project is quietly getting underway.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has released guidelines and terms of reference that will form the framework for an environmental review of Taseko Mines Ltd.’s (TSX:TKO) proposed Prosperity gold and copper mine in the B.C. Interior.

The agency is seeking comments on the documents until Feb. 22.

But the approach of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government toward the federal hearings on the Northern Gateway doesn’t give First Nations opponents much faith in the environmental review of the mine.

“We feel the writing’s on the wall,” Chief Joe Alphonse, leader of the Tsilqhot’in National Government, said in an interview.

“Mr. Harper is making statements around the Enbridge project that anyone opposing the project is an enemy of Canada. That’s the same situation.”

The Race to Get Liquid Natural Gas from BC to China

January 31, 2012Energy and Resources, Fracking, Oil&Gas, Pipelines and SupertankersBC Oil Pipelines and Supertankers, fracking, Oil and gasCommon Sense Canadian

Read this article from the Financial Post on the race to build gas pipelines and up to six liquid natural gas (LNG) processing facilities in BC to ship gas to the Asian market. (Jan. 28, 2012)

KITIMAT, B.C. — In a climate of growing hostility toward energy industry development across North America, Timothy Wall, president of the Canadian unit of Houston-based Apache Corp., took the road less travelled to the heart of Kitimat.

He flew multiple times to the 9,000-resident town on the northern British Columbia coast to ensure support for his liquefied natural gas plans.

He unleashed a team to explain the challenges and the benefits.

He won over the local aboriginals, the Haisla Nation, by meeting with them, acknowledging their rights, making them his landlords.

“We had a big push … trying to make this a win-win for everybody,” Mr. Wall, who is originally from Houston, said in an interview.

“We told the stakeholders in the Kitimat area that there would be challenges, but that we would work through them. That with everybody pulling in the right way, we would get there.”

The two-year effort paid off with widespread community support for Apache’s plan to pipe natural gas from fields at the other end of the Rockies, build a terminal down the canal in Bish Cove to liquefy it, and transport it by tanker to Asia.

All this at a time the same community was giving another major project, the Northern Gateway oil sands pipeline, a rough ride.