2012 Paddle for the Peace (Damien Gillis) The following letter was written by the Paddle for the Peace Planning Committee in response to an article in the Toronto Star which stated that events like the upcoming Paddle for the Peace (July 11th) were on terrorist watch lists. Dear Editor, According to the
Continue readingAuthor: Common Sense Canadian
The Common Sense Canadian: To the Ends of the Earth: Filmmaker One-on-One
David Lavallee talks with fellow filmmaker and Common Sense Canadian publisher Damien Gillis about the former’s project, “To the Ends of the Earth”, which connects the dots between society’s hunger for energy and the new wave of extreme fossil fuel projects wreaking havoc around the world. The two discuss the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Enbridge let off the hook in paltry Kalamazoo oil spill settlement
OIl lingering on the Kalamazoo River long after Enbridge’s 2010 spill (Jason W Lacey/Flickr) Read this May 13 story by Nancy Kaffer in the Detroit Free Press on the paltry settlement between Enbridge and the State of Michigan for the company’s 2010 oil spill, the effects of which linger in the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Shell-led LNG project for Kitimat gets conditional approval from BC
Workers on LNG Canada project (Source: Kitimat LNG) Read this June 17 story from The Globe and Mail on the conditional approval awarded to Shell-led consortium LNG Canada’s proposed terminal for Kitimat. The B.C. government has conditionally approved a liquefied natural gas project led by Royal Dutch Shell PLC. Environment Minister Mary
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Canadian oil industry slashes production forecast by 1.1 million barrels/day due to price slump
Enbridge tank farm at “Refinery Row” in Sherwood Park, Alberta (Damien Gillis) Read this June 10 Calgary Herald story by Stephen Ewart on the Canadian oil industry’s diminished projections for daily production, amidst $50 oil: Well, there’s a quick 1.1 million barrels a day towards the no-carbon economy. Day One of the 85-year
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Has fracking peaked?
Bloomberg graph shows cresting of production at major US shale oil plays Read this June 9 EcoWatch story by Aanastasia Pantsias on the declining production at the big US shale oil plays. Since fracking began its boom period in the last decade, its supporters have promoted it as the answer to all
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Petronas’ LNG project gets ‘conditional approval’, despite First Nations opposition
Ex-Petronas CEO Shamsul Abbas shaking hands with BC Premier Christy Clark in 2014 Read this June 11 Globe and Mail story by Brent Jang on the “conditional approval” given by Malaysian energy giant Petronas and its partners to their Pacific Northwest LNG project. An international consortium has committed to building a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: LNG tankers in Fraser River? Brief chance to comment on sneaky project
Fortis LNG compression station near Fraser River (beige tank) – courtesy of Eoghan Moriarty/RealHearings.org The following is republished with permission from The ECOReport. by Roy Hales Major energy project slipping past the public The National Energy Board has already granted an export license, to US based WesPac Midstream, for a facility
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Major energy worker union opposes Kinder Morgan pipeline
Artist’s rendering of proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline and tanker expansion Read this May 28 Burnaby Now story by Jennifer Moreau on Unifor’s decision to oppose the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion through its submission to the ongoing National Energy Board Hearings. One of Canada’s largest unions for energy workers has come
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Geologist: Minister inflating shale gas, LNG potential by 6 fold – threatening BC’s energy security
BC Minister of Natural Gas Rich Coleman The following rebuttal from geoscientist David Hughes to BC Minister of Natural Gas Rich Coleman is republished with permission from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The minister has been vocal about Mr. Hughes’ recent report on LNG, published by the CCPA. After a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: First Nation, star chef team up for unique herring benefit
Every year, the Great Bear Rainforest welcomes one of nature’s miracles as millions of herring return to spawn. Wolves, bears, eagles, whales, sea lions are all drawn from the forest and ocean to feast on the golden herring roe, deposited along miles of coastline. For 10,000 years, First Nations have been sustainably
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Gitxsan members to block LNG meeting
Gitxsan members blockade Highway 16 last December (Photo submitted) Read this May 20 story by Alicia Bridges in Smithers Interior News on plans by grassroots Gitxsan members and hereditary chiefs to block a pro-LNG info session being held by the Gitxsan Development Corporation, the province and industry tomorrow. Gitxsan LNG pipeline
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: IMF study: Fossil fuel industry gets $5.3 TRILLION in public subsidies a year
A tar sands operation in Fort McMurray, Alberta (photo: Chris Krüg) Read this shocking May 19 story from the EU Observer on a new study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which pegs subsidies to the fossil fuel sector at a whopping $5.3 Trillion USD per year. Around 1.6 million premature
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Film tells real story behind Tahltan victory over Sacred Headwaters mines
As the BC Liberal government toots its own horn following its buy-back of highly contentious coal mine licences throughout the Sacred Headwaters, Beyond Boarding excerpts portions of its documentary film Northern Grease to tell the real story of what happened. From Beyond Boarding’s Tamo Campos: In the summer of 2013, we spent
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Botched English Bay oil spill confirms BC ‘woefully unprepared’ for more pipelines, tankers: Open letter
Ocean pollution specialist Dr. Peter Ross displays an oily substance from English Bay (Vancouver Aquarium) The following is an open letter by Ben West of the group Tanker Free BC to Christy Clark. Dear Premier Clark, In a 2013 interview with Peter Mansbridge, you discussed Canada’s inability to handle a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Lawyer warns LNG industry: Don’t count on power from Site C dam
Lawyer Rob Botterell represents First Nations and landowners in the Peace Valley region The following is an open letter sent by lawyer Rob Botterell to the BC LNG Alliance, key BC Liberal ministers, and Treaty 8 First Nations. Site C Dam is being looked to as a possible source for the additional power
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Chevron pulls back on BC LNG work amid slumping energy prices
Artist’s rendering of proposed Kitimat LNG project Read this Jan. 30 story from Bloomberg on Chevron, the latest would-be LNG investor in BC to get cold feet amid slumping oil and Asian LNG prices. (Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp. is significantly slowing spending on the Kitimat liquefied natural gas project in
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Imperial Metals’ offices raided in Mount Polley investigation
Tailings from Mount Polley Mine pouring into Quesnel Lake (Photo: Farhan Umedaly, Vovo Productions) Read this Feb. 4 Vancouver Sun story by Gordon Hoekstra on the surprise raid of Mount Polley Mine owner Imperial Metals’ offices. The company and its Engineer of Record may have gotten off lightly with a government-appointed panel’s recent report, but this
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Transition away from fossil fuels needs to take care of workers
Gas workers in BC’s Horn River Basin (Photo: Damien Gillis) By Karen Cooling, Marc Lee and Shannon Daub The steady stream of bad news from Alberta’s oilpatch is a potent reminder of the boom-and-bust nature of being a resource-commodity exporter. It’s a story deeply understood in resource communities, as decisions
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Republicans fail to get 60 Senate votes for Keystone XL bill
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fell short of the 60 votes he hoped to get for Keystone XL Read this Jan. 26 story from The Washington Post on the setback suffered by Senate Republicans, falling short of the 60 votes they were seeking to move the Keystone XL pipeline forward
Continue reading