As the fog lifted on the Peace River Monday morning, it revealed this clearcut island (Donald Hoffmann) BC Hydro’s clearcut logging this past weekend at the location of the proposed Site C Dam appears to have broken a promise about care for active eagles’ nests and may have lacked federal permits,
Continue readingAuthor: Damien Gillis
The Common Sense Canadian: UBCM calls for delay to Site C construction as clearcutting set to begin
Location of proposed Site C Dam – slated for imminent clearcutting (photo: Damien Gillis) The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) passed several resolutions at its annual gathering this week calling on BC Hydro and the BC government to stand down on construction of the controversial $9 Billion Site C Dam,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Northern First Nations band together to block Petronas’ LNG plans
Gitxsan leaders of Madii Lii Camp are standing behind the Lax Kw’alaams (submitted) Several First Nations groups are banding together to block early work by contractors for Petronas’ Lelu Island LNG terminal. Leaders of the Madii Lii resistance camp – situated atop several proposed pipeline routes in the Skeena Valley – are rallying behind hereditary chiefs
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Tsartlip First Nation blasts Steelhead LNG over proposed Saanich project
Tsartlip Chief Don Tom opposing another unwanted project – construction of a luxury home on burial grounds The Tsartlip First Nation on southern Vancouver Island is weighing in on a proposed LNG project for the Saanich Inlet – pouring cold water on an August 20 announcement by proponent Steelhead LNG touting
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: NDP, Green candidates oppose Woodfibre LNG outright; Liberal and Tory are different story
Green candidate Ken Melamed doesn’t see a future for Woodfibre LNG (facebook/Mitch Stookey) Local NDP and Green candidates are steadfastly opposed to the Woodfibre LNG project near Squamish, reveals a recent series of one-on-one interviews. Meanwhile, the Liberal candidate for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, is on the fence,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Harper and Clark: Quit goading First Nations with premature LNG, Site C work
Unist’ot’en Camp leader Freda Huson speaks to RCMP on July 15 (Youtube video screen capture/Stimulator) You’d hope we’d come a long way since the crises of Gustafsen Lake and Oka . You’d hope. This is, after all, 2015. Post-Tsilhqot’in decision. Post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission – out of which the Chief
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: First Nations occupying Lelu Island, blocking early Petronas LNG work
The battle over Malaysian energy giant Petronas’ controversial LNG terminal in the Skeena River Estuary is intensifying, as local Lax Kw’alaams First Nation members are setting up camp on Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert – the site of the proposed project. “Basically we’re going to be occupying our traditional land, exercising
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: BC Hydro rushes to cut down eagles’ nests for Site C Dam, First Nations seek injunction
Treaty 8 First Nations are seeking an injunction as BC Hydro rushes to cut down a number of Bald Eagles’ nests along the Peace River, starting next month, for Site C Dam. The news came by way of a 30-day notice issued to Treaty 8 representatives on June 30 (read here).
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Liberal govt issues 4 new salmon farm tenures on eve of BC Day
An existing BC salmon farm (Damien Gillis) It was an unwelcome surprise on the eve of BC Day for critics of open net pen salmon farms: the Liberal government’s quiet doling out of four new tenures to the big three Norwegian aquaculture giants – Marine Harvest, Cermaq and Grieg Seafoods. While some
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Cowboys and Indians keep gaining powerful allies in Site C Dam battle
Battle lines are being drawn and sides taken in what is shaping up to be an epic fight over the the $9 Billion proposed Site C Dam. On one side is the “Cowboy and Indian” alliance, which continues gathering strength against the project, said chiefs and landowners at a recent press conference in Vancouver. The
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Heiltsuk, Haida, Nuu-chah-nulth join forces to protect herring
Former Council of the Haida Nation President Guujaaw (left) and Heiltsuk resource management director Kelly Brown at last week’s peace treaty celebration in Bella Bella (Damien Gillis) Three powerful coastal First Nations are banding together to protect Pacific herring – a marine resource integral to all of their cultures. The Nuu-chah-nulth
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Halt Site C construction until courts have ruled, First Nations demand
Grand Chief Stewart Phillip is among the First Nations leaders demanding a halt to Site C construction (D. Gillis) BC Hydro is intent on bulldozing ahead with Site C Dam construction in the coming weeks, despite seven different federal and provincial court cases currently in progress over the $9 Billion proposed project. That attitude
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Richmond Council, Delta MLA question Fraser River LNG tankers
Harold Steves and fellow Richmond councillors voted unanimously for a public review of LNG tankers (Damien Gillis) Richmond Council yesterday unanimously passed a motion calling for a full environmental review on plans to run over 200 LNG vessels a year up the Fraser River. The move comes in reaction to attempts by
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Alexandra Morton explains her court win over salmon farm industry
Independent biologist Alexandra Morton explains her recent federal court victory over the salmon farming industry. The ruling prohibits salmon farmers from transferring diseased smolts to their open net pen operations – which could severely impact their financial health and limit their growth potential. Morton spoke to The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Premier Clark spews more hot air with LNG non-announcent
Premier Christy Clark announcing…the same thing she’s announced many times before (BC Government) For all the fanfare of yesterday’s press conference, you’d think Premier Christy Clark would have some big, new development to announce for her much-vaunted but yet-to-be-built LNG industry. Sorry folks, nothing to see here. All Clark had
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Justice for the Peace: Site C Dam goes to court
While the BC Liberal government and BC Hydro are vowing to break ground on the controversial $9 Billion Site C Dam this summer, the projects faces numerous legal challenges – one of which got a boost from the federal court recently. The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis discussed the issues with Ian
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Agricultural Land Commission CEO fired by BC Liberal govt
Peace River Valley farmland (Damien Gillis) Read this May 14 story by the Richmond Review on the BC Liberal government’s decision to fire Agricultural Land Commission CEO Richard Bullock after he pushed back on the province’s erosion farmland protections. The B.C. government has fired Agricultural Land Commission board chair and CEO
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Lax Kw’alaams rejects Billion-dollar LNG deal; Lake Babine signs paltry one
Lelu Island and Flora Bank (fore) – site of contentious proposed LNG plant (Skeena Watershed Conservation) The BC Liberal government and LNG industry suffered a blow this week with a final losing vote amongst Lax Kw’alaams Band members over a billion-dollar package offered to support Petronas’ Pacific NorthWest LNG plant near Prince
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Site C Dam: Crown strikes out with attempt to gut First Nation’s Judicial Review
Location of proposed Site C Dam (photo: Damien Gillis) The federal government struck out in court Friday in its attempt to gut key passages of the Doig River First Nation’s Judicial Review into the environmental certificate for Site C Dam. After 3 hours of arguments on the crown’s motion to
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: New interactive map reveals largest farmland exclusion in ALR history for Site C Dam
Screen capture from www.arcgis.com “On April 8, 2015, with the stroke of a pen, the BC Government made the largest exclusion of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve in BC history,” said Hudson’s Hope Mayor Gwen Johansson, upon the release of a new interactive map which visualizes the enormous loss. “Without Agricultural Land
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