In 1920, Renee Ardill’s grandparents arrived in the Peace Valley with nothing more than a milk cow, saddle horse and team and wagon. They chose a piece of land on the banks of the Peace River, built a cabin, hunted moose and grew what they could. “They built everything from the
Continue readingAuthor: Emma Gilchrist
In Photos: This Valley Will Be Flooded if a Third Dam is Built on the Peace River
A third hydroelectric dam proposed for the Peace River would flood 83 kilometres of the Peace Valley in between Fort St. John and Hudson’s Hope, B.C. Dubbed the “Site C” dam, if built, it would put more than 3,800 hectares of Agricultural Land Reserve farmland — an area nearly twice
Continue readingDecision on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Delayed Until After Next Federal Election
Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) announced today that it is stopping the clock on the review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion due to the company’s new proposed corridor through Burnaby, B.C.— which will push a decision on the project back to after the 2015 federal election. The board
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Decision on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Delayed Until After Next Federal Election
Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) announced today that it is stopping the clock on the review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion due to the company’s new proposed corridor through Burnaby, B.C.— which will push a decision on the project back to after the 2015 federal election. The board
Continue reading‘The Truth Would Set Us Free’: The Plight of the Peace Valley and the Site C Dam
I round a bend on Highway 29 just west of Fort St. John and a magnificent river valley opens up before me. At the bottom of the winding road, farmers’ fields stretch as far as the eye can see along the banks of the mighty Peace River. This is the same valley
Continue readingPeace Country Mayor Calls on B.C. to Refer Site C Dam Decision to Independent Regulator
With a provincial decision on the Site C dam expected in September, the District of Hudson’s Hope is calling on B.C. Premier Christy Clark to refer the Site C dam project for review by the B.C. Utilities Commission (BCUC). “Before spending $7.9 billion of taxpayers money on the proposed Site
Continue readingToronto Residents Deserve to Know When Sewage is Overflowing into Lake Ontario: Waterkeeper
Toronto residents should be alerted when sewage is being dumped into public waters, argues a legal request filed with the Ontario government Tuesday by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. The request was filed on the anniversary of last year’s widespread flooding, which resulted in 1.3 billion litres of sewage flowing into the Humber
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: B.C. Government Calls on NEB to Compel Kinder Morgan to Answer Oil Spill Questions
The province of British Columbia has filed a motion with the National Energy Board (NEB) to compel pipeline company Kinder Morgan to answer the province’s questions on its Trans Mountain expansion project. In the motion, the province argues the company has failed to supply adequate answers to dozens of questions on
Continue readingB.C. Government Calls on NEB to Compel Kinder Morgan to Answer Oil Spill Questions
The province of British Columbia has filed a motion with the National Energy Board (NEB) to compel pipeline company Kinder Morgan to answer the province’s questions on its Trans Mountain expansion project. In the motion, the province argues the company has failed to supply adequate answers to dozens of questions on
Continue readingB.C.’s Natural Gas Hypocrisy Leaves Consumers Paying the Price
One of the thorniest issues raised in the joint review panel’s report on BC Hydro’s Site C dam proposal is that of the B.C. government’s hypocritical policy on the burning of natural gas for electricity. “The LNG developers have been promised a free hand to burn their gas here for their
Continue readingFreaking Out About the Northern Gateway Decision? Take a Deep Breath
Today the internet is full of noise about the Enbridge Northern Gateway decision by the feds. Take this poll! Five other pipelines to watch! Fun facts about Northern Gateway! All the noise, ironically enough, makes me think about the silence of the Great Bear Rainforest — of the sea lion that popped up beside
Continue readingThree Decades and Counting: How B.C. Has Failed to Investigate Alternatives to Site C Dam
Thirty-one years ago, when the Site C dam in B.C.’s Peace Valley was rejected for the first time, BC Hydro was told to investigate alternatives sources of energy, specifically geothermal energy, by the B.C. Utilities Commission. But the Crown corporation has utterly failed to do so, according to the report of
Continue readingAll Eyes on Christy Clark as Northern Gateway Decision Imminent
With the federal government’s decision on Enbridge’s Northern Gateway oil tanker and pipeline proposal set to come in the next three weeks, the political hot potato is set to be launched back into B.C. Premier Christy Clark’s lap any day now. Throughout 2012 and 2013, Clark doled out a lot of
Continue readingOnly Four in 10 British Columbians Have Heard Of This $7.9B Mega Project — Have You?
Fourteen hours. That’s roughly how long it takes to drive the 1,220 kilometres between Vancouver and Fort St. John, B.C. If you drove the same distance straight east, you’d be approaching the Saskatchewan border. So it’s not exactly surprising that the Peace River Country, which spans the Alberta-B.C. border and includes
Continue readingWoodfibre LNG Commits to Electric Power As Coleman Changes Tune On “Cleanest LNG”
Woodfibre LNG in Squamish has announced it will run its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant off electricity from the B.C. grid, rather than using natural gas — making it the province’s first LNG producer to commit to do so. Using electricity to power its cooling compressors will reduce greenhouse gas
Continue readingWhy Super Natural British Columbia Still Has Super Pathetic Campaign Finance Laws
Imagine having to read through 10,000 written comments on the same topic. It would probably be a touch on the tedious side — yet that’s exactly what a task force did back in 2010 before issuing 31 recommendations to reform our province’s municipal elections. The task force included three Liberal MLAs
Continue readingSeven-Year Delay On B.C. Local Election Spending Limits ‘Disappointing’: Member of Task Force
A member of the task force that issued recommendations calling on the B.C. government to reform local elections four years ago says it’s disappointing that limits on campaign spending have now been put on hold until at least 2018. In the absence of spending limits, candidates and third parties —
Continue readingCBC Clamps Down on Speaking Fees After Rex Murphy’s Pro-Oil Speech Controversy
Under new rules announced by Canada’s public broadcaster on April 24, freelance hosts like Rex Murphy will have to disclose their speaking fees to CBC, which will in turn post the information online. “Starting in May, we’ll post regularly online a list of appearances by our reporters and hosts — both
Continue readingOral Hearings Quietly Vanish From Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Review
A lawyer representing the City of Burnaby says the National Energy Board (NEB) has turned its review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline into a “mere paperwork exercise” by cutting all cross-examination from the process. “We were expecting that there would be public hearings and cross-examination of the evidence,” Gregory McDade
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Kitimat Votes ‘NO’ to Enbridge Northern Gateway Oil Pipeline in Local Plebiscite
Kitimat residents have voted against the Northern Gateway pipeline, with 58.4 per cent of ballots in the city’s plebiscite being cast against the project, as of around 9 p.m. Saturday. In total, 1,793 voted against the proposed project, while 1,278 or 41.6 per cent were in favour. 3,071 ballots were cast, marking
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