Author: Judith Lavoie

The rough track at the foot of West Farnham Glacier, carved by a Glacier Resorts bulldozer in 2008, comes to an abrupt end as the already rough terrain becomes impassable. Huge boulders block the path, where there is an early-fall dusting of snow and, ahead, the cliffs are festooned with precariously

The clock is ticking towards the deadline for Glacier Resorts Ltd. to prove substantial progress has been made toward constructing a controversial all-season ski resort in the East Kootenays and the company is making a last-minute push to transform a wilderness valley into an active building site. Jumbo Glacier Resort was

With a construction deadline looming this Sunday, Jumbo Glacier Resort is also facing two legal challenges — an appeal from the Ktunaxa Nation, emboldened by the ground-breaking Tsilhqot’in decision, and another lesser known challenge from West Kootenay EcoSociety. The Nelson-based non-profit group is challenging the incorporation of Jumbo Glacier Mountain Resort

Disappointment has turned to optimism for members of the Ktunaxa Nation, who are hoping that, over the summer, B.C.’s legal pendulum swung in favour of First Nations. In April, the B.C Supreme Court turned down a Ktunaxa application for a judicial review of the Master Development Agreement between Jumbo Glacier Resort

There is steel behind Kathryn Teneese’s smile as she describes her nation’s unwavering commitment to continue fighting against plans for a European-style ski resort in the remote valleys of the Purcell Mountains — the Ktunaxa Nation’s spiritual centre Jumbo and Toby Creek watersheds, where Glacier Resorts Ltd. hopes to build the

During the last decade, as Jumbo Glacier Resort’s plans for an all-season ski resort in the Purcell Mountains wilderness have inched their way through a labyrinth of controversy, protest and legislation, proponents have had a powerful ally in Victoria. Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett, the often-outspoken MLA whose East Kootenay

Democracy has been ignored, wishes of local residents disregarded and taxpayers are on the hook for costs associated with a private company’s real estate deal that will give them access to thousands of acres of Crown land, say Kootenay residents and politicians opposed to plans to build a billion-dollar ski

Stuck in the ground, halfway down the valley trail leading into the proposed Jumbo Glacier Resort, is a stick, leaning crookedly against a small tree, inscribed with the word “Lift.” About one kilometre away, at the bottom of a recently bulldozed track into soggy underbrush, is another marker with the words

When Debbie and Allen Hall bought waterfront property on Lake Fanning in Nova Scotia, they looked forward to a relaxing semi-retirement with their six grandchildren swimming and playing in the lake. But, a decade later, the Yarmouth-area lake is unusable because of scummy blue-green algae blooms, most likely caused by manure

Never swim in the Ottawa River if it has rained during the previous 48 hours, recommends Meredith Brown, the executive director of Ottawa Riverkeeper. The non-profit group is raising public awareness about raw sewage pouring into the popular recreational river after rainstorms or snow melts. Making matters worse, on the

Nothing is better than splashing around in the water on a hot summer day, but B.C. residents should be questioning whether that refreshing dip is going to make them sick, says Lauren Hornor, executive director of Fraser Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization working to ensure B.C. waters are safe for swimming,

The newly appointed head of the B.C. government’s communications branch is a former lobbyist for Enbridge Inc., the company that hopes to build the $7.9-billion Northern Gateway pipeline stretching 1,200 kilometres from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat on the B.C. coast. John Paul Fraser, who DeSmog Canada has learned became acting

The B.C. government cannot expect support from First Nations for its much-touted liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects if the province insists on steamrolling ahead with the Site C dam, a First Nations chief is warning. “They want support on LNG, and the level of destruction that is going to bring, and

Major industrial power users in British Columbia fear that if the proposed Site C dam becomes a reality, rate hikes could put mills and mines out of business while saddling taxpayers with a costly white elephant and ballooning BC Hydro debt. A decision on the $7.9 billion plan to build a

Every day British Columbians flick on light switches, power up their computers and cook dinner, confidently expecting the power supply will not fail them. The expectation that reliable electric power will be available is emphasized by BC Hydro as it touts benefits of the proposed Site C dam on the Peace

The proposed Site C dam on the Peace River is the best alternative for providing B.C. with reliable cheap power, but B.C. Hydro has not proved that the power is needed in the immediate future, says a much-anticipated report by the federal Joint Review Panel. The report does not give

Opponents of the proposed Site C dam are hoping a report from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel, to be released Thursday, will emphasize potential environmental damage from the massive dam and persuade the federal and provincial governments that the project should be scrapped. The report from the Joint Review Panel

Vessel noise is already hindering endangered southern resident killer whales from communicating and finding fish and the noise bombardment will get worse if proposals for coal terminals and pipelines in B.C and Washington State are approved, said scientists and environmentalists at a conference looking at the health of the Salish Sea.

Vessel noise is already hindering endangered southern resident killer whales from communicating and finding fish and the noise bombardment will get worse if proposals for coal terminals and pipelines in B.C and Washington State are approved, said scientists and environmentalists at a conference looking at the health of the Salish Sea.

U.S officials are struggling to figure out how bitumen from the Alberta oilsands will behave if there is a spill either from a pipeline or into the Salish Sea, the fragile ocean environment between Canada and the U.S. As the U.S. debates the future of the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline,