Read this story from CBC.ca reporting on the $700,000 fine levied at Enbridge relating to a fatal 2003 blast in Etobicoke, Ontario, which stemmed from the lack of proper markings for a gas line the company operates. The natural gas explosion levelled a strip mall on Bloor Street West near
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The Common Sense Canadian home page: Winning the Salmon PR "War"? Emails Reveal Government Scientists Acting Like Flacks
The second of three extra days of hearings at the Cohen Commission into disappearing Fraser River sockeye yielded more surprises – the biggest of which came in the form of a telling internal email strain between DFO and Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff. The emails were sent following a teleconference
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Kristi Miller Steals Show Again as Salmon Inquiry Rocked by New Virus Bombshells
“The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.” – Carl Sagan Dr. Kristi Miller took the stage for a curtain call at the Cohen Commission into disappearing Fraser River sockeye yesterday, delivering a dramatic follow-up performance to her headline-grabbing run in September. Among the bombshell revelations that emerged
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Kristi Miller Steals the Show Again as Cohen Commission is Rocked by New Salmon Virus Bombshells
“The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.” – Carl Sagan Dr. Kristi Miller took the stage for a curtain call at the Cohen Commission into disappearing Fraser River sockeye yesterday, delivering a dramatic follow-up performance to her headline-grabbing run in September. Among the bombshell revelations that emerged
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Comox Valley Ready for Civil Disobedience as "Insane" Raven Coal Mine Review Pushed Forward
A little over two years ago we held a town hall meeting in Fanny Bay, where a standing room only crowd discussed the proposed Raven Underground Coal Mine Project. It was at this meeting that concerned citizens formed CoalWatch Comox Valley. The events over the past two years have revealed
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Comox Valley Ready for Civil Disobedience as "Insane" Raven Coal Mine Review Pushed Forward
A little over two years ago we held a town hall meeting in Fanny Bay, where a standing room only crowd discussed the proposed Raven Underground Coal Mine Project. It was at this meeting that concerned citizens formed CoalWatch Comox Valley. The events over the past two years have revealed
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Why the BC Liberals Can’t Save Our Environment – Or Their Own Party in 2013
I see that Premier Photo–Op has appointed George Abbott, Education Minister, to work on revamping the Liberal Party to get it out of the ditch prior to the May 2013 election. Good luck, George – you’ll need it. My latter day concerns have been about environmental issues, something I don’t believe the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Shades of Green: Breaking Contracts
Our environmental problems and our current economic problems both stem from breaking contracts. In the case of the environment, the contract is with nature; in the case of economics, the contract is with society. This similarity is worth exploring because the tumult of the 20th century provides insights into who
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Pipelines and Battle Lines Drawn by Harper Government
The paths, inexorably to a meeting point to violence, can only be changed by the senior governments, especially the feds. The cause of these paths are three: 1. the proposed Enbridge oil pipelines to Kitimat carrying Bitumen (sludge from the Tar Sands) mixed with gas (condensate), with one line running
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Video: Gitxsan Come Together, Call for Healing and Strength
While news emerges that a court order may have been obtained to remove Gitxsan leaders and community members who took over the Treaty office in Hazelton earlier this week – in response to a deal made with Enbridge by treaty negotiator Elmer Derrick without the knowledge or approval of the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Must-See Video: Gitxsan Come Together, Call for Healing and Strength
While news emerges that a court order may have been obtained to remove Gitxsan leaders and community members who took over the Treaty office in Hazelton earlier this week – in response to a deal made with Enbridge by treaty negotiator Elmer Derrick without the knowledge or approval of the
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Harper’s Climate Death-Wish
Withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol only the latest effort to derail climate change action Amidst the ongoing circus that constitutes the United Nations climate change summit (COP 17) currently underway in Durban, South Africa, Canada has once again distinguished itself as the country most hostile to virtually any serious international
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Tsilhqot’in Justice Prevails…For Now
It was a day of polarities to be sure. Whether it was planned or coincidence (though many First Nations will tell you there are no coincidences), December 2nd began with Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) president and CEO Russell Hallbauer beaming with approval at the pro-mining speech given by Minister of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Tsilhqot’in Justice Prevails…For Now
It was a day of polarities to be sure. Whether it was planned or coincidence (though many First Nations will tell you there are no coincidences), December 2nd began with Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) president and CEO Russell Hallbauer beaming with approval at the pro-mining speech given by Minister of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Embattled Gitxsan Treaty Rep, Enbridge Deal-Maker Elmer Derrick Has Long Ties to BC Liberals
The heated debate playing out in the BC media over the past few days regarding the now-disputed deal announced this past Friday between Enbridge and the Gitxsan First Nation warrants a closer examination of the lone Gitxsan man behind the deal. Just who is Elmer Derrick – besides a hereditary
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Shades of Green: The Keystone XL Protests and the Occupy Movement
The protest against the 2,763 km Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands to America’s Gulf States’ oil refineries are driven by a deeper concern than risk to Nebraska’s Sand Hills region and its underlying Ogallala aquifer. The same applies to The worldwide Occupy movement, too, is motivated by a
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Why First Nations Are Undeniably United Against Pipelines, Tankers…and The Sun is Full of Crap
There is a reason – a big reason – chiefs of all First Nations in line to be adversely affected by oil pipelines and tanker traffic are so stubborn. You see, they understand that the consequences can be summed up by the words “certain catastrophe”. These little words sum up
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian home page: Shades of Green: This is the Way the World Ends
One of the most insightful and profound poets of the 20th century was T.S. Eliot, and one of his most powerful poems was The Hollow Men, a disturbing portrait of a people paralyzed by doubt, uncertainty, confusion and a debilitating faith that nourished resignation rather than conviction and action. “We
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