Premier Christy Clark’s election promise of big public revenues from BC LNG are evaporating (Canadian Press) Read this Oct. 21 story from Justine Hunter at the Globe and Mail on the Liberals’s slashing of once-promised windfall tax revenues from the proposed BC LNG industry – just as The Common Sense Canadian has been predicting for
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The Common Sense Canadian: Pipelines in Parks? Public comment sought on Kinder Morgan’s plans
Citizens have until Oct. 12 to submit comments to the government regarding Kinder Morgan’s plans to build its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion through protected areas in BC’s Parks. Read this post from the Sierra Club on what’s at stake and how you can get involved. Not only has Kinder Morgan’s
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Watershed Moment: Damien Gillis on Fracking, LNG, Site C @ Capilano
Fracking operations in northeast BC use enormous volumes of water (Photo: Damien Gillis) Filmmaker and Common Sense Canadian publisher Damien Gillis takes us on a multi-media journey to northeast BC – the heart of the province’s industrial landscape – to better understand the implications of the government’s energy policy on our
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: EU dropping “dirty” label for Alberta bitumen
Alberta bitumen (Source: Suncor) Read this October 7 Reuters story on the EU’s decision to abandon its labelling of Canadian bitumen as a more polluting oil source – after years of intense lobbying from the Canadian government. BRUSSELS/CALGARY, Oct 7 (Reuters) – A European Union plan to label Canadian tar sands
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: High Noon for BC LNG? Legislative session to focus on industry
BC Premier Christy Clark addresses a conference on LNG (Damien Gillis) Read this Oct. 5 story by Stephen Smart on CBC.ca on the Fall legislative session that will address Premier Christy Clark’s plans to build a BC LNG industry. The session comes amid intense scrutiny of LNG, with key investors
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: China’s war on coal means lots more renewable energy…and fracking
Shale gas is a big component of China’s future energy plans China has declared war on coal and coal consumption is down as a result. But this coal war offers some good news, some not so good news for Canada, and some bad news, all at the same time. China turns
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Clark govt in over its head with big LNG players like Petronas
Photo: Tina Lovgreen / BCIT Commons Many long years ago, when I was in first year Law, we learned a case called the Carbolic Smoke Ball case. This involved a patent medicine and great claims were made for its virtues. There was a lawsuit because a user of this patent
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Burnaby wins latest round with Kinder Morgan, as NEB refuses to override bylaws
Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has taken a tough stand against Kinder Morgan (Photo: Vimeo) Read this Sept. 27 story from the Canadian Press on the National Energy Board’s refusal to trample on the City of Burnaby’s bylaws in order to clear the way for US pipeline builder Kinder Morgan’s survey work. The
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: “World-Class” BC LNG brings Third World deals with likes of Petronas
Most of Petronas CEO Abbas and BC Premier Clark’s discussions have been behind closed doors It’s possible that the majority of British Columbians would agree with developing our natural gas resources – even for export – if our own energy security was guaranteed, the economic benefits accrued to British Columbians and we
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: BC should not be bullied or suckered by Petronas over LNG taxes
Petronas CEO Shamsul Abbas addressing BC LNG conference (Damien Gillis) News this morning that Malaysian energy giant Petronas is considering pulling out of the nascent BC LNG industry over the taxes the province wishes to collect from its gas resources called to mind a legendary story about Tommy Douglas when he was premier
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Behn, Gillis talk Yukon, fracking on CBC radio
The Liard River Basin is threatened by proposed fracking (Two Island Films) Listen to this 11-minute interview on CBC Yukon with First Nations resource management expert lawyer Caleb Behn and Common Sense Canadian publisher and filmmaker Damien Gillis – who has been co-directing a film about Behn for the past 3 and a half years.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Burnaby loses bid for injunction against Kinder Morgan
Kinder MOrgan contractors carrying out geotechnical survey work in Burnaby (Darryl Dyck / CP) Read this Sept. 17 Canadian Press story by Dene Moore on the lastest chapter in the ongoing legal battle between the City of Burnaby and Texas-based energy giant Kinder Morgan, over the company’s plans to route
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Canada surpasses Brazil as global leader in deforestation
Clearing of “overburden” forests for oil sands development in Alberta Read this Sept. 3 story from the Washington Post on a new report suggesting wild fires and industrial activity are giving Canada the dubious distinction of being the new global leader on deforestation. WASHINGTON – The world’s virgin forests are being lost at an
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: BC govt bowed to oil lobby on deregulation of gas plants: documents
Premier Christy Clark tours BC’s natural gas industry (photo: Justin Tang/CP) Read this Sept. 14 Canadian Press story by Dene Moore, revealing that the BC government’s controversial, failed elimination of environmental reviews for gas plants came under pressure from the oil and gas lobby. VANCOUVER – In January of this year,
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Behn, Gillis to talk fracking in Yukon as govt reviews moratorium
Caleb Behn, subject of the forthcoming film Fractured Land, will talk fracking in the Yukon (Zack Embree) The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis and First Nations resource management expert and recent law graduate Caleb Behn will be in the Yukon from September 15 to 18, discussing the pros and cons of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: West Van councillor doesn’t buy economic promises of Woodfibre LNG
Watch this video of West Vancouver Councillor Mary-Anne Booth standing by her vote to ban LNG tankers in Howe Sound – taken by a grassroots group critical of the proposed Woodfibre LNG project. After hearing from representatives of the Squamish-based proposal on Monday, Booth reaffirmed her earlier vote calling for a ban on LNG tankers in Howe Sound.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Fracking-related earthquakes prompt halt to Ohio wastewater injections
Read this Sept. 6 Associated Press story by Julie Carr Smith on regulators’ concerns over earthquakes in Ohio connected to post-fracking wastewater injection. State regulators suspended operations at two deep-injection wells for fracking wastewater in northeastern Ohio yesterday after discovering possible evidence that the operation caused a 2.1-magnitude earthquake last weekend. The Ohio Department of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: LNG tankers pose safety risk to Howe Sound: Chemistry PhD, resident
Retired KMPG partner, chemistry PhD and My Sea to Sky member Eoin Finn on the safety risks posed by the planned Woodfibre LNG plant in Howe Sound. He and The Common Sense Canadian’s Damien Gillis discuss the battle over social licence for the industry now playing out amongst various Howe
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Enbridge will likely miss 2018 construction start for Northern Gateway
Read this Sept. 4 story from the Canadian Press suggesting that Enbridge won’t meet its planned construction start of 2018 for the Northern Gateway Pipeline. CALGARY — The president of the Northern Gateway pipeline says it’s unlikely the project will start up in 2018 as the company seeks to win
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Gas industry contributes just 0.01% of BC’s revenues, few jobs
Two of the province’s surprisingly few gas workers – in BC’s Horn River Basin (Photo: Damien Gillis) By Norman Farrell Regular readers are aware that British Columbia’s natural gas industry provides surprisingly little return to the province by way of royalties for depleting non-renewable public assets. In the last two fiscal years,
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