Canada Worst in G7 For Protected Areas

Details: Published on Thursday, 31 August 2017 06:15; Written by editor

What you see above is a massive tailings pond at the Red Chris Mine in northwestern B.C. We’re able to share this exclusive teaser image with you because of your tremendous support in the last few days — thank you! We took a leap of faith and got award-winning aerial photographer Garth Lenz in the air this week because we’re oh-so-close to raising the $10,000 we need for this project.

Thanks to a generous donor, each and every dollar will be matched until midnight today. The average donation so far is $46.53. Can you give $46.53 to capture unprecedented images of B.C.’s mining boom?

With a new government in charge, the time is ripe to update B.C.’s antiquated mining laws and protect communities from another Mount Polley-style disaster.

This unprecedented photo essay will shine a spotlight on B.C.’s remote mines, many of which have never been seen by the public, but we need your support to make it happen.

If 55 readers step up to give $46.53 today, we’ll reach our goal. Please give whatever you can right now.

Emma Gilchrist, Editor-in-Chief

Forward

Pull Plug on Site C Dam if Completion Costs More than $2B: Former Chair of Review Panel

By Emma Gilchrist

B.C. won’t need more electricity for many years and, when that time comes, there are less expensive alternatives than the Site C dam, says a submission filed with the B.C. Utilities Commission by Harry Swain, the man who chaired the federal-provincial review panel of the project.

“Demand will not materialize at even the low limit of BC Hydro’s demand forecast,” Swain writes, as he cautions the commission from relying too heavily on BC Hydro’s forecasts. Read more.

The Search for Trans Mountain’s 15,000 Construction Jobs

By Robyn Allan

Prominent political figures from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley have all said the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline will result in 15,000 new jobs during construction.

When the figure of “15,000” for new construction jobs emerged, I was confused. Kinder Morgan told the National Energy Board (NEB) that construction employment for the project was an average of 2,500 workers a year, for two years.

So why would elected officials promote a construction jobs figure six times Kinder Morgan’s actual number? Read more.

Canada Has Three Years to Increase Protected Areas by 60% And, Um, It’s Not Going to Be Easy

By James Wilt

In less than three years, Canada has to increase the amount of land and inland waters it protects by 60 per cent to meet a commitment under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

The commitment requires signatories to legally designate 17 per cent as “protected areas.” Those can include national, provincial and territorial parks, as well as Indigenous protected areas, tribal parks and privately protected spaces. But to qualify, the areas must be closed to industrial activity.

It’s not going to be easy. Read more.

Resource Companies Grapple With Supreme Court Decisions on Duty to Consult Indigenous Communities

By Gillian Stewart

The duty to consult Indigenous communities — what it means and how it should be properly executed — is now a key issue for pipeline and petroleum companies hoping to proceed with proposed mega projects.

This was more than evident after two unanimous Supreme Court judgements rendered at the end of July that both involved the responsibility of the National Energy Board (NEB) to conduct thorough consultations on behalf of The Crown with Indigenous communities impacted by resource development. Read more.

What's Up with LNG in B.C.? Three Things You Need to Know

By Maximillian Kniewasser and Stephen Hui

Under Premier John Horgan and the NDP, British Columbia’s government is no longer promoting liquefied natural gas exports as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to snag 100,000 jobs, a $100-billion Prosperity Fund, and more than $1 trillion in economic activity.

Nevertheless, proposed LNG development remains a thorny issue to be tackled by the new provincial government. Read more.

Romantic Notions About the Arctic Must Include Indigenous Rights

By Danita Catherine Burke

Canada’s ties to the Arctic are very much rooted in a desire to expand and grow as a country based on its own merits and accomplishments.

But as we give more consideration to Arctic development now that the sea ice shrinks, we risk alienating Canada’s Indigenous peoples — even as we’re being warned not to. Read more.

Letter from Former B.C. Premier Calls for Halt to Site C Dam

By Carol Linnitt

The Site C dam is an “economic, fiscal, environmental and aboriginal treaty rights disaster,” according to former B.C.Premier Mike Harcourt.

In a letter submitted to the B.C. Utilities Commission, which is currently reviewing the $8.8 billion project, Harcourt said Site C will “severely damage BC Hydro and B.C. credit ratings” and lead to increases for ratepayers across the province. r34.