There is an elephant in the cabinet room and it can only be dealt with if the occupiers of that room don’t oppose any of the proposed pipelines to run through BC - this thanks to the Campbell/Clark HST mess. In simple terms, we owe Ottawa $1.6 BILLION by backing out of the HST. It’s not brain surgery – any deal Prime Minister Harper makes to lessen this burden will require Premier Clark not opposing the pipelines. What other explanation can be made when you consider how quickly and enthusiastically she supported David Black’s proposed refinery in Kitimat? How is the bitumen to get to this refinery? By carrier pigeon?

The so-called “bitumen bubble”, the hollowing out of Alberta's oil prices, has left the seemingly wealthy province with a staggering budget deficit of billions. With an economy now mostly dependent on the value of its bitumen, the province is vulnerable to price fluctuations determined by international market forces. Now, with new extraction technology flooding the market with oil and gas from shale deposits, Alberta is cornered and in financial crisis. The federal government's attempts to establish Canada as an “energy superpower” is now in doubt. The report by the CCPA and PI refers to this situation as the “bitumen cliff”.

Shell Oil, the first energy company granted coveted Arctic drilling permits by the US Government, is shutting down operations for all of 2013, nearly as quickly as they began. Shell's hand is being forced by the Interior Department, following a scathing report which castigated the company for a series of misadventures in 2012 and early 2013.

Read this story from CBC.ca and the Canadian Press on the decision by the Coldwater Indian Band, near Merritt, BC, to battle a proposed pipeline expansion through its territory in the courts. (Mar. 26, 2013)

A First Nation from British Columbia's southern Interior is taking the federal government and an oil company to court over plans to almost triple the capacity of an oil pipeline that crosses its reserve.

Documents filed in Federal Court by the Coldwater Indian Band argue the minister of Indian affairs is ready to consent to a plan that would see Kinder Morgan increase the amount of oil in the Trans Mountain pipeline near Merritt, B.C.

The band is requesting a judicial review and wants the court to set aside any approval the minister may give to the company, stating the minister has the legal obligation to act in the best interests of the band.

However, the company is standing firm, saying while it prefers to have respectful one-to-one discussions with the band, it's prepared to have issues related to its legal agreements, known as indentures, that permit the pipeline to cross the band's reserve settled in court.

"Trans Mountain has been, and continues to be, open to discussing and resolving outstanding issues with Coldwater or other First Nations as it relates to the indenture or other matters of concern," said Andrew Galarnyk, the company's director of external relations, in an email to The Canadian Press.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, formerly known as the department of Indian affairs and northern development, declined to comment on the court application on Tuesday.

According to the court document, the government approved the original 61-centimetre pipeline and 18-metre right-of-way that runs through the band's reserve in the 1950s.

The current 1,150-kilometre pipeline runs from Edmonton to the Westridge Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., and carries 300,000 barrels a day, but Kinder Morgan wants to expand that to 890,000 barrels per day.

The new pipeline would transport heavier oils and diluted bitumen, a molasses-like hydrocarbon, while the existing pipeline would transport refined products, such as synthetic crude oils and light crude oils.

The band states it's concerned about the twin pipeline's risk and potential adverse effects on the health and safety of its people, while also stating that the minister can't impose such risks against group's will.

The First Nation also wants the court to declare the government legally obligated to consult and share information with the band and follow its instructions.

Galarnyk said the Coldwater band is arguing the indentures that permit the pipeline to cross the band's reserve are invalid because the Trans Mountain pipeline was transferred to a new corporate entity in 2007 and because of subsequent corporate name changes and transfers since.

Galarnyk said the band is also arguing the indentures are invalid because minister did not consent to the transfer and because the band was not consulted.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/03/26/bc-coldwater-kinder-morgan-pipeline.html

Read this story from the Globe and Mail on Canadian oil giant Suncor's tailings pond leak into the Athabasca River earlier this week. (Mar. 27, 2013)

A leak at a Suncor Energy Inc. oil sands site poured an estimated 350,000 litres of industrial waste water into the Athabasca River over a 10-hour period, causing “a short term, negligible impact on the river” earlier this week, the company said late Wednesday.

Canada’s largest oil company provided few details about what chemicals and substances actually flowed into the river north of Fort McMurray, saying in a statement that “our tests confirm the process affected water was a combination of water with suspended solids (clays and fine particulates) and inorganic and organic compounds. It does not contain bitumen.”

Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said she was unable provide further details about the makeup of the industrial waste water.

“It did not contain bitumen but I don’t have a further breakdown,” Ms. Seetal said.

Earlier this week, Suncor and Alberta’s Department of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development disclosed that the company had discovered a rupture on Monday from a pipe carrying industrial waste water used in oil sands extraction and upgrading. The leak at the company’s base plant spilled into a pond adjacent to the Athabasca River, and then into the river itself.

Wednesday’s statement from company answers one question: how much industrial waste water got into the river. The estimated 350,000 litres that made its way into the Athabasca compares to 2.5-million litres for an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

But Suncor’s statement also means the leak went on longer than initial reports suggested. The leak was reported to government officials around 1:45 p.m. on Monday and it was halted at 4 p.m. the same day.

The oil company said that as soon as its staff realized there was a discharge into the river, work began immediately to stop the flow. The company said what it discharged into the river was approximately six parts treated water to one part waste water.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/suncor-says-leak-had-negligible-impact-on-athabasca-river/article10443883/

I’ve got to say it, Premier: you don’t know a damned thing about pipelines and tankers. Do you not understand that the rupture of a pipeline or "accident" with a tanker is mathematically inevitable? That we’re not talking risks but certainties? Your friends in the business community like to call these things “risks” in order to convince people that they’re not likely to happen. Think on this, Premier – if an accident is not going to happen, why make multimillion dollar facilities to clean them up? The theorem is not that something can be an “acceptable risk” but that an “ongoing risk” is a certainty waiting to happen. You simply must understand this, Premier, or you are selling out the Province. As they say, shit happens.

A 2-minute video produced by Coastal First Nations - a group representing nine different aboriginal communities on BC's north and central coast - is underscored by the famous Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence." The video, which harkens back to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in nearby Alaskan waters, was released around the 24th anniversary of that disaster, in order to voice opposition to the new threat from proposed tanker traffic on BC's coast.

Read this story from the Canadian Press on a new alliance between Canadian and American aboriginal groups, aimed at halting several oil pipelines proposed to cross their territories on both sides of the border.  (March 20, 2013)

An alliance of First Nations leaders is preparing to fight proposed new pipelines in the courts and through unspecified direct action.

Native leaders from Canada and the United States were on Parliament Hill on Wednesday to underline opposition to both the Northern Gateway and Keystone XL pipelines.

The first would tie the Alberta oil sands to the West Coast, while the second would send bitumen to refineries on the American Gulf Coast.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said the federal government is consulting with First Nations, and is ready to hear their concerns.

"We're making every effort to respond to the concerns we have heard on the West Coast," he said after a caucus meeting.

"I've had quite a few conversations with aboriginal leaders and aboriginal people. And I've found those conversations very constructive. They want to do the best for their communities and we want to do the best for their communities as well. So I remain very hopeful."

Speaking to CBC News, Oliver said there was an "enormous economic benefit" at stake for First Nations.

"There is an opportunity to transform many aboriginal communities which have been suffering from high unemployment for far too long," he said. "There is an opportunity for jobs, for economic activity, for equity participation, and I would hope that when they see that there isn't an environmental risk that they would embrace these opportunities for their communities."

Oliver said the government supports peaceful protests as part of a democracy, but "we do expect people to live within the confines of the law."

Chiefs brush off federal appointment

Some of the chiefs brushed off the federal government's appointment this week of a special envoy to look at tensions between natives and the energy industry.

Vancouver-based lawyer Doug Eyford is to focus on energy infrastructure in Western Canada, but some native leaders say he has no credibility.

He is to examine First Nations concerns about the troubled Northern Gateway proposal, as well as the development of liquid natural gas plants, marine terminals and other energy infrastructure in British Columbia and Alberta.

He will discuss environmental protection, jobs and economic development, and First Nations rights to a share of the wealth from natural resources.

"He's going to be reaching out to find out more about their interests and their concerns and to look for ways that resource development can help improve the lives of aboriginals, create more employment, create more opportunities for communities," Oliver said.

Some native chiefs, however, said Eyford has already failed. Although he is also the federal government's chief negotiator on comprehensive land claims, they said he hasn't accomplished much on that file.

Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation said natives are determined to block the pipelines.

"It's going to be a long, hot summer," he said at a news conference.

"We have a lot of issues at stake."

'We're going to stop these pipelines.'

Phil Lane Jr. of the American Yankton Sioux, said native groups south of the border will stand with their Canadian cousins.

"We're going to stop these pipelines on way or another," he said.

Chief Martin Louie of the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation in northern B.C., said the pipeline opponents will never back down.

"If we have to keep going to court, we'll keep doing that," he said.

He said the stakes are high and go beyond native issues.

"We're the ones that's going to save whatever we have left of this Earth," he said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/03/20/ottawa-live-conference-first-nations-pipelines.html

 

Read this story and watch video from CTV.ca on Resources Minister Joe Oliver's recent announcement of improved oil spill response measures for proposed tanker traffic on BC's coast. (March 18, 2013)

The federal government introduced new guidelines Monday aimed at improving safety for oil tankers, but Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver denied claims from critics that they were designed solely to get two proposed pipeline projects approved.

Oliver and Transport Minister Denis Lebel announced the “Safeguarding Canada’s Seas and Skies Act” at a news conference in Vancouver Monday afternoon.

In addition to the bill, Lebel announced another eight measures designed to bring Canada closer to having “a world-class tanker safety system.”

The new legislation, which amends the Canada Shipping Act, includes provisions that:

• require oil-handling facilities to develop and submit to the federal government pollution-prevention plans;
• create new penalties under the Act that can lead to heftier fines;
• make it easier for enforcement officers to issue fines;
• remove legal barriers that may prevent agencies from responding to an emergency, such as a spill.

The eight additional measures include more inspections for foreign-flagged tankers, expanded aerial patrols over coastal waters that can spot as little as one litre of oil in the ocean, and a new Coast Guard-led emergency response system.

Oliver denied that the government’s larger objective is to get regulations in place that will increase the likelihood that the Northern Gateway and Trans Mountain pipeline projects will be approved.

“The objective is to make any development safe for Canadians and safe for the environment,” Oliver told CTV’s Power Play on Monday.

“So everything we’re doing on the environmental side has that objective in mind. The consequence will be that regulators will take a look at our safety system and make a determination about whether it’s adequate for the particular project involved. This isn’t designed specifically for the Northern Gateway project, but I imagine that the panel will take into account what we’re doing.”

The new measures announced Monday also designate the port of Kitimat, in northern B.C., a public port, which makes it subject to more stringent safety and traffic control standards, a move that could extend to other ports.

Lebel also announced the creation of a new oil tanker safety panel, which will look at other ways to improve the tanker safety system.

Lebel told reporters that B.C.’s coastline and waterways “are known throughout the world,” and are not only a playground, but helped build the province’s economy.

“Our waters must be protected,” Lebel said, “and they will be protected.”

Conservationists are concerned about the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline, which would carry bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands to the B.C. coast, as well as the proposed expansion of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

Environmentalists are concerned about the ability to respond to a spill should one occur.

NDP MP and environment critic Megan Leslie accused the federal government of having “gutted” environmental regulations, and dismissed the proposal for an expert panel to study tanker safety.

“It doesn’t take an expert to know that we need robust environmental legislation to prevent spills from happening,” Leslie told Power Play.

Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said super tankers have not been allowed near the northern coast of B.C. since the early 1970s, and she fears the new guidelines are designed to change that.

“This is all about trying to get super tankers the length of the Empire State Building in and out of some of the most hazardous navigational challenges that you can find anywhere on the planet and they’re on the northern coast of British Columbia,” May told Power Play.

People who are concerned about global climate change are watching the steep rise of global carbon dioxide emissions. While a few nations have been heroic in their efforts to cut these emissions, international efforts have been eminently unsuccessful. So BC's strategy to export energy — massive amounts of LNG, increasing quantities of coal, and perhaps a tide-water port for Alberta's bitumen — is generating justifiable scrutiny, criticism and concern. People are counting carbon, dreading the consequences and registering their objections.