no pipeline, no tankers, no problem 2

..i'm shocked! absolutely positivley shocked!

North Coast Oil Tanker Ban Won’t Actually Ban Tankers Full of Oil Products on B.C.’s North Coast

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s November proposal to ban oil tanker traffic from B.C.’s north coast received kind reception on the west coast of Canada where the Heiltusk First Nation was still busy responding to a devastating diesel spill from the Nathan E. Stewart, a sunken fuel barge tug that was leaking fuel into shellfish harvest grounds near Bella Bella.

The tanker ban, however, won’t protect the coast from incidents like the Nathan E. Stewart from happening again, nor from the threat of future refined oil tankers passing through the same waters, according to a new analysis by West Coast Environmental Law.

Reviewing the tanker ban proposal, which has yet to be passed as legislation, West Coast identified numerous loopholes and exclusions that allow for the continued transport of oil on B.C.’s north coast via foreign fuel barges and even, potentially, in supertankers full of refined oil products like jet fuel....

..yes. trudeau comes up a dollar short and a pound light every time.

Amid oil-spill fears, First Nations and cities are uniting to fight the Trans Mountain Expansion Project

Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan has been trying to stop Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project in court for years, unsuccessfully. Pipelines are a provincial and federal decision, even if local communities are taking the brunt of the environmental risk. But Corrigan has realized if he aligns with the fight of a local First Nation, the Tsleil-Waututh, his city’s voice can be heard through theirs.

Corrigan shared this sentiment in a small roundtable discussion I facilitated on the Tsleil-Waututh reserve in North Vancouver on Monday. I’m spending this week travelling part of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline and tanker route with Discourse Media and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting. The goal is to hear the questions and concerns of people who will be directly impacted if the twinning of the pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands to Burnaby moves ahead, to help inform our reporting of the project.

The Tsleil-Waututh, whose traditional territory encompasses the project’s marine terminal and tanker route, are attempting to have the Trudeau government’s approval of the project overturned in court. They claim they were not properly consulted before the project was approved. The legal notion of consultation, as well as consent, concepts which stem from Indigenous peoples unique and pre-colonial relationship to the land and water, dominated much of the discussion.

And this idea of a municipality relying upon the unique land rights of a First Nation to protect their collective environmental and social interests, fostering local reconciliation, had to be my key takeaway from this discussion....

Kinder Morgan’s climate denial is bad business

quote:

Shareholder revolt on climate risk

This month, Kinder Morgan shareholders will vote on a resolution that would require management to prepare “an assessment of the medium and long-term portfolio impacts of technological advances and global climate change policies.”

That might seem innocuous, but it has some not-so-hidden barbs.

The resolution notes that the signing of the Paris climate agreement in 2015 will likely mean increasingly stringent limits on greenhouse gas emissions and asks if – in light of potential new climate policy that reduces demand for fossil fuels – it still makes sense to invest billions to expand Canadian oil sands export capacity to the West Coast and Asia.

CalPERS, the California pension giant that owns almost 5 million shares in Kinder Morgan, is publicly calling on other shareholders to support the resolution. It will likely be joined by Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager and one of the largest investors in Kinder Morgan, which is calling on all companies to assess climate risk.

The Kinder Morgan board of directors, on the other hand, has responded with a unanimous recommendation for shareholders to vote against the resolution. They argue that preparing an assessment of climate risk “may cause us to overstate the likelihood of certain risks, which could be detrimental to our business.”

They have two reasons to fear the question.

First, ongoing investigations into Exxon’s history of climate denial have made it painfully clear to corporate executives at fossil fuel companies that lying to your shareholders about climate-related risks can result in investigations and potentially liability for fraud. So this assessment can’t be a PR puff-piece.

Second, they know they won’t like the answers they get, based on Suncor’s recent example.

Chilliwack First Nations bands reject Kinder Morgan cash

Results of the April 22, 2017 Ts’elxwéyeqw Tribe referendum on whether or not to accept Kinder Morgan’s mutual benefits agreement. Of the 301 ballots cast, 167 voted to reject the agreement while 134 voted in favour. (Ts’elxwéyeqw Tribe)

quote:

“After four years of engagement and the request that leadership go to our membership and seek guidance on this important vote we have the results,” Jimmie said.

“We’ll start to develop our next steps and planning moving forward, but important that we know we have heard the voices of our people and this is the direction we will go in.”

Commodore said the reason why he and others opposed the agreement is not about the pipeline per se, but about the bigger picture.

“The anti-pipeline movement is not just about stopping a pipeline, it’s about transforming society, too,” he said. “We have to bring ecological sanity to our society. We just cannot continue along this road poisoning our land, our water, our air.”

As to the low turnout, effectively fewer than 10 per cent of eligible voters quashing the agreement, Commodore agreed it’s not good.

“It shows there is work to be done,” he said, adding that it is hard to engage band members particularly when no direct threat is seen.

..more from the piece above

quote:

Under Canada's constitution, the federal government has a duty to consult indigenous people on major decisions that may affect them.

In an effort to help satisfy these requirements however, some energy companies have found a legal way to engage First Nations on their projects without actually consulting all members of the communities, according to evidence found by VICE News and Discourse Media.

Enbridge and TransCanada Corp., for example, have offered large payments to hereditary chiefs in various communities, VICE reported last November, as a way to claim broad indigenous consent for their projects. Hereditary chiefs can fill some leadership roles within a community without being elected, but their ability to speak on behalf of a community in an official capacity is contested within First Nations.

Last August, VICE also reported that two such hereditary chiefs from the Haida Nation in B.C. were stripped of their titles by their community for secretly accepting deals to promote the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. In this case, those deals included cash for to enhance community services and cultural activities.

..while there is several points of interest in this post i highlight what i find pertinent to pipeline.

Beyond optics, towards politics: A report back from CLC Convention

quote:

Premier Rachel Notley arrived to celebrate achievements made by the NDP government in Alberta, but ended with a pitch for export-driven oil pipelines, the impact of which would undermine current efforts in Canada to meet global climate change targets. 

quote:

Thanks to grassroots organizing, the CLC took a clear position on a Palestinian-led human rights campaign for the first time in its history. It also joined the International Trade Union Confederation (representing 176 million workers worldwide) and other unions to send a clear message to Israel, and the corporations involved in Israel’s prison system.

In a related effort, union activists inspired by the Leap Manifesto organized a forum over lunch after Premier Notley addressed CLC Convention. Their intent was to discuss ideas that ensured no worker was left behind by climate change, and to seek alliances with energy workers in doing so. People wanted specific proposals for green jobs (beyond general concepts like “just transition”), and were concerned Premier Notley’s push for pipelines might divide union activists concerned about the climate crisis.

The Leap forum drew fifty participants, many of whom intervened later during the convention’s panel on green jobs. In that debate, Ken Smith (President of UNIFOR Local 707A, representing 6000 energy workers in Fort McMurray) declared he was “undecided” on pipelines, but was convinced “there are no jobs on a dead planet.” Carolyn Egan, President of the Steelworker Toronto Area Council, said “transition [to a new energy economy] is inevitable, but justice is not”.

Kim Fry, an elementary teacher activist in Ontario, declared it was time for unions to fight for a new energy future, and that starts by rejecting the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.

Interestingly enough, Fry ran into Premier Notley later that afternoon, and wrote about their conversation on Facebook:

This exchange demonstrates the importance of grassroots unionism, and how it can impact larger forces. When Premier Notley spoke at the Federal NDP Convention last year in Edmonton, her pipeline pitch earned a standing ovation. At the CLC Convention last week, it drew tepid applause.

Why? The work of climate justice campaigners is a major factor, along with the continued evidence of climate change. The climate drivers behind recent floods in Ontario and Quebec were on peoples’ minds, as were the deplorable conditions in many Indigenous communities impacted by fossil fuels projects. Delegates at the CLC Convention entered that context with grassroots organizing, and this contributed to a shift in opinions of Premier Notley’s plans for Alberta. Notley is now publicly campaigning to ensure the BC government doesn’t become a pipeline opponent.

Kinder Morgan admits its pipeline may be doomed

It’s a rare dose of honesty from a company with a history of bending the truth. Kinder Morgan filed a final prospectus last week with securities regulators, setting the stage for a last-ditch attempt to raise enough cash to build its Trans Mountain expansion project.

Now all the Texas pipeline barons can hope is that investors don’t read the fine print.

The company is essentially trying to crowdfund $1.75 billion through an initial public offering. Kinder Morgan executive Ian Anderson sounded confident in a press release announcing the IPO: “Our approvals are in hand and we are now ready to commence construction activities this fall.”

But the approvals are not in hand, and a mandatory risk analysis accompanying the share offering makes clear how difficult it will be to start construction. Provincial politics, lawsuits, blockades by First Nations – any one of these could kill the Trans Mountain pipeline project, the company admits.

Even if Ottawa sends in the army to get the thing built, all sorts of events over the coming decades could leave investors stranded: oil spills, Aboriginal title claims, shifting market conditions, earthquakes and yes, global warming.

But the approvals are not in hand, and a mandatory risk analysis accompanying the share offering makes clear how difficult it will be to start construction. Provincial politics, lawsuits, blockades by First Nations – any one of these could kill the Trans Mountain pipeline project, the company admits.

Even if Ottawa sends in the army to get the thing built, all sorts of events over the coming decades could leave investors stranded: oil spills, Aboriginal title claims, shifting market conditions, earthquakes and yes, global warming.

quote:

I’ll give the last word to Grand Chief Stewart Phillip.

“This company was founded from the ashes and rubble of Enron, a company synonymous with scandal, corporate fraud and bankruptcy,” said the President of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs in a news release.

“Today these same reckless cowboys are trying to convince gullible investors to plow cash into a pipeline they know will never be built.”

Forget Any Economic Windfall from Kinder Morgan, Analyst Says

Industry and government claims that Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion will boost prices for heavy Canadian crude have no basis in reality, says one of the nation’s top energy analysts.

In a brief yet damning report David Hughes, a former federal government energy researcher, concluded that tripling the pipeline’s capacity won’t deliver an extra $73 billion in revenue over two decades as claimed by Kinder Morgan.

The company and the Alberta and federal governments have promoted the pipeline with the argument that it would let tarsands producers reach new markets and increase prices.

But Hughes said the claims are based on false assumptions and fail to reflect changes in global oil markets.

“I don’t think it is too late for the federal government to rethink Kinder Morgan,” said Hughes in an interview. “That’s why I’ve revisited the data in a non-prejudicial way.”.....

..it's not so bad quizz. lots of blank space and short pages. :)

..from an email

Today newly elected Conservative leader Andrew Sheer announced he will force the House of Commons to vote on whether or not to support the Kinder Morgan pipeline. This will be the first time a formal vote has been held on this issue. 

The motion will be debated tomorrow, Thursday June 1, with a vote to follow next week. Tomorrow NDP leader Tom Mulcair will outline why we will vote against this motion. I have made 65 speeches in the House of Commons outlining our opposition to Kinder Morgan including this recent statement linked here. Follow me on facebook for updates on Kinder Morgan and the House of Commons. 

The following is the text of the Conservative motion. 

May 30, 2017 - Mr. Scheer (Regina-Qu'Appelle) - That the House agree that the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Expansion Project: (a) has social license to proceed; (b) is critical to the Canadian economy and the creation of thousands of jobs; (c) is safe and environmentally sound, as recognized and accepted by the National Energy Board; (d) is under federal jurisdiction with respect to approval and regulation; and (e) should be constructed with the continued support of the federal government, as demonstrated by the Prime Minister personally announcing the approval of the project. 

Thank you for all your support on this issue. Together we can stop Kinder Morgan, 

Kennedy  Kennedy Stewart, MP  Burnaby South

This Small U.S. County Just Became a Major Roadblock for Unrefined Fossil Fuel Exports in North America

Unrefined fossil fuels won’t be shipped out of a small Washington State export facility at Cherry Point any time soon, due to a temporary moratorium imposed by the Whatcom County Council.

The moratorium positions Cherry Point as a major roadblock for both U.S. and Canadian companies scrounging for export facilities to ship unprocessed oil, gas and coal to overseas markets.

“We are determined to use whatever legal tools we have to address climate change and to protect good refining jobs,” Barry Buchanan, council chair in Whatcom County, told DeSmog Canada.

Amid dwindling community-level support for fossil fuel infrastructure and after the U.S. lifted a 40-year old oil export ban, Cherry Point has been flooded with export permit applications for LNG, propane, coal and bitumen.

quote:

Canadian Companies Eye Cherry Point as West Coast Export Alternative

Whatcom County has been keeping a close eye on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which would bring 400 tankers through the Salish Sea annually.

Weimar said the Council reacted with incredulity to the suggestion Kinder Morgan consider Cherry Point as an alternate destination, rather than routing the pipeline through Burnaby where opposition has been very vocal.

B.C.’s new NDP-Green alliance which plans to scrap the Trans Mountain pipeline project appears to be good news, Buchanan said.

But other Canadian proposals include Steelhead LNG’s plan for a Saanich Inlet terminal with a pipeline under the Salish Sea from Sumas to Cherry Point.

The project does not have approval, Weimar said, but other Canadian LNG projects are also on the radar.

Five ways the GreeNDP could help stop Kinder Morgan

quote:

1. Meaningful consultation with First Nations

The B.C. government currently faces a legal challenge from the Squamish Nation for failing to consult on the decision to issue to an environmental certificate for Kinder Morgan’s pipeline. The first step to opening meaningful consultation could be for the new government to acknowledge that extremely limited consultation conducted by the previous administration does not meet the legal standard for consultation. Instructing their legal counsel to seek a consent order would send the government and First Nations back to the consultation table.

There is precedent for this: following his election, then NDP premier Mike Harcourt instructed the province's legal team not to challenge the existence of aboriginal title, which led to the landmark Delgamuukw decision. That decision tied aboriginal rights and title to land, and the right to decide what activities take place on it.

2. A cumulative health impact assessment

Healthcare professionals, first responders, local governments, and community groups have all raised concerns about the risks posed by transporting and storing oil in major urban centres. But technical and environment conditions put in place by the NEB and federal government do not adequately address those concerns, in my view....

3. Keep pipelines out of provincial parks

The proposed Kinder Morgan’s pipeline route would cut through five provincial parks, among them Finn Creek, a Class A Provincial Park, and Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area, which protects one of B.C.’s rarest and most valuable ecosystems.

The outgoing B.C. government amended the boundaries of four of these parks to make way for the pipeline, but a new government could revoke that legislation through a cabinet decision, and force Kinder Morgan to come up with a new route that doesn’t go right through our parks. is it legislation or regulation? seems unlikely cabinet can revoke legislation?

4. Strengthen protection for waterways

Kinder Morgan’s proposed pipeline crosses 1,308 waterways in B.C.. How those water crossings are designed, built and operated will not only have a huge impact on the local environment, it also will have a huge impact on the cost of the project.

The B.C. government can strengthen the regulations around stream and river crossings for heavy oil pipelines through the existing Water Sustainability Act.

5. Protect our air sheds

Off-gassing at Kinder Morgan’s tank farms in Burnaby and Abbotsford has the potential to release extremely toxic pollution into the residential neighbourhoods in Forest Grove and Sumas surrounding those facilities. The diluted crude, or dilbit, that will be carried in the proposed pipeline contains highly carcinogenic chemicals like benzene, and there is no safe exposure level for these chemicals.

Kinder Morgan’s $645K B.C. political donations in court

What can nearly two-thirds of a million bucks buy you?

If you’re a Texas oil corporation or its local allies in British Columbia, it might help get your controversial pipeline approved, according to a lawsuit against the provincial government and firm being heard in court on Monday.

The lawsuit singles out $645,000 in political donations to the B.C. Liberals, as well as $300,000 of salary top-ups from the party to its leader, Premier Christy Clark, over her six years in power.

Clark’s lawyer denied any allegations of conflict of interest as well as any involvement of Clark in approving Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project in January, shortly before the lawsuit launched.

Lawyers for the Ottawa-based government transparency group Democracy Watch and environmentalist Pipe Up Network are arguing before a judge that the province may have been “biased” by partisan donations from Kinder Morgan and its affiliates.

“The $645,000, plus the Premier’s ($50,000-a-year) salary paid by the BC Liberal Party, caused a reasonable apprehension that Premier Clark’s participation in the decision-making process was biased,” Democracy Watch said in a statement Friday....

..this 20 min report includes post election interviews

APTN Investigates – To Kill a Pipeline

The Kinder Morgan pipeline is a go according to the federal government. Something many First Nations see as a betrayal by Justin Trudeau. But with the sea-change in BC provincial politics, could it be stopped?

The company itself seems to caution investors that Indigenous protests could close down the massive expansion. And one community vows it will never happen on their land and waters.

Here is the full episode of To Kill a Pipeline by reporter Rob Smith.

..from an email

quote:

The Pull Together - Stop Kinder Morgan campaign created some buzz in the week leading to June 8 World Oceans Day with events all over the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, San Juan Islands, and Seattle.  The total funds raised to date for Pull Together is an amazing $445K. The court hearings are currently set for the first two weeks of October; this fall there will be another push to reach the goal of $500,000 - including an online auction and some fun events. Be sure to “Like” the Pull Together facebook page to stay in the loop.

Premier Horgan: refuse to sign permits for Kinder Morgan!

Kinder Morgan plans to start construction of their dangerous tar sands pipeline and tanker project this September -- but if we act fast we can stop them.

The new BC government has promised to “use every tool available” to stop the pipeline,and if they refuse to grant provincial permits required for construction it could derail Kinder Morgan’s plans.

But hundreds of oil industry lobbyists will be knocking at the new government’s door - and with Justin Trudeau and Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notley trying to push this pipeline through, Premier Horgan will face massive pressure to soften his stance against the pipeline.

A petition with thousands of signatures could show the new government they have the support they need to stand up to pro-pipeline forces, and take strong action to stop Kinder Morgan. Will you add your name?

Experts confirm that Premier John Horgan’s new government has the legal authority to refuse to sign provincial permits -- and even suspend permits issued by Christy Clark’s government -- until additional conditions are met. [3]

To make good on their commitment to uphold Indigenous rights, the new government should require the free, prior and informed consent of all First Nations impacted by the pipeline and tanker project before they even consider signing provincial permits.

Kinder Morgan could be applying for provincial permits right now, so we need to act fast. Will you sign the petition calling on the new government to refuse to sign any provincial permits for Kinder Morgan without the consent of all impacted First Nations?

..from democracy now headlines

2 Arrested as Protesters Blockade Kinder Morgan Terminal in Richmond, CA

Meanwhile, in California, two protesters were arrested as a dozen people blockaded the gates of the Kinder Morgan oil terminal in Richmond Monday morning to protest the company’s plans to expand the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline in Canada. Activists locked themselves to oil barrels and a 12-foot-long mock oil pipeline that read "No Consent. No Pipeline." Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is facing widespread resistance from First Nations in Canada.

B.C.'s new attorney general says province won't delay Trans Mountain permits

British Columbia’s attorney general says the NDP government will not artificially delay permits for the Trans Mountain pipeline, despite the premier’s vow to use every available tool to stop the project.

David Eby said he’s been tasked by Premier John Horgan to identify options to halt Kinder Morgan Canada’s $7.4−billion expansion of its Alberta−to−B.C. pipeline, which has already been approved by Ottawa and the previous B.C. government.

Eby said the province cannot deliberately stall on permits without risking a very costly lawsuit, but it can ensure that permits require that construction be done in a way that minimizes spills, protects the environment and ensures appropriate cleanup.

"I’ve been tasked by the premier to identify our options. There is an important piece to that, which is that we must do so within the laws of British Columbia and Canada, because if we don’t, we’ll be sued," Eby told Kamloops radio station CHNL....