Northern Gateway APPROVED

[Gunsmith]

Well said sharphooks, my choice would be number two or leaning to number three. I have been up here for thirty five years and bear witness to the destructive changes to get this product out fast. The new plants proposed are looking at fly in fly out, which does nothing much for the community. More and more we are being shut out of places we used to enjoy.
That being said one of my first nation friends said this " the oil companies are not going to go away" so we are better off trying to work with them and exercise some control or work against them and have no control.
One more item it is dilbit not drilbit.

 

[Dennis.t]

Well said sharphooks, my choice would be number two or leaning to number three. I have been up here for thirty five years and bear witness to the destructive changes to get this product out fast. The new plants proposed are looking at fly in fly out, which does nothing much for the community. More and more we are being shut out of places we used to enjoy.
That being said one of my first nation friends said this " the oil companies are not going to go away" so we are better off trying to work with them and exercise some control or work against them and have no control.
One more item it is dilbit not drilbit.

Already happening bro. Conoco Phillips and Kearl lake sites are fly in and fly out. The community is already overburdened with the population explosion the Oilsands have caused,the community services have not kept up. You living in Mac should be thankful for that.You wont see thousands more persons pour into your tiny community that struggles to keep up.

 

[soxy]

I can see some kind of problems but nothing serious. In the early 70s Ft. St. John was an oil boom town. A bud and I went up there and the residents were renting out their rooms and offering room and board. It was a boom town and a good experience for all. After all you don't live in places like that for the solitude.

 

[agentaqua]

"I never thought that it would ever get this bad. That's what people said after Hitler was in power after a while. We are in an epic, all-out war against corruption, collusion, intimidation, and propaganda. Seig Heil Harper! "

LOL......I would call that anguish, Englishman. Of the hysterical kind.

Hey Soxy - just to be clear - I am "anguishing" about the changes in the governance and focus of our country imposed by the Harper regime - not specifically about Enbridge. Enbridge (and how the Harper regime changed environmental laws in the last 2 omnibus bills, and gutted the DFO enforcement and Habitat Assessment Branches, etc) are symptoms or examples - not a cause of what is wrong with our country.

hys·ter·i·cal

adjective

1. deriving from or affected by uncontrolled extreme emotion.

I can also assure you that whatever emotions I possess (sadness, anger, etc.) are far from uncontrolled. They are quite focused and targeted and are generated from years of dealing with this stuff. Nor are those same emotions extreme. They are quite reasonable.

I am doing my best to hold public officials accountable, and to make what is supposed to be Democracy - function. Don't forget that our Democratic governance structure is a gift from our ancestors - and many of those same ancestors died in WW I and WW II protecting it and giving us the responsibility to make it work. I haven't forgotten their sacrifices, even though it appears the Harper Regime has.

 

[soxy]

I'll call anyone hysterical who compares Harper with Hitler. You must not be very familiar with Adolph.
P.S. Merry Christmas

 

[Theb55]

You're right about comparing Harper to Hitler. Stalin is much more appropriate.

 

[Englishman]

”The Northern Gateway pipeline will never be built. And part of the reason will be belligerent and arrogant oil proponents like Walleyes who will continue to sneer and denigrate the legitimate and important concerns of those who live in BC and who have a much bigger view of the economics of BC and Canada, and who understand the fact we live in and depend upon our environment, starting with water and air."

Oh, and you don't depend on GAS and OIL?
Where does it come from?
Try getting from one end of the Island to the other on wind/solar power, then, condemn Alberta's contribution to Canada.
How do you power your boat? Used French Fry oil? !

Labman2, do not try to defend Enbridge by referring to my supposed current dependence on oil. A ridiculous argument, since the Northern Gateway has absolutely nothing to do with supplying petroleum products to Canadians, for our boats or any other purpose. This is all about ripping as much raw material out of the ground as fast as possible and supplying CHINA!! As Robyn Allen shows clearly in her video and others have posted on here this is an exploitation strategy not a development strategy. The few get rich at the expense of the many.

I TOTALLY oppose the Northern Gateway, but like it or not, the oil needs to be shipped somewhere.
Perhaps East, or South into the States. Everyone depends on it, but no-one wants to see it piped through their areas.
Alberta, should have more refineries of their own, that would at least end the heavy oil pipeline debates.
Once it is refined into all the associated products (Varsol, Diesel, Gas, Heating Oil, Plastic, etc...), then Alberta could decide who gets it!
I just completed 6 weeks at Cenovus, Christina Lake SAGD, the daily average production, was 128,000 barrels of heavy oil a day!
It has to be shipped somewhere, Cenovus only has so many storage tanks, as does Enbridge. All the oil companies are building tanks on an ongoing basis, but there isn't enough to keep up with the production.

I rest my case. These companies are just going crazy getting this stuff out of the ground and they have no downstream infrastructure for refining or distribution. What to do? I know, turn BC into a carbon corridor and the hell with the consequences to economics, environment and social culture. And this at the same time as IPCC ups the ante with its latest report on climate change!! It is madness. A rush for fool’s gold. But I expect you know better than all those scientists eh Labman2, because the oil companies have told you?

As far as checking portfolio's, if you have any mutual funds, you can bet you also have a significant amount invested in the oil sands. Perhaps in Enbridge even! !

Nope wrong again Labman2. I reviewed all my mutual funds several years ago and sold all my holdings that had any connection with Enbridge and tar sands exploitation. I encourage everyone else on here to do that same. There are plenty of investment choices out there and I would rather not be an active party to accelerating climate change which will severally impact my children and grandchildren.

Again, I OPPOSE the Northern Gateway, but realistically, it will probably be built, oil money buys a lot of lobbyists', politicians and, yes, even First Nations!

The quote of a true cynic. There are men of corruption to whom only money matters, and men of principle in every nation, culture and time. About 130 First Nations groups have signed the Save the Fraser Declaration;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinka_Dene_Alliance

Even big oil money cannot corrupt all of those groups , however much you delude yourself into thinking it can. Add to that the thousands of BC citizens who cannot be bought (through their own self interest perhaps – I would not feel too comfortable about owning waterfront property as a long term investment right now!) and the Northern Gateway will be defeated.

 

[GLG]

I can see some kind of problems but nothing serious. In the early 70s Ft. St. John was an oil boom town. A bud and I went up there and the residents were renting out their rooms and offering room and board. It was a boom town and a good experience for all. After all you don't live in places like that for the solitude.

70's were a different time that's for sure. Today is a different world.
Here is what we can expect now and into the future.
Oh and it's hard to spin such a story even for a Neo-Con newspaper like this Sun News/FoxNews North)

Nearly 300 contractors replaced with temporary foreign workers
October 8, 2013

http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/20...oyees-replaced-with-temporary-foreign-workers

It was unlike any Labour Day Ryan Louis had experienced.

As hundreds of pipefitters and welders arrived at Husky Energy’s Sunrise project for their weeks-long shifts, a company spokesperson told the crew of approximately 270 this would be their last.
Their replacements?
An equal number of temporary foreign workers brought in by Saipem, a non-union Italian company specializing in oil and gas construction projects.
Over the next 30 days, dozens of temporary foreign workers from Mexico, Ireland, Portugal and Italy were arriving at the site 60 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, waiting for turnover.
By Sept. 27, the original workers —all contractors with Toronto-based Black & MacDonald— were gone.
“Layoffs are pretty standard when there’s no work to be done, but there was plenty of work for us to do out there,” said Louis, a commuter from Napanee, Ont. and an active member of Pipefitters Local 488 in Edmonton. “Plain and simple, a bunch of qualified Canadian citizens who needed work were replaced.”
According to Husky Energy spokesperson Mel Duvall, Saipem Canada is the general contractor for construction of the site’s Central Processing Facility.
Saipem had given Black & MacDonald contracts to complete the project’s first phase, and with construction finishing, Duvall says Black & MacDonald reduced their workforce.
However, several Black & MacDonald contractors dispute these claims. Over a dozen employees that were interviewed all alleged Saipem and Black & MacDonald were involved in payment disputes, and as a result, Black & MacDonald withdrew.
One Black & MacDonald contractor, who could not give his name for seniority reasons, says Saipem let the workers go because unionized labour was too costly.
Both Saipem and Black & MacDonald did not answer repeated calls for comment about the issue, and these claims could not be verified. Duvall did not comment on the use of temporary foreign workers at Sunrise.
Louis says many contractors he worked with at Sunrise have already found work elsewhere in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland. However, some are still struggling.
“We were told when I started around April, just after Easter, that we would be good until September or October,” said Reg Fougere, a Nova Scotian pipefitter who was working at the site.
“There was a lot of work there, some of us thought we’d get an extension or new contract there, or they’d at least bring in other Canadians who need work,” he said. “Well thanks to Saipem, we’re Canadians who need some work.”
Fougere also witnessed several foreign workers operate equipment unsafely or wander into restricted areas without protective gear. Fougere says many did not understand the Alberta labour code or basic warning labels on hazardous materials.
When he brought his concerns about the qualifications of the temporary foreign workers to Husky, Fougere says they fell on deaf ears.
“Just to get through the door, we need certificates and licences up the ying-yang like Red Seal certification. It let’s them know that as Canadians, we’re all qualified to the standards,” he says. “These guys coming in, how the hell can they get in without our qualifications? Or how do we know how good their qualifications from other countries are?”

Temporary Foreign Worker program constant ire of Alberta's labour movement
According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, there were 338,189 temporary foreign workers living in Canada as of Dec. 1, 2012, with nearly 70,000 living in Alberta.
To compare, approximately 257,515 immigrants were welcomed into Canada in 2012 as residents. CIC figures show there were only 101,098 temporary foreign workers in Canada in 2002.
The program's supporters in the federal and provincial government argue the legislation is intended for employers to fill short-term labour or skill gaps. Legislation says they must prove they were unable to find skilled Canadians or permanent residents to do those jobs.
However, groups such as the Alberta Federation of Labour argue the program is being abused and poorly enforced, particularly in the construction industry.
vincent.mcdermott@sunmedia.ca
Note: This story was edited at 4:59 p.m. MT to include additional background about the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

 

[Gunsmith]

Yep lift up the carpet to see the true grain in the wood.

 

[agentaqua]

I'll call anyone hysterical who compares Harper with Hitler. You must not be very familiar with Adolph.
P.S. Merry Christmas

I'll agree that Harper has a little ways yet to match Hitler. The beginnings of Hitler's political career were similar in how he systematically chipped away at freedoms and political checks and balances. As usual - it's good debating with you Soxy. Have a read of the tread at: http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum...ber-21-2013-7-00-pm-Room-1900-SFU-Harbour-Ctr

 

[soxy]

GLG....A little background into my foray into Fort St. John in the 70s. Sorta reminds me of the TFW program in Ft. McMurray. I was young single(still am lol) employed bricklayer working for a union company. Made damned good money and worked 9 or 10 months a year. Loved the nightlife and partying. Always had a $100 bill tucked in my wallet and made $19 an hour. Plenty of $$ for me but these construction unions were greedy and committed suicide...with the help of an upstart by the name of Kerkhoff. After the union busting and being without work for over a year we went to Fort St John. Here is an article from the start of the Kerkhoff era...

If shoddy construction methods and borderline criminal negligence on the part of contractors and cost-cutting developers can be blamed for the leaky condo phenomenon, the blame must equally be shared by regulators and lawmakers at both the provincial and civic levels, who are charged with overseeing the industry of which both developers and contractors are a part. But I’ll throw another ingredient into this foul stew, at the risk of offending some of the laissez-faire libertarian types in here, an ingredient that never seems to get mentioned: An awful lot of those leaky condos, in fact likely the vast majority, were built by non-union labour. I spent a number of years in the 70s working in the unionized construction industry in the Vancouver area. I also saw the inside of a few non-union sites. The difference in quality of work; in the pride, professionalism, and skill levels of the workers; in site safety; and in the overall standard of performance was like night and day between the two. In the 1970s the construction trades in BC had not only a carefully-structured apprenticeship program in place that guaranteed top-flight workers in the more advanced construction fields like ironwork and carpentry but also a comprehensive and extensive training program for those performing lower-skilled jobs: concrete pourers, carpenter’s helpers, bricklayers, waterproofers, and so on. In 1975 you could walk around downtown Vancouver, look into any large construction site, and see the union label on hardhats everywhere on the site. By the late 1980s you would have been hard-pressed to find even one site downtown (and elsewhere) that was unionized. And today? You’re more likely to encounter a sasquatch. What happened? Simple: It began with a non-union contractor from Abbotsford, Kerkhoff Construction, who in 1974 won the contract to build the Sandman Inn on Georgia, being developed by the Gagliardi brothers, sons of Flyin’ Phil. Kerkhoff hired non-union workers exclusively for the job. The construction unions recognized this as a foot in the door, a harbinger of potential doom, quite possibly with the quiet collusion of the then provincial government, with whom the Gagliardis had solid connections and which had no love of unions. I was working on the construction of the new CBC building across the street at that time and frequently joined in organized lunchtime information pickets of the Sandman site. We used to look down into the Sandman excavation from the CBC building and actually see workers– who were being paid half our wage rate– moving about the site without even wearing hardhats, something that was absolutely unheard of on a unionized site. Anyway, to make a long story a lot shorter, we lost. The Sandman was built by non-unionized labour. (They also carefully ensured that all their suppliers– concrete companies, everything– were also non-union). And in the ensuing years the floodgates opened wider and wider, with the active aid of the CLRA (Construction Labour Relations Association, the contractors’ umbrella group). By the time I left construction in 1980 (due to a back injury) the writing was on the wall. More and more contractors were hiring on an “open shop” basis– essentially, to ensure that none of those troublemaking, pesky union workers would be on site. The final nails in the coffin of unionized construction in the Lower Mainland were the Pennyfarthing development in False Creek South in the early 80s, followed by Expo 86, which Jack Munro’s good friend, Premier Bill Bennett, decreed would be built by non-union labour. And that was that. To give you an example of the kind of construction (sub)standards of which I speak: We were among the first to live in a 103-unit building that opened in the mid-80s. That first winter, the building sprang so many leaks it was as if we’d been invaded by termites. Some investigation revealed that the contractor had engaged a waterproofing sub-contractor who had decided to save some money by cutting the amount of waterproofing compound used in the building’s construction to 50% of what was required (who knows where the inspectors were?). When we tried to sue the sub-contractor they abruptly went out of business, standard practice in an industry overrun with con men and crooks. The main contractor and the architect denied all knowledge and responsibility. You can bet that, as usual, the sub-contractor simply re-incorporated, under a different name, a month or two later. You can also bet that most denizens of leaky condos in this town can tell similar stories. Today, as the nauseatingly triumphalist website of the ICBA (Independent Contractor’s and Businees’s Association) will tell you, 80% of construction in this province is non-union. And to that stat I will add that probably 100% of the leaky condos in this city and in this province, most of which were built since the early 80s, were built by non-unionized labour, working for contractors who are under tight deadlines and budgets and thus have vast experience in cutting every corner imaginable (and concealing it) in order to save money and time. And even if any of those hapless on-site, non-union workers were conscientious enough to want to blow the whistle on something like faulty insulation of water pipes, the fact that they would likely not only be fired instantly for doing so but possibly quietly blackballed within the “independent” construction industry all but ensures that it wouldn’t happen. And inexcusably shoddy work like that outlined in the Province story will probably continue to happen– until the regulatory bodies in this province and city decide to at long last get serious about enforcing their mandates. I, for one, am not holding my breath. - See more at: http://www.francesbula.com/uncatego...h-another-negative-wave/#sthash.j6XDx5Ke.dpuf

 

[Cuba Libre]

Wow!!!.....................

 

[Dennis.t]

Don't get me started...

 

[soxy]

Don't get me started...

LOL....Give me a hint...

 

[Dennis.t]

LOL....Give me a hint...

Leaky Condos / TFWs and Non union labor in the tar sands...

 

[Englishman]

Good article on why Harper needs to say NO to Northern Gateway.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinio...eeds+just+Northern+Gateway/9323017/story.html

Unfortunately he won't and so this hard fight will go on for a long time yet.

 

[agentaqua]

http://thetyee.ca/News/2013/12/30/H...eadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=301213


Secret Memo Casts Doubt on Feds' Claims for Science Library Closures

Goal stated is 'culling' research, not preserving and sharing through digitization.

By Andrew Nikiforuk, Today, TheTyee.ca

A federal document marked "secret" obtained by Postmedia News indicates the closure or destruction of more than half a dozen world famous science libraries has little if anything to do with digitizing books as claimed by the Harper government.

In fact, the document, a compendium of cuts to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that can be read in its entirety at the bottom of this story, mentions only the "culling of materials" as the "main activities" involved as the science libraries are reduced from nine to two. Specifically, it details "culling materials in the closed libraries or shipping them to the two locations and culling materials in the two locations to make room for collections from closed libraries."

In contrast, a government website says the closures are all about digitizing the books and providing greater access to Canadians -- a claim federal and retired scientists interviewed by The Tyee say is not true.

An agency spokesperson did not answer a series of questions posed by The Tyee. Instead he referred The Tyee to the government website.

 

[agentaqua]

http://www.timescolonist.com/oil-projects-not-worth-risk-to-salmon-report-1.763127





Oil projects not worth risk to salmon: report





Sarah Petrescu / Times Colonist
December 17, 2013 09:12 PM
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a5-1218-salmonx-bw.jpg


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Oil spills of any size can affect wild salmon, a study says. Photograph by: Ric Ernst, Vancouver Sun PNG




The proposed oil industry expansion on B.C.’s coast is not worth the risk to wild salmon, says a new report by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

“The public needs to know our concerns,” said Misty MacDuffee, the Sidney-based organization’s lead researcher.

She said a thorough look at the affects of the oil industry on B.C. salmon habitats is crucial because of a lack of recent data on the state of the species in the province. It is also timely as plans for two major oil pipeline expansions along the B.C. coast move ahead.

A federal joint review panel will issue recommendations on the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline on Thursday. Federal approval is expected next year. The project is the subject of Vol. 1 of Raincoast’s report, Embroiled: Salmon, Tankers and the Enbridge Northern Gateway Proposal. The second volume, which focuses on the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline, will be released in February.

On Monday, Kinder Morgan officially filed plans to expand its pipeline with the National Energy Board. The $5.4-billion project would triple capacity for shipping tankers to carry 890,000 barrels of oil a day between Edmonton and Burnaby. Public consultations are to be announced.

“These projects are going ahead and it will be up to the citizens of this province to say what they want for the future,” MacDuffee said.

The study is a response to public concern raised in Northern Gateway consultations and largely uses scientific data gleaned from the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989.

“There is a lot of value from Exxon Valdez because prior [to the spill] it was a cold-water, pristine salmon habitat — much like our coast,” MacDuffee said. “There are 20 years of studies that came out of it … showing long-term effects.”

The acute effects of a major oil spill are documented but there’s also the chronic issues, the effects of small spills over time and on the developmental stages of all species of salmon in the area.

“One of our biggest concerns is spawning in intertidal streams where oil has seeped below the gravel and toxins are released at very low concentrations over the years,” MacDuffee said.

“This can kill the embryos outright or have sub-lethal effects on fry, [such as] spinal deformities and inflammation of the organs.”

The study also seeks to clarify the extent of salmon streams and habitat that could be affected by the Northern Gateway project, which would transport bitumen from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat before being shipped to Asia.

MacDuffee said not all streams and salmon habitat are formally catalogued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and several were omitted from Enbridge’s research.

“They did such a cursory review of salmon it was shocking,” MacDuffee said, adding the report also explores newer areas of concern such as the effects of increased shipping traffic in salmon habitats and low-level noise.

Ivan Geisbrecht, spokesman for Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project, said no additional research has been done since the joint review hearings ended a few months ago, because federal fisheries and aboriginal groups do not want to enter discussions until a decision on the project is made.

“We’ve made meaningful changes to our project — including a $500-million package of safety enhancements and route revisions — as a direct result of these consultations,” he said. Enbridge also studied the effects of Exxon Valdez.

“This research included multi-year studies on the effects of oil on salmon eggs and fry, as well as fish habitat,” Geisbrecht said. “One of the lessons learned from the spill is that detailed information is required on environmental quality and marine habitat conditions.”

He said Enbridge is well aware that spills can harm the environment, which is why the project invests heavily in prevention and spill preparedness.

“The reality is that spills are rare events,” he said.

Alexandra Morton, a Sointula-based marine biologist and wild-salmon advocate, surveys salmon health along B.C.’s coast throughout the year.

She said the current state of salmon in the province is all over the map, and a lack of organized research makes it hard to predict.

“In general, it’s volatile and fragile,” Morton said. “To add another stressor is not good.”

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has not conducted its own study into the effects of Northern Gateway, but did provide advice on the environmental assessment.

It would not comment on the data submitted by the company, citing respect for the joint review panel process.

• To read the full report, go to: http://www.raincoast.org/wp-content/uploads/EMBROILED_Dec16_final.pdf

spetrescu@timescolonist.com

© Copyright 2013
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/oil-pr...o-salmon-report-1.763127#sthash.3H2oxECp.dpuf

 

[Cuba Libre]

Nasty..........

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/po...g-lobbying-enbridge-northern-gateway-pipeline

 

[reelfast]

i have to wonder just how the projected quantum increase in tanker traffic through harrow strait is going to play out against the background of protecting the orca, an already federally listed species.