The Interior News Wednesday, July 18, 2012
www.interior-news.com
A7
OPINION Clark’s pen greenwashes LNG plants
Online poll results Is the Gitxsan conflict the real reason for the Hazelton JRP move?
Yes 60%
By Andrew Hudson
No 40%
Was it right to move the Hazelton Enbridge hearing?
interior-news.com
LAURA EUSTACE FAMILY DOCTOR
KOLE HIGGINBOTHAM STUDENT
DANIEL ROUW DAIRY FARMER
WILLIE PETE CONSTRUCTION WORKER
“They’re shutting down the only venue that people have to raise their voices.”
“I think so. Pretty much anything national will want to eliminate all the risk possible.”
“It feels that everywhere there’s most opposition, they’re cancelling meetings. It doesn’t seem there’s a real threat to safety.”
“Nobody really wants that pipeline in there, but I think whatever’s the fastest way to get it over with is probably the safest way.”
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Residents say no, Telkwa keeps spending Editor: At the Telkwa Town Hall Meeting on June 26th, residents learned the municipal offices would remain in the former milk plant building. Residents were also told major renovations would begin soon. During the Alternative Approval Process, an information package was distributed. It included a FAQ section. Question number two was, “What if the project doesn’t proceed, what happens to the building?” The answer in the
FAQ section was, “If the project doesn’t proceed for any reason, the Village Office can remain in the building with no renovations, or the building can be sold, and new options can be considered.” At a standing room only informational meeting, held prior to the referendum, members of Telkwa Council expressed their regret for the lack of public consultation. Council then stated their intent to solicit more public input in the future regarding the project. In December 2011, it was announced a Committee of the Whole meeting would be held regarding the formation of a Building Committee to address this issue. This meeting has
never been held. Over a year has passed since the AAP process was initiated. There is no Building Committee and consultation hasn’t occurred. New options haven’t been considered and the renovations are planned. Telkwa’s reserves fund is growing rapidly and it may be utilized to fund the proposed building renovations. Property taxes continue to go up in Telkwa, so as to assist in the growth of the reserves fund. In an interview with The Interior News, published November 23, 2011, Telkwa Mayor Carman Graf said he didn’t know what the Village of Telkwa would do with the
building but thought it was likely the village would do the renovations in stages over a period of time. He admitted it was an option he wasn’t happy with. “The thing that bothers me the most is when you piecemeal something it costs twice as much than if you do it all at once,” Graf said. “We might have to do that though.” Does this mean that after residents voted ‘NO’ to a $1 million village office, we might instead get
a $2 million village office without an opportunity to say ‘NO’ to? Darcy Repen Telkwa
Campbell, Clark ruined BC Hydro Editor: BC Hydro is a mess. I contend the BC Liberals under Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark should be taken to court. Continued top right
Letters to the editor policy Letters are welcomed up to a maximum of 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, brevity and legality. All letters must include the writer’s name, daytime telephone number and hometown for verification purposes. Anonymous, or pen names will not be permitted. Not all submissions will be published. Letters may be e-mailed to: editor@interior-news.com.
The damages they’ve inflicted on the corporation are irreparable. Looking at the supposedly “integrated” Draft Resource Plan, the prediction for hydroelectric needs in British Columbia for the next 20 years, it becomes acutely clear there are three parallel and incompatible lines of thinking. First, BC Hydro’s mandate is to provide British Columbians with reliable and affordable electricity. Second, energy conservation continues to be the first and preferred strategy to close the gap between forecast need and supply. Third, a 50 per cent predicted increase in demand for hydroelectricity is mostly due to liquefied natural gas (LNG), specifically plants in Kitimat and Prince Rupert. Energy wasteful LNG plants, powered all over the world by natural gas, are declared, with the stroke of a pen by Christy Clark ‘green energy,” so long as it’s used for LNG plants and require electrification. Try to figure. Premier Clark must mean the same for the Enbridge pipeline which will simply hook up to existing lines. This will require a $95 million upgrading for the transmission line running to Terrace from Prince George. Shell Canada is laughing with the gift of the proposed Site C dam on the Peade River for their planned monster LNG plant in Prince Rupert. The plant will require more than 1.5 time its power. If more electricity will be needed (by those LNG plants, mining and pipeline projects), not to worry, we’ll buy it from Independent Power Producers at twice the price we will sell it to them at industrial rates. In short, BC Hydro’s mandate has shifted to subsidize wasteful greenhouse producing energy and mining projects, while keeping British Columbians busy changing their energy inefficient light bulbs. Josette Wier Smithers
Nipping oil spill in bud nothing but a fantasy Editor: (Re: Beware of pipeline, Interior News, June 20, 2012). I forwarded similar points to Nathan Cullen, but received no response, notwithstanding the fact that I read that the NDP answers each email message. In the interior, snow will keep people out for more than five months. A mudslide on the highway already takes up to a week just to clear. A pipeline hundreds of kilometres off the highway may never be repaired within a month Lorne Williams Gitsegukla
YOUR INTERIOR NEWS TEAM
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