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Years est. 1954
Volume 60 No. 08
Sentinel
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Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Pipeline challenges could slow refinery David Black is taking a step back to see how legal challenges to the Northern Gateway Pipelines proposal plays out as he continues to develop his plan for an oil refinery near Kitimat. Since the Joint Review Panel released its recommendation in favour of the pipeline proposal, subject to 209 conditions, there have been some challenges from environmental groups and the Haisla. As reported in the January 29 Sentinel, the Haisla filed a claim to the Federal Court of Appeal on January 17 to block an approval on the pipeline. Both the Gitga’at Nation of Hartley Bay, located at the mouth of the Douglas Channel, and the Gitxaala Nation of Kitkatla north of Prince Rupert have filed similar suits. To Black challenges like these could put friction on his refinery dream. “It will slow everything down a few years and it may be that some of the First Nations won’t be interested in supporting a different pipeline until that one grounds through its legal process. If that’s the case it puts everything off a few years,” he said. That said his refinery is not necessarily hinged on a pipeline’s construction, although that is his preferred means to supply the refinery. He says rail is an alternative, albeit one he’s not keen on pursuing. “It could come that way. I’d hate to see it, personally, because it’s not very safe,” he said about rail transport. Black is still retaining his characteristic optimism about the project though. He said he’s still working on funding and customer deals with potential clients in China, and says he doesn’t see any major roadblocks ahead. “I’ve been talking to a variety of other stakeholders from politicians to First Nations chiefs, and so on. It just keeps moving along,” he said. That said, he’s so far not been successful in securing loan guarantees from the federal government, an option he was pursuing after some initial backers to his refinery said he had to raise a certain percentage in Canada. To get that local backing he had hoped to get loan guarantees. “I haven’t been able to move that ball very far yet,” he said. Black continues to believe in the safety of pipeline development, and thinks a pipeline could be built safely to bring the diluted bitumen to his refinery. It’s the marine traffic where he has a big problem, and is among the reasons he wants a refinery, to allow shipments of less toxic materials. “It’s pretty awful,” he said of a potential spill of bitumen at sea. He said a bitumen spill would be worse than the Exxon Valdez spill. Continued on page 2
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
1.30 INCLUDES TAX
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The Kitimat Public Library held a full day of activities on Family Day, February 10. There were crafts and puppet shows and, as seen here, a Lego building activity. Above is Ailey Orringe, 4, with dad Fletcher and their pink barn. At left is Joshua Reis displaying his multi-coloured structure. Cameron Orr
Union wins in Eurocan case Cameron Orr Nine former employees of Eurocan Pulp and Paper have recently won an arbitration worth a total of $1 million. The win, which came following a lengthy fight between their union Unifor Local 298 and 127, and the company, effectively upheld the right of the employees to revoke their retirements. The nine employees had applied to retire, ahead of knowledge that the Eurocan mill was closing down. Once the company announced the plan, including a severance package for employees, the nine employees — eight of them applying for special retirement funding through the province for forestry workers — cancelled their retirement due take advantage of the more generous severance offer. However the company subsequently denied their efforts to ‘un-retire’. Arbitrator Daniel Ish oversaw the ar-
“We were fighting for retirees who were short-changed.” guments in this final hearing. Before this the union had won their argument in 2010 in front of an arbitrator, and that ruling was upheld by the British Columbia Labour Relations Board. An allowed second review of the decision, however, overturned it later in the year and a new hearing was set for an adjudicator. In all, this matter went through seven decisions before settling on this latest one, which was made at the end of January. Central in the arguments was the fact that Eurocan had accepted a revoked retirement notice from two past employees. The company argued that those past
circumstances were not like the nine being argued for during the closure. In the case of the nine union members, with the plant closing, their positions wouldn’t be required, as the positions would be for the past employees. The arbitrator’s 28 page-long document outlining the arguments and reasons eventually concludes the employees had a right to revoke their retirement. Part of that is due to the fact that none had a reason to believe that the motive for returning would have an impact on their ability to cancel retirement, referring to the fact that past employees had revoked their retirement. “We were fighting for retirees who were short-changed,” said Unifor Western Director Scott Doherty in a release following the decision. “This ruling confirms that workers have the right to rescind notice of retirement.”
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RTA offers up wharf...page 3