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Years est. 1954
Volume 60 No. 24
Sentinel
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Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Council calls on Cullen
Cameron Orr Kitimat Council is calling for a meeting with a Conservative MP from the Prince George area, as well as the local MP Nathan Cullen, to talk about the proposed oil refinery by David Black, and about the Northern Gateway Pipelines proposal. The motion from Mario Feldhoff asks Council to contact Bob Zimmer, who represents the Prince George-Peace River riding, and is the Chair of the B.C./Yukon caucus, as well as Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP representative Nathan Cullen, to discuss Kitimat’s support of the proposed refinery, and council’s opposition to the Northern Gateway diluted bitumen pipeline proposal. “I think he [Cullen] should be more supportive of the Kitimat Clean value-added refinery and associated benefits. Among them the 3,000 direct jobs to his riding. We need to impress upon him the benefits associated with the Kitimat Clean refinery proposal,” said Feldhoff. Feldhoff noted that Cullen has been vocal about the Joint Review Panel for the Northern Gateway project but has been very quiet about the refinery. Meanwhile Cullen just days before council’s meeting, met with David Black in Ottawa to discuss his proposal. Cullen acknowledges the potential for 3,000 direct jobs tied to the refinery but he remains mindful of the challenges Black still has to face to achieve his goals. “I’ve said to [Black] privately what I’ve said publicly which is it’s very good to have a conversation about value-added when it comes to what’s happening with Canadian oil and bitumen out of the oil sands,” said Cullen. “At present it remains a project in theory as opposed to one that has shovels in the ground or even at the stage of application.” Cullen also said the issue of a pipeline in to B.C. is one that he continues to have concerns for. “It’s a similar proposal to Kinder Morgan or Enbridge up until the point of when it gets near the coast, then it changes with the idea of a refinery and upgrader. That concerned me before and it concerns me now, how would you keep all those 1,100 rivers and streams safe from a blowout?” Cullen does say he respect’s Black’s “passion and willingness to raise the conversation,” and said he’d welcome a meeting with Kitimat Council to talk about this. “I think he knows he has some work, certainly, to do before we get to the place of whether this is real or not and government has to take a look at it.”
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
1.30 INCLUDES TAX
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The survivors lap at the Kitimat Relay for Life makes its way around the track as the event formally gets underway on May 31. More photos, and the total raised so far, on page 6.
Scientists stand against Gateway Tom Fletcher The federal review panel for the Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal downplayed the risks of a heavy oil pipeline and tanker terminal at Kitimat, and its endorsement should be rejected, 300 scientists have told Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The federal cabinet is expected to release its decision on the project this month, after a review panel report in December recommended it is in the public interest. A letter from two University of B.C. scientists and one from Simon Fraser University, endorsed by academics and graduate students from around the world, was released this week. It says the panel’s report took “a broad view of the economic benefits, but an asymmetrically narrow view of the environmental risks and costs.” The benefits come to Alberta oil sands producers from an expected higher price for their crude in Asia. But the environmental risks assessed by the panel are limited to transportation by pipeline and
“The signatories of this letter are denying the experts an opportunity to defend their work.” tanker, and omit the risks and emission effects from production and later consumption of the oil, the letter states. Northern Gateway project leader Janet Holder said the joint review panel (JRP) weighed evidence from top experts in the field. “By actively seeking to undermine the work of these experts outside of the JRP process, the signatories of this letter are denying the experts an opportunity to defend their work,” Holder said. She also said in a statement that “There remains considerable regulatory oversight ahead in many aspects of the project to ensure the conditions are met, and that it is being constructed and operated responsibly and in an environmentally safe manner.” The Harper government has signaled in recent weeks it is preparing to green-
light the project. On May 14, Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced a new rule for federally regulated pipelines, assigning “absolute liability” for costs and damages of $1 billion even when their operation is not at fault. This is on top of unlimited liability when the operator is at fault or negligent. On May 27, Rickford announced a new major projects management office for Western Canada, intended to increase aboriginal employment and business opportunities related to pipelines, tankers and safety systems to protect them. The JRP report cited 209 conditions, including a protection plan for whales and other marine mammals and continued work on heavy oil cleanup. Northern Gateway officials say their marine spill prevention and response capabilities would be more than three times required by existing law. Pipeline steel would be 20 per cent thicker than required, with the pipelines monitored and pump stations staffed around the clock.
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Supper club dishes it out ... page 9