Interior THE
107th Year - Week26
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
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A NEW ADVENTURE FUNDRAISER RUN First ever Smithers’ Solstice Trail Run.
SPORTS/A13
POWER OF WONDER Students try new areas of study.
COMMUNITY/A19
Smithers Secondary School grad Shawntei Michell makes her way to the stage at the beginning of the school’s convocation ceremonies Saturday night. For more, see Pages A24 and A25.
Ryan Jensen photo
NEW STORE OPENS Gitanmaax Market opened last week.
THREE RIVERS/B12
Northern Gateway pipeline approved By Marisca Bakker Smithers/Interior News
INSIDE LETTERS A7 SPORTS A11 COMMUNITY A19 OUR TOWN A21 THREE RIVERS B1 CLASSIFIEDS B4
Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach said he doubts Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline will ever go ahead despite the project receiving the federal government’s approval last week. “The fact remains there is no resource development project in Canada’s history that has seen such widespread opposition from communities, residents and First Nations,” Bachrach said. “It really seems unrealistic that this pipeline will ever be constructed.”
Although that isn’t the feeling of everyone in the valley. “I’m really happy to hear it, something positive for a change. I’m all for it,” said Telkwa Mayor Carman Graf. He noted that this is his own personal feeling and he can’t speak for council. “Everybody wants everything but without resource money we are going to have nothing. We can’t keep turning everything down.” Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources said the approval is another step in the process and added Enbridge must
demonstrate to the National Energy Board how it will meet the required 209 conditions before the project goes ahead. Rickford also noted that consultations with aboriginal communities are required under the conditions. “The proponent clearly has more work to do in order to fulfill the public commitment it has made to engage with aboriginal groups and local communities along the route,” he said in a statement. In December, the Joint Review Panel for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project recommended
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see page A-28
Coleman Propane Canisters 465 g
approval of the pipeline, laying out the conditions that must first be met. One hundred and two of those terms are required before construction can begin. After 18 months of submissions from experts and the public, the panel concluded the benefits of a twin pipeline from northern Alberta to a proposed tanker facility at Kitimat outweigh the risks. “The environmental, societal and economic burdens of a large oil spill, while unlikely and not permanent, would be significant,” the panel concluded in its report.
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“Through our conditions we require Northern Gateway to implement appropriate and effective spill prevention measures and spill response capabilities, so that the likelihood and consequences of a large spill would be minimized.” The panel said there would be significant effects on some populations of woodland caribou and grizzly bear, and uncertainty remains over the effectiveness of Enbridge’s plans to minimize the disruption the pipeline would cause.
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See MLA on A3