KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY
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DECEMBER 16, 2014 | Volume 27 No. 149
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SUN PEAKS SNOW REPORT Mid-mountain: 69 cm Alpine: 86 cm Snow phone: 250-578-7232
CHEERS TO ALL OF YOU
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL IS COMING
KTW Christmas Cheer Fund has eclipsed the $20,000 mark
Everything you need to know Dralion, coming soon to ISC
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‘Reduced health outcomes’ from pipeline twinning? ANDREA KLASSEN STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
Construction of the twinning of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline could lead to a housing and hotel-room crunch and “reduced health outcomes” for residents, according to a report headed to city council tomorrow (Dec. 16). The report from environmental-services supervisor Allan Michener outlines potential impacts of Kinder Morgan’s expanded oil pipeline on the city of Kamloops and asks for council’s blessing to request more information and raise concerns on the city’s behalf. The proposed Trans Mountain project, currently under review by the National Energy Board, would nearly triple the amount of oil and related products the company ships to the coast from Alberta each day, from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels every day. If successful, the company plans to spend more than $5 billion over more than two years to expand portions of the existing line, lay new pipe and make other upgrades to the system stretching between the Alberta oilsands and Burnaby. According to Michener’s report, the number of workers housed in the Kamloops area could be as high as 800 at peak construction, with at least 270 workers coming into town for the duration of work. That could be more than the overburdened Royal Inland Hospital and the city’s health clinics could handle. “With an increase in usage of local resources, in particular the hospital’s emergency facility, the project could result in reduced health outcomes for the community at large,” the report states. Michener said workers in search of temporary accommodations “could potentially displace affordable housing resources” in the city — which already has a low rental vacancy rate and a demand for rooms from tournament participants and tourists in the summer. Michener said the city also needs more information on Kinder Morgan’s plans for crossing 11 Kamloops roads and a number of utility lines during construction, various parks and the Lac du Bois grasslands, and the North Thompson River, which the city is planning on using as an emergency water supply. The report also offers an estimate of what the new pipeline would be worth to the City of Kamloops — about $745,000 in new tax revenue per year.
ANDREA KLASSEN/KTW With the price of a barrel of oil plummeting on the world market, Kamloops drivers were treated yesterday (Dec. 15) to numbers they have not seen in a few years. The Costco gas bar on Versatile Drive dropped the price of a litre of gas to below a buck, with the 99.9-cent price luring many motorists.
GAS PRICES FALL BELOW $1/LITRE
CAM FORTEMS STAFF REPORTER cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
Yesterday afternoon (Dec. 15), Mike Blanchard prepared to change the sign at his Halston Esso station to drop the price of gasoline below a dollar a litre — the first time in three years motorists have enjoyed that rate. Led by Costco’s gas bar in Aberdeen, typically the rate-setter in Kamloops, stations began dropping prices yesterday by about five cents a litre, to 99.9 cents. It marked the first time since December 2011, when there was a brief dip below the dollar mark. Prior to that date, the price fell below a dollar a litre several times early in 2010. “I’d like to see it 85 cents — that would be awesome,” said Blanchard, one of the
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few independent dealers in the city. “I have a couple of pickups, so it would be a lot cheaper to drive.” That rate is possible if oil prices continue to plummet and reach the $40-a-barrel level predicted by some economists, said GasBuddy analyst Dan McTeague. But, even at today’s rate, motorists are getting a good deal, he said. Prices are about 10 cents a litre higher this week in the Okanagan. “That 10 cents is almost entirely retailer margin,” said McTeague, a former MP. “You have very different retail markets.” Oil is trading at about $55 a barrel, its lowest level in five years. The continuing downward plummet is the result of a price war led by Saudi Arabia as it moves to drive out higher-
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cost producers amid overabundant supply. McTeague said there is typically a lag time for gasoline, meaning the price could continue down a few more pennies a litre if current oil prices have bottomed out. The sagging Canadian dollar offsets some of the gains motorists receive from the falling cost of oil, McTeague noted. “The Canadian dollar is no great shakes,” he said. “It tends not to allow us the immediacy of crude prices.” Ken Coleman, sales manager at Kamloops Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ltd., said car buyers need to see gas prices stay low before they start opting for a V-8 over a more economical V-6 for their new ride.
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