Braid: After big national meeting, not much hope for Premier Smith's pipeline dreams
The government even proposed capping bitumen shipments, which would have made the pipeline an economic bust.
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Pipeline company Kinder Morgan abandoned the project precisely because of B.C. hostility, selling it to the Canadian government for $4.5 billion.
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This dismal record shows that as long as the B.C. NDP is in power, there isn't the slightest chance the province will agree to a northern line.
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Eby has a paper-thin technical majority of one seat. He needs the support of two Green MLAs.
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Agreeing to a pipeline, or endorsing reversal of the federal tanker ban, could take down his government.
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Smith isn't pushing this with B.C. For her, the only solution is an election victory by the B.C. Conservative Party.
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Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is a pragmatic Prairie New Democrat, unlike the B.C. zealots.
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The Manitoba premier wants to use the port at Churchill, or another Hudson Bay site on the Manitoba coast.
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Ford is keen on a shipping terminal far to the south, at the tip of James Bay in Ontario.
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That's more than 1,000 kilometres from Churchill. In latitude, a James Bay port would be slightly south of Calgary.
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Kinew is not contrary in the least, so far. But he does favour Hudson Bay. And any such pipeline must cross his province.
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I'll take a chance here and say that Ottawa won't endorse either a B.C. north coast or Arctic pipeline when the first round of projects is listed in the fall.
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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Scott Steer and his co-accused corporation faced eight charges including fishing in a closed area without a licence, selling more than $1 million worth of illegally harvested sea cucumbers and breaching an earlier order forbidding him from possessing fishing vessels. Steer's co-accused in the case was a numbered company owned by his wife, Melissa Steer, but the company was found to be a 'sham.' Undated Nanaimo RCMP handout photo of Scott Steer who has been found guilty of illegally harvesting and selling sea cucumbers. Photo by Handout / Nanaimo RCMP B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Crerar in Nanaimo said in his ruling that Steer has a 'remarkably long record' of fisheries violations and other offences dating back more than a decade, and short stints in jail have 'wholly failed to deter or rehabilitate' him. The ruling notes that Steer, who was convicted of all eight charges had 34 prior convictions from 13 cases dating back to 2008. He was also charged for illegally harvesting sea cucumbers between July 2019 and March 2020. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In March 2020, Steer was caught illegally harvesting more than 500 kilograms of crabs in Vancouver harbour. When he refused to stop for coast guard, officials boarded his vessel at high speed where they found Steer and two associations on board with 300 crabs and four commercial crab traps. This resulted in a 2021 conviction for illegal crab fishing. His prior offences include defrauding a vessel owner, breaching conditions in a case of intimate-partner violence and various probation violations. Steer was banned from fishing for 10 years in 2013, when his wife told the court her husband's actions were 'uncharacteristic' and regrettable. He sought a more lenient sentence by claiming he'd be rehabilitated. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The Steers' actions and ongoing breaches since that date indicate that their statements to the court were cynical self-serving falsehoods,' Crerar's ruling in the new case says. Crerar's ruling says Steer and his wife continued their illegal fishing operations even while his trial was taking place. Steer's persistent 'knowing and mocking flouting of the law' indicates the 'unlikelihood of remorse or rehabilitation, now or in future.' The ruling says Steer told a witness during the trial that it was 'pointless' and a 'waste of time,' and that he gave evidence in court that was 'clearly and deliberately false.' 'The offenders' misconduct in this regard was not limited to the trial on this matter. It spanned the entirety of this prosecution,' Crerar's ruling says. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The judge found Steer's long record and repeated Fisheries Act violations 'highly aggravating' in sentencing. 'The Crown understands Mr Steer's record to be the longest record of Fisheries Act violations in Canadian history. Warnings, fines, prohibitions, and multiple incarceration sentences of various lengths have all failed to deter or reform Mr. Steer,' the ruling says. The judge said Steer breached four prohibition orders in his latest list of offences, which 'further illustrates his contempt for the court process, as well as the futility of protecting the public and marine resources through further prohibitions or less intrusive means reliant on his voluntary compliance and reform.' The judge found Steer's operation was 'complex' and involved multiple co-conspirators, and the 'scale and sophistication' of it was illustrated by the more than $1 million in illegal sea cucumber sales at the heart of the case. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The sales were made in 2019, while the illegal fishing charges involved 11,000 kilograms of sea cucumbers that year. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says sea cucumbers are considered a medicinal food in Asia, with China being the biggest export market. It is a 'limited entry fishery' in B.C., restricted to a few dozen commercial licence holders who can only harvest by hand for eight weeks a year. Judge Crerar's ruling says Steer sought leniency based on the needs of his family, including his four children with his wife and another child from her previous relationship. The ruling says other judges had warned Steer in past cases about consequences for his family due to him being sent to jail. 'Steer continued in his illegal fishing operations with eyes wide open to the likely consequences of his illegal activities on his family life,' Crerar's ruling says. 'It is through his voluntary actions that he is separated from his family.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The ruling says Steer believes himself 'unbound by laws' and that short stints in jail as punishments are 'literally a joke.' Crerar gave Steer six years in prison and also fined him and his company $1.1 million 'specifically to condemn the Steers' deliberate, destructive, and dishonest actions.' In 2021, Postmedia reported on the province's attempt to seize a Gabriola Island home and more than $1.3 million in cash from Steer, saying the cash and home are proceeds of illegal fishing and money laundering. The Gabriola home, at the time, was valued at $622,000 and listed as being owned by Steer's mother in law. However, the civil forfeiture claim alleges Diane Gail Butz was a nominee owner and that Steer and his wife were the beneficial or true owners. Butz later filed a response arguing against the forfeiture of the Gabriola property and in 2022, the province discontinued the action against Butz's home. With files from Postmedia News Read More News Vancouver Whitecaps Sports Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks
