Latest news with #CoastalGasLink
Hamilton Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
‘A long, hot summer': B.C.'s approval of PRGT pipeline sets stage for conflict, First Nations leader says
The British Columbia government gave a green light to an 800-kilometre natural gas pipeline on Thursday, paving the way for construction to start this summer — and setting the stage for what one First Nations leader warns could be a 'long, hot summer' of conflict. The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline will carry gas from northeast B.C. to the proposed Ksi Lisims gas liquefaction and export facility on the northwest coast near the Alaska border, crossing more than 1,000 waterways, including major salmon-bearing rivers and tributaries. In a press release, the BC Environmental Assessment Office gave the project a 'substantially started' designation, locking in its original environmental approval indefinitely. That original approval — for the pipeline to end in Prince Rupert, B.C — was granted in 2014 and expired last November. The assessment office said enough construction occurred before the expiry date to earn it the designation, even though the pipeline's new route takes it to a different location. The decision to deem the pipeline substantially started was authored by Alex MacLennan, chief executive assessment officer and deputy energy minister. In a report outlining the reasons for the decision, MacLennan acknowledged that First Nations, including the Gitxsan Wilps, raised a range of concerns about the project, including the impact of greenhouse gas emissions and uncertainty about the pipeline's final route. The assessment office is currently considering two requests from the proponents to change the pipeline's route to serve the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility. 'Though I recognize that this provides some uncertainty regarding the final route of the project, the significant investment in, and pursuit of, the amendments indicate to me that PRGT Ltd. continues to invest in the project and is committed to the project being completed,' MacLennan wrote. 'As for concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions, this matter is not relevant to the substantial start determination.' The Nisg̱a'a Lisims Government and Texas-based Western LNG are partnering to build the pipeline, after buying it from Calgary-based TC Energy last year. (TC Energy is the company behind the contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline , which saw protracted conflict during construction that led to more than 80 arrests of land defenders, observers and journalists.) While the Nisg̱a'a government has stated the project provides much-needed economic benefits to its citizens, other affected First Nations, including leaders in neighbouring Gitanyow and Gitxsan territories, have voiced their opposition and argue the PRGT pipeline will negatively impact lands and waters and populations of fish and wildlife. In a statement, Simooget (Chief) Watakhayetsxw Deborah Good said the decision 'isn't the end of the story.' Watakhayetsxw was one of the Gitanyow Chiefs who set up a blockade last August when pipeline construction started, barring any industry-related traffic from passing through. 'We'll continue to fight to protect our territory (Lax'yip) with all actions needed, in the courts and on the ground,' she said. 'From August to November 2024, we denied access for PRGT pipeline construction and we'll be continuing our efforts to ensure no construction happens on our territory,' she said. Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said approving the pipeline directly contradicts the government's stated commitment to upholding Indigenous Rights, which was passed into law in 2019 with B.C.'s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. 'There are First Nations who have very loudly stated their opposition to this pipeline and they will continue to do so,' Phillip said in a statement. 'The Declaration Act and interim approach are being tossed out the window. This is not a government who believes in reconciliation and it could trigger a long, hot summer.' Naxginkw Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director with the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, questioned whether the project met criteria for the substantial start decision. While the definition of a substantial start is somewhat vague, the essence of the designation is an acknowledgement a project proponent has put in a significant amount of work to get a project going. The work done on the PRGT pipeline mainly consisted of clearing forest from a short section of the 800-kilometre route on Nisga'a lands. 'This decision makes a mockery of the true purpose and intent of what is considered to be a 'substantial start' for major infrastructure projects,' Naxginkw said in a statement. 'It leaves us asking, 'Why does the government have processes if it doesn't intend to follow them and continues to exclude concerns raised by impacted First Nations?' ' The pipeline and associated liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, Ksi Lisims LNG, are the subject of three lawsuits by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and groups, including a legal challenge launched by Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs. 'Our livelihoods depend on healthy and abundant sockeye from the Nass and Skeena rivers,' Naxginkw said. 'This pipeline would cut across some of the healthiest intact salmon watersheds left in B.C.' Naxginkw previously told The Narwhal the conflict over the pipeline is pitting nation against nation, which she said is a distraction from the real issue. 'We're stuck in this cycle of people only paying attention when it's that really heated, race-based conflict and the fact that this is nation to nation is even juicier,' she explained. 'But that's not the story — the story is the climate is going to kill us all.' Natural gas is mostly composed of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide for its short-term warming impact on the planet. At every step of the process of extracting the fossil fuel for energy production — including at wellheads, along the pipeline and during the liquefaction, shipping, regasification and combustion processes — adds more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, intensifying the effects of climate change. When built, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline will be able to transport 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
National Observer
3 days ago
- Business
- National Observer
Reining in oil and gas is good for the economy
In biophysical terms, the oil and gas sector has expanded to the point of dominating the Canadian economy. The raw material extracted from nature by the oil and gas industry now outweighs all other domestic extraction of natural resources. This includes trees felled, ores mined, fish caught, gravel quarried, livestock slaughtered, coal mined and crops harvested. When burned, Canadian oil and gas emit well over a billion tonnes per year of climate-wrecking carbon dioxide. In sharp contrast to its biophysical dominance, oil and gas extraction provides only 0.4 per cent of Canadian jobs, and indeed only 16 per cent of jobs among extractive sectors. Moreover, most Canadian fossil fuel energy gets exported rather than consumed domestically. Even if domestic production of oil fell by nearly two thirds, and gas by more than a third, it would still be enough for current levels of domestic consumption. When Canada finally starts keeping, rather than breaking, its commitments to reduce fossil fuel use and thus greenhouse gas emissions, still less oil and gas will suffice for domestic consumption. Over the past 10 years, the governing Liberals promoted the biophysical takeover of the economy by oil and gas, largely through aggressive support of pipelines. They spent $50 billion buying, enlarging, and otherwise bolstering, the unmarketable Trans Mountain Pipeline. They sicced the RCMP on people defending Indigenous land against the Coastal Gas Link. And they launched a treaty dispute with the US to stifle tribal and state governments acting to shut down Enbridge Line 5. These actions have done tremendous harm to Canadian ecosystems and the global atmosphere. Liberal support for oil and gas has also hurt the Canadian economy. On average, other economic sectors sustain more than eight times more jobs per million dollars of GDP than oil and gas extraction does. Public and private investment in oil and gas crowds out investment in these other sectors, thus killing off jobs. By locking in fossil fuel, oil and gas investments lock out what we need more of, for both ecological and economic reasons. This includes solar energy, green buildings, mass transit and ecosystem restoration, all of which would create more jobs. At this week's meeting with premiers, Prime Minister Carney showed disturbing signs of caving in further to oil and gas. Instead, he must stop the industry's all-out assault on the biosphere. This means ending fossil fuel subsidies, rather than augmenting them, as the Liberals have in the past. And it means rejecting new pipelines and phasing out old ones, rather than proliferating them, as the Liberals have in the past. Humanity and nature urgently need our new government to finally set the Canadian economy on a more ethical and prosperous course away from oil and gas. Gregory M. Mikkelson, co-founder, Cross Border Organizing Working Group, As a tenured professor of environmental studies, Greg Mikkelson lectured and published in ecology, philosophy, and economics, with a focus on the nature, causes, and value of biological diversity. He also helped divest McGill University from fossil fuels. Having left academia, he now volunteers as a researcher and organizer for a growing international movement to shut down tar sands pipelines in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence watershed.
Evening Standard
19-05-2025
- Business
- Evening Standard
Why I'm happy to DJ at Brockwell Park's Mighty Hoopla festival campaigners want everyone to boycott
Influential BDS campaigners such as the clubbing-centric Ravers For Palestine have been campaigning that KKR-affiliated events are a red flag over ties to companies involved in the development of Israeli settlements on the West Bank. They also reportedly have stakes in weapons manufacturing companies such as Circor International, as well as the controversial Coastal GasLink pipeline in Canada. Some artists have pulled out of Superstruct's events, while privately loads more are anxiously working out what to do. But despite Hoopla publicly disagreeing with their owner's 'unethical investments' in a statement on Friday, any artistic engagement with a KKR-related company still means you are on the wrong side of the issue, on a BDS level.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alaska could rival Canada's LNG industry but the hurdles are high
Alaska LNG will compete head-to-head with Canada's liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry for buyers in Asian markets if it is ever built, but the proposed US$44-billion project faces major hurdles despite a recent revival in fortunes, experts say. The long-languishing megaproject has been reinvigorated by United States President Donald Trump and his global tariff policy, which has prompted a rush of interest from Asian governments offering to buy more American LNG in exchange for relief from U.S. duties. 'There does seem to be some momentum behind Alaska LNG that cannot be ignored,' Ian Archer, natural gas expert and associate director at S&P Global Commodity Insights, said in an email. 'It would compete directly with Canadian LNG for the Asian market and could be a potential threat.' However, he said the sheer scope of the project — including the requirement for a new pipeline that would be nearly twice the length of Coastal GasLink, the 670-kilometre pipeline feeding LNG Canada on British Columbia's north coast — could push the price tag for Alaska LNG closer to US$50 billion. 'That's an enormous amount for nearly any private company, so it would have to be built with a combination of federal money and a corporate consortium,' Archer said, noting the project would also face significant environmental and local opposition. The ambition of the project's current backers is to build a 1,300-kilometre pipeline connecting Alaska's stranded North Slope natural gas to a new 20-million-tonne-per-annum (MPTA) liquefaction plant and export terminal in the Nikiski area of south-central Alaska. Alaska LNG's export capacity would be smaller than the full build-out of the Shell PLC-led LNG Canada project in Kitimat, B.C., which is set to begin shipments this year at 14 MPTA, but which could be expanded to 28 MPTA, pending a green light from joint-venture partners Petronas Energy Canada Ltd., PetroChina Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp. and Korean Gas Corp. Both projects would cut LNG shipping times from North America to Asia in half, avoiding the delays and disruptions that sometimes frustrate Gulf Coast exporters that must use the Panama Canal. But despite Trump's bluster about developing and exporting Alaska's resources, experts and investors, including Mitsubishi, which is reportedly considering investing in the project, believe Alaska LNG could take a decade or more to build. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have all said they are considering investing in the project, though some critics have characterized those announcements as politically motivated rather than based on the project's inherent economic strengths or advantages. Asian countries, which are already among the largest global importers of LNG, may see signing agreements to purchase more U.S. supply as a potential way to gain relief from tariffs. 'There is talk of a big energy deal in Alaska, where the Japanese, and perhaps the Koreans, perhaps the Taiwanese, would take a lot of the offtake and provide financing for the deals,' U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC Tuesday. 'Not only would that provide a lot of American jobs, but it would narrow the trade deficit.' Former project owners ExxonMobil Corp., BP PLC and ConocoPhillips Co. backed out in 2016 over concerns the project wasn't competitive. Alaska LNG remained stalled and in the state's hands for years until last month, when the Alaska Gasline Development Corp. reached an agreement with private developer Glenfarne Group LLC to lead and finance the project's development. 'I have yet to meet a single potential Asian buyer who is not genuinely concerned about the economics of that project,' Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a natural gas markets expert and research scholar for the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, said in an email. China halts U.S. LNG imports for longest since last trade war Quebec open to LNG, oil projects after Trump threats 'If (Trump) was not trying actively to make them sign a deal, I am not sure anybody would actually look at that project.' — With files from Bloomberg News • Email: jgowling@ Sign in to access your portfolio
CBC
18-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Judge finds RCMP breached charter rights during arrests at Wet'suwet'en pipeline blockade
A B.C. judge says police breached the charter rights of three people arrested for blocking work on the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline, and they will receive a reduction in their sentences because of that. The abuse of process application was brought by Sleydo' (Molly Wickham), a wing chief of the Gidimt'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation, Shaylynn Sampson, a Gitxsan woman with Wet'suwet'en family ties and Corey Jocko, who is Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) from Akwesasne. Justice Michael Tammen found the three guilty last year of criminal contempt of court for breaking an injunction against blocking work on the pipeline back in November 2021. Tammen read his decision in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers Tuesday after more than a year of court proceedings. The abuse of process application alleged RCMP used excessive force while arresting the accused in November 2021, and that the group was treated unfairly while in custody. It asked the judge to stay the criminal contempt of court charges or to reduce their sentences based on their treatment by police. Tammen said it would be inappropriate to stay court proceedings, but found that some of the accused's Section 7 rights— life, liberty, and security of person — were breached during the police raid. Tammen said these rights were breached when several police officers on two different audio recordings were captured comparing Sleydo' and Sampson to orcs and ogres for wearing red hand prints painted over their mouths — a symbol that represents missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. "I view the conduct as extremely serious involving racism directed towards Indigenous women, that is a group that has been systemically disadvantaged through all sectors of the criminal justice system for generations," said Tammen. Senior RCMP officers who gave evidence in the proceedings apologized for the behaviour of the officers, but Tammen said in his decision that he did not feel like these apologies were sufficient remedies for the prejudice and harm the comments caused. He said he would consider a reduction in sentence as a capable remedy for this. "The comments about the red face paint were not made by a single officer and were not a one-off occurrence," said Tammen. He said there were multiple offensive and discriminatory comments made by multiple officers on Nov. 18, 2021 and Nov. 19, 2021. RCMP's Community-Industry Response Group led the enforcement. "That is potentially a sign of systemic attitudinal issue within the C-IRG," he said, but Tammen said there was no evidence that this offensive behaviour was encouraged or condoned more broadly within the RCMP. Police needed warrants: judge During the accused's arrest on Nov. 19, Sleydo' and Sampson were located in a small structure, referred to as the tiny house. When police knocked on the door of the tiny house, Sleydo' said police needed a warrant to enter, but the RCMP breached the structure using a chainsaw, saying they could enter under the authority of the injunction. Police also breached a separate structure where Jocko was arrested, referred to as the cabin. During these arrests, the people inside this structure also said that police needed a warrant to enter. Tammen agreed in his decision that police did need a warrant to enter the structures. "The breaches that flowed from that failure [to obtain a warrant] were about as minor as could ever occur with warrantless arrests in a dwelling house," said Tammen. He said there was no doubt that the occupants of the structure would be arrested and the structures removed, even if the RCMP did obtain a warrant. Tammen said a stay in proceedings can only be granted in the clearest of cases, which he said this case is not. Tammen said the maximum sentence for criminal contempt is no more than five years imprisonment. The court will schedule sentencing at a later date.
