Latest news with #EAO
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Prince Rupert gas pipeline cleared to keep environmental permit indefinitely
Prince Rupert gas pipeline cleared to keep environmental permit indefinitely The Prince Rupert gas pipeline project is 'substantially started' and will keep its valid environmental certificate for the life of the pipeline, the BC Environmental Assessment Office has ruled. The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline is jointly owned by the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG, but other First Nations and environmentalists say the decision favours corporate interests over climate commitments and Indigenous rights. Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, said the decision was not unexpected, but still 'damaging and daunting.' She said the province frequently bends or breaks its own laws and regulations to accommodate PRGT, undermining the integrity of the environmental review process. 'This is absolutely not in the interests of Gitanyow and many other nations who have expressed concern,' Marsden said. 'It's going to be a significant reversal of the climate policy of this government.' The BC government has legislated targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But according to critics, pursuing additional LNG and pipeline projects will undercut any progress made by adding significant new emissions that were not considered in the province's climate plans. Marsden said the government is acting without responsibility, forcing First Nations to fight in court because it doesn't respect consultation, Indigenous rights, UNDRIP or true consent — and the decision was politically and economically driven, not based on policy, law or sound science. 'This government can now do whatever it pleases with no accountability,' Marsden said. 'First Nations are left to fight for these things on the ground and in the courts.' She said the report by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) — the agency tasked with technical review — was 'very slim,' noting that Gitanyow's own submission was likely twice as long. Janelle Lapointe, senior advisor at the David Suzuki Foundation and member of Stellat'en First Nation, said the approval casts significant doubt on the province's willingness to meet its climate targets, respect Indigenous rights and title, and even follow its own policy on determining whether a project has had a 'substantial start.' The keyword — substantial start — is critical because under BC's Environmental Assessment Act, a project's environmental certificate will expire unless enough real, physical work has been completed on the ground before a set deadline — in this case, November 25, 2024. According to the EAO report , the PRGT pipeline was considered 'substantially started' because the company cleared 42 km of pipeline route, built nine permanent bridges, upgraded or built 47 km of access roads, and set up work areas before the deadline. The company also spent about $584 million on the project since 2013. The concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions and incomplete permits were not part of the decision and was mainly based on the physical work completed on the ground. 'If PRGT was really a good project, it wouldn't need a decade-old permit, quiet approvals, and a government bending the rules to push it through,' Lapointe said. She said since the original environmental assessment certificate was issued in 2014, lands, waterways, and ecology have only become more vulnerable due to continued extraction, corporate greed, and the accelerating effects of climate change. Lapointe said the project will cross hundreds of fish-bearing streams and rivers in a watershed that her community depends on. The government is again refusing to ensure the project won't harm their ecosystems, especially salmon — a key species important to their culture and vital to the local economy, she said. 'The province has failed to address the concerns of the Indigenous nations asserting their rights to protect our territory. It sets a very dangerous precedent,' Lapointe said. She pointed out that newly passed Bill 15 and the PRGT approval highlight a troubling trend — the provincial government is making it easier for corporations to move projects forward, while making it difficult for Indigenous nations to exercise their rights and oppose developments that threaten their territories. 'Are they going to allow outdated permits from 2014 to be treated as more legitimate than the rights of sovereign nations? I am left wondering, why is our province bending over backwards to hand over critical energy infrastructure to American billionaires?' Lapointe said. Christina Smethurst, communications head at Dogwood BC, a Victoria-based non-profit, non-partisan citizen action group, said while the EAO issued the approval, there has been no clear public statement or ownership from elected government officials about the decision, with significant environmental, Indigenous rights and economic implications. 'The BC NDP have abandoned any semblance of caring about climate change,' Smethurst said. 'Where is the government on this? Who of our elected officials will take responsibility for making this decision?' Marsden said Gitanyow is preparing legal and other actions, and the fight to protect their lands will continue. Lapointe said they would follow Gitanyow's lead in the ongoing opposition to the pipeline. Marsden also challenged the narrative that this project would help Canada's energy independence. 'This isn't about getting out from under the thumb of Americans. It's actually about enriching people who are in Trump's inner circle,' Marsden said. Sonal Gupta / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada's National Observer 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 .
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Pipeline planned to supply LNG project receives green light from B.C. regulator
Article content British Columbia has once again green-lit the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, reaffirming an approval first issued under the former Christy Clark government for the line that will supply a major new liquefied natural gas export terminal proposed on the province's northern coast. Article content The decision by the head of B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) on Thursday means that PRGT's environmental assessment certificate will remain in effect for the life of the project, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the 12-million-tonne-per-year (Mtpa) Ksi Lisims LNG project. Article content Article content Article content 'This is an important step, not just for PRGT, but for the Nisga'a Nation's vision of self-determination and long-term prosperity,' Eva Clayton, president of Nisga'a Lisims Government, which co-owns PRGT and Ksi Lisims with Houston-based Western LNG LLC, said in a statement. Article content Article content The floating LNG terminal proposed for Pearse Island, north of Prince Rupert, B.C., still awaits key environmental sign-offs from provincial and federal officials, but Thursday's decision confirms that the 750-kilometre pipeline intended to supply feed gas to the liquefaction facility can go ahead. Article content PRGT, which would transport around two billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the West Coast, had initially been granted its certificate in 2014 when TC Energy Corp. advanced the project to supply the Petronas-backed Pacific NorthWest LNG project. Article content Article content But Petroliam Nasional Bhd. — the legal name of Malaysia's state-owned Petronas — cancelled Pacific NorthWest LNG in 2017 amid economic and regulatory headwinds, leaving PRGT to languish until Western LNG and the Nisga'a Nation bought the project in 2024, amending and shortening the proposed route to supply Ksi Lisims LNG. Article content Article content The long delay put the pipeline at risk of losing its environmental certificate since, under provincial rules, each certificate comes with a deadline by which a project must be substantially started and PRGT's was contingent upon a November 2024 start date. Article content But in his decision released Thursday, Alex MacLennan, head of the EAO, pointed to the clearing of 42 kilometres of the pipeline's right-of-way and the construction of permanent features identified in the project's plans, including nine bridges, 47 kilometres of roads and a lodge.
National Observer
4 days ago
- Politics
- National Observer
Prince Rupert gas pipeline cleared to keep environmental permit indefinitely
The Prince Rupert gas pipeline project is 'substantially started' and will keep its valid environmental certificate for the life of the pipeline, the BC Environmental Assessment Office has ruled. The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline is jointly owned by the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG, but other First Nations and environmentalists say the decision favours corporate interests over climate commitments and Indigenous rights. Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, said the decision was not unexpected, but still 'damaging and daunting.' She said the province frequently bends or breaks its own laws and regulations to accommodate PRGT, undermining the integrity of the environmental review process. 'This is absolutely not in the interests of Gitanyow and many other nations who have expressed concern,' Marsden said. 'It's going to be a significant reversal of the climate policy of this government." The BC government has legislated targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But according to critics, pursuing additional LNG and pipeline projects will undercut any progress made by adding significant new emissions that were not considered in the province's climate plans. Marsden said the government is acting without responsibility, forcing First Nations to fight in court because it doesn't respect consultation, Indigenous rights, UNDRIP or true consent — and the decision was politically and economically driven, not based on policy, law or sound science. 'This is absolutely not in the interests of Gitanyow and many other nations who have expressed concern,' Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs. 'It's going to be a significant reversal of the climate policy." 'This government can now do whatever it pleases with no accountability,' Marsden said. 'First Nations are left to fight for these things on the ground and in the courts.' She said the report by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) — the agency tasked with technical review — was 'very slim,' noting that Gitanyow's own submission was likely twice as long. Janelle Lapointe, senior advisor at the David Suzuki Foundation and member of Stellat'en First Nation, said the approval casts significant doubt on the province's willingness to meet its climate targets, respect Indigenous rights and title, and even follow its own policy on determining whether a project has had a 'substantial start.' The keyword — substantial start — is critical because under BC's Environmental Assessment Act, a project's environmental certificate will expire unless enough real, physical work has been completed on the ground before a set deadline — in this case, November 25, 2024. According to the EAO report, the PRGT pipeline was considered 'substantially started' because the company cleared 42 km of pipeline route, built nine permanent bridges, upgraded or built 47 km of access roads, and set up work areas before the deadline. The company also spent about $584 million on the project since 2013. The concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions and incomplete permits were not part of the decision and was mainly based on the physical work completed on the ground. 'If PRGT was really a good project, it wouldn't need a decade-old permit, quiet approvals, and a government bending the rules to push it through,' Lapointe said. She said since the original environmental assessment certificate was issued in 2014, lands, waterways, and ecology have only become more vulnerable due to continued extraction, corporate greed, and the accelerating effects of climate change. Lapointe said the project will cross hundreds of fish-bearing streams and rivers in a watershed that her community depends on. The government is again refusing to ensure the project won't harm their ecosystems, especially salmon — a key species important to their culture and vital to the local economy, she said. 'The province has failed to address the concerns of the Indigenous nations asserting their rights to protect our territory. It sets a very dangerous precedent,' Lapointe said. She pointed out that newly passed Bill 15 and the PRGT approval highlight a troubling trend — the provincial government is making it easier for corporations to move projects forward, while making it difficult for Indigenous nations to exercise their rights and oppose developments that threaten their territories. 'Are they going to allow outdated permits from 2014 to be treated as more legitimate than the rights of sovereign nations? I am left wondering, why is our province bending over backwards to hand over critical energy infrastructure to American billionaires?' Lapointe said. Christina Smethurst, communications head at Dogwood BC, a Victoria-based non-profit, non-partisan citizen action group, said while the EAO issued the approval, there has been no clear public statement or ownership from elected government officials about the decision, with significant environmental, Indigenous rights and economic implications. "The BC NDP have abandoned any semblance of caring about climate change,' Smethurst said. "Where is the government on this? Who of our elected officials will take responsibility for making this decision?' Marsden said Gitanyow is preparing legal and other actions, and the fight to protect their lands will continue. Lapointe said they would follow Gitanyow's lead in the ongoing opposition to the pipeline. Marsden also challenged the narrative that this project would help Canada's energy independence. 'This isn't about getting out from under the thumb of Americans. It's actually about enriching people who are in Trump's inner circle,' Marsden said.
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Seabridge Files Responses to Petitions Challenging KSM's Substantially Started Designation
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 29, 2025) - Seabridge Gold Inc. (TSX: SEA) (NYSE: SA) ('Seabridge' or the 'Company') reported today it has filed its responses in BC Supreme Court to petitions challenging the Environmental Assessment Office's ('EAO') decision granting Seabridge Gold's KSM project Substantially Started ('SS') Designation. On July 29, 2024, the EAO determined that Seabridge's KSM project had been substantially started, ensuring that the project's Environmental Assessment Certificate is no longer subject to expiry. Our submissions further strengthen and broaden the Responses that had been filed by the BC Government in late April 2025, detailing the extent of our engagement with the petitioners in support of our SS application and the previously granted Provincial, Federal, and Nisga'a environmental approvals. Seabridge's extensive engagement with the TSKLH and the funding support we have provided to the TSKLH (one of the petitioners) was initiated in 2007 and has continued to be available ever since, including during the period of review of our application for an SS determination. The TSKLH have been included in all reviews of Seabridge's regulatory applications and participated to the extent they decided warranted, with funding support, contrary to their assertions. Our responses also support BC's position on why granting the SS Designation was not unreasonable. The Petitions, the Responses from Seabridge and the BC Government and our related news releases can be found here. The parties have scheduled the period from September 22 to September 29, 2025 for the court hearing. Seabridge CEO Rudi Fronk stated 'our team's engagement and work in support of advancing KSM has been exemplary, especially while striving to achieve the SS determination. I am confident that our Responses, and those of the BC Government, provide strong support that the EAO's decision to grant the SS Designation was indeed procedurally fair and not unreasonable. Resolving this issue will facilitate the next steps in project development beyond this year's extensive work schedule. While this legal process continues, the SS Designation remains in effect.' About Seabridge Gold Seabridge holds a 100% interest in several North American gold projects. Seabridge's principal asset, the KSM project, and its Iskut project, are located in Northwest British Columbia, Canada's 'Golden Triangle', the Courageous Lake project is located in Canada's Northwest Territories, the Snowstorm project in the Getchell Gold Belt of Northern Nevada and the 3 Aces project in the Yukon Territory. For a full breakdown of Seabridge's Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources by category please visit the Company's website at ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD 'Rudi Fronk' Chairman & C.E.O. For further information please contact: Rudi P. Fronk, Chairman and C.E.O. Tel: (416) 367-9292 • Fax: (416) 367-2711 Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit
RTÉ News
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Global cinema attendance drops in 2024
Cinema ticket sales fell 8.8% worldwide in 2024 from the previous year, marking the first annual drop since the Covid pandemic, the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) has said in Cannes. The decline comes after years of recovery for the industry since the collapse triggered by pandemic restrictions in 2020. "In 2024, a total of 4.8 billion cinema tickets were sold worldwide, generating estimated revenues of €28 billion," Martin Kanzler, a film analyst at the EAO, said in a press conference on the sidelines of the annual Cannes Film Festival. "That is 500 million fewer tickets than in 2023." Since 2020 - a disastrous year for cinemas due to health restrictions - cinema attendance worldwide had been rising. "Perhaps we have reached a new plateau," Kanzler said. Cinema attendance is now at 68% of 2019 levels, the last year before the pandemic, compared with more than 70% in 2023. In this sluggish environment, Europe is faring better than other regions of the world, with cinema attendance at 75% of 2019 levels, and the decline in ticket sales was just 1.7% in 2024. By contrast, in China - the world's largest market with a 21% share - attendance plunged by 22%. In Europe, two countries stand out for their density of cinemas per capita and a high average attendance rate - Ireland and France. Regarding productions, 81% are linked to films produced in three countries - the United States, China, and India, said Manuel Fioroni, an analyst at the EAO. Unlike Chinese and Indian productions, which are sold almost exclusively to their domestic markets, American films are exported and "cross borders easily thanks to their distribution network but also their international audience". "Transnational distribution across macro regions remains difficult for theatrical films, with the exception of Hollywood movies, that can travel easily across borders through their distribution network but also to international audiences," Fioroni said. In Europe, 63% of cinemagoers saw an American film in 2024. However, European productions are catching up and recorded a 33% market share. "And this is the best result in four years, even 10 if we exclude somehow the typical year that was 2020 in the middle of the pandemic," Fioroni said. Of the 20 biggest box office hits in Europe, 18 are American films. Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, and Deadpool & Wolverine took the top three spots. The two European productions in the top 20 are both French: Un P'tit Truc En Plus (A Little Something Extra) and Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo).
