By Andie Mollins, The Williams Lake Tribune, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Xatśūll First Nation is calling on the province of B.C. to clarify its stance on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
This is following the government’s approval of the Cariboo Gold Project in Wells which spans across several First Nation territories, including Xatśūll’s.
Continue reading B.C. demonstrates lack of commitment to UNDRIP: Xatśūll First Nation
By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The City of Port Moody is joining calls for Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) to develop a detailed plan in case of an oil spill at the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby.
TMX is consulting with stakeholders regarding the decommissioning of the old 60-year-old pier, which has been replaced with a three-berth expansion, which will allow a seven-fold minimum increase in tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet.
Continue reading Port Moody joins calls for TMX to develop ‘credible plan’ in case of oil spill in Burrard InletEditor’s note: In terms of emissions, coal is believed to be the dirtiest form of energy on our planet. In addition a recent study in Science found that about 460,000 of the deaths in the United States, between 1999 and 2020, can be attributed to the particulate matter in coal. This is separate from emissions, but global usage of coal is increasing. According to the International Energy Agency, global coal demand reached a record high in 2022. That was passed the following year:
“Worldwide electricity generation from coal hit record highs in 2023, while thermal coal exports surpassed 1 billion metric tons for the first time as coal’s use in power systems continues to grow despite widespread efforts to cut back on fossil fuels.” – Reuters
Coal was an economic driver on Vancouver Island during the late 1800s. There were mines in Nanaimo, Cumberland, Union Bay and Ladysmith. Premier Christy Clark promised to open 8 new coal mines by 2015, and failed. Coal is still a major industry in British Columbia, but the last coal mine on Vancouver Island has not been operational since 2017. That was the Quinsam mine, approximately 24 km southwest of Campbell River,
By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A new coal mine proposed in B.C.’s Elk River Valley highlights the need for a long-overdue cross-border investigation into water quality and an end to coal mining in the region, some environmental groups argue.
Continue reading Plans for new coal mine show the need for water pollution probe
By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Sleydo’ Molly Wickham was composed and quiet as she stared out the window of a helicopter flying over vast stretches of TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory (yintah). Below, a wide swath cut through forests and wetlands, crossing creeks and rivers.
A wing chief of the Gidimt’en clan, Sleydo’ was part of a small group on a monitoring flight to document the contentious project’s impacts as soaring temperatures rapidly melted last winter’s heavy snowpack.
Continue reading ‘Heartbreaking’: an overhead view of Coastal GasLink sediment spills into Wet’suwet’en waters, wetlands
By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Less than one kilometre from a Wet’suwet’en camp and village site, where cabins, tiny homes and a feast hall provide space for ceremony, cultural practices and opportunities to reconnect with the land, is a vast muddy clearing, guarded by private security workers.
Here, the path of the Coastal GasLink pipeline crosses Ts’elkay Kwe (Lamprey Creek), a tributary of Wedzin Kwa (Morice River). This work requires digging a trench right through the creek to bury the pipe under it.
Ts’elkay Kwe is a known spawning channel for steelhead trout trout and other species, including coho salmon, according to a 2007 land-use plan. But steelhead and salmon throughout the watershed are in decline, in part due to widespread clearcut logging and climate change.
Continue reading Tensions rise as Coastal GasLink blasts a creek near a Wet’suwet’en camp
