By John Woodside, National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
After discovering hundreds of millions of barrels of oil underground and securing a new licence to drill the site, Norwegian energy giant Equinor is one step closer to developing Canada’s first deepwater oil project off the East Coast.
Continue reading Equinor is getting closer to launching Canada’s first deepwater oil project
By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Environmental and financial woes continue for another Canadian mega-project as TC Energy announces construction costs have ballooned to $14.5 billion for its natural gas pipeline in B.C.
The 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline originally had an estimated $6.6-billion price tag. The project — which has faced staunch opposition from Wet’suwet’en hereditary leadership and received three environmental fines to date — will transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the country’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export facility in Kitimat, B.C.
Continue reading Coastal GasLink bill climbs to $14.5B amidst continued opposition and environmental woes
By Aaron Hemens, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As the January rain falls around her, Khursten Bullock carefully approaches a tipi that was recently assembled alongside the Trans-Canada highway in “Burnaby.”
The structure, emblazoned with a “Stop TMX” sign, interrupts the 1,150-km path of the still-unfinished Trans Mountain expansion project (TMX) — part of an ongoing effort with the environmental group Protect the Planet to set up camps along the pipeline route.
Continue reading Land defenders build tipi along TMX construction route in ‘Burnaby’
By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Apart from a little pocket of land on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, Blueberry River First Nations territory is an industrial wasteland. At a walking pace, it only takes about three minutes to stumble onto some kind of development. It’s a land of pipelines, clearcuts and gas rigs. But things are about to change.
After winning a hard-fought case before the B.C. Supreme Court in 2021, the Treaty 8 nation reached a final agreement with the province on Jan. 18. The agreement charts a path forward from a past where the province excluded the community from resource decisions and infringed on the nation’s constitutionally protected rights. Two days later, B.C. signed agreements with four neighbouring nations: Doig River, Halfway River, Saulteau and Fort Nelson. Collectively, the agreements represent a way out of conflict and a shared goal to heal the land.
Continue reading Blueberry River First Nations beat B.C. in court. Now everything’s changingNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Editor’s note: Two of the dozen First Nations alluded to this story, the Uchucklesaht tribe and Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis First Nation, are on Vancouver Island. The remainder are to the north. None of the reciupeints are in our immediate vicinity.
A dozen First Nations in B.C. are taking strides to reduce their dependence on dirty diesel fuel and secure a clean energy future for their communities for generations to come.
The First Nations have received a total of $7.1 million to develop alternative-energy projects and improve energy efficiency through a wide range of initiatives in the first round of funding via the provincial Community Energy Diesel Reduction (CEDR) program, developed and operated in co-operation with the First Nations organizations New Relationship Trust and Coast Funds.
Continue reading A dozen First Nations in B.C. funded to pursue clean energy projects
