Category Archives: Technology

Cost of Climate Change, Energy, Indigenous Nations

‘No room for fossil fuel expansion’: Grand Chief Steward Phillip clears the air on pipelines

By Matteo Cimellaro, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Long-time climate advocate and First Nation leader Stewart Phillip is walking back controversial remarks he made on Tuesday.

Canada’s climate advocacy world gasped in unison after Phillip appeared to suggest building out pipeline infrastructure at a news conference. 

Phillip, who is the Grand Chief of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, was a strong critic of pipelines like Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion when those projects were under consideration in the early- to mid-2010s. On Tuesday, he said those years were a “different time.” With the uncertainty of the U.S. President Donald Trump, Canada has “no choice” but to reconsider fossil fuel development, Phillip told reporters. 

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Communications

Cortes Island Residents Waiting for CityWest To Connect Them

CityWest started hooking Cortes Island residents up to the internet in December 2023, but many homes are still waiting. As the evidence is anecdotal, it is difficult to say how many people are currently connected through CityWest and how many are not.

Sherman Barker just informed me that he has never met anyone who is connected. After waiting for two years of waiting, he was using Starlink by the time a CityWest crew showed up to do the final hook-up. 

“I have a pile of CityWest cable, all the way from my driveway to my yard, that they don’t want back.”  

Sean Coyote, a techie who works for Cortes Community Radio, said typically people who have yet to be serviced are told their names are on a list. Some, like Sherman, subsequently moved on to other internet providers. Sean added that there are a couple of CityWest trucks working on the island right now. 

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Energy

Proposed Wind Project for Sayward

Another wind project is under consideration in our region. A Quebec based renewable energy company hopes to build a 200 megawatt (MW) wind farm 4 kilometres south of Sayward. Boralex has applied to the BC government for an investigative license to build the proposed Sitka Wind Project on crown land. 

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Transportation

New Major Vessels For A 21st Century Ferry Service

BC Ferries currently deploys 11 vessels on its major routes that connect Vancouver Island with the Lower Mainland. Six of these are decades old and nearing the end of their effective service life. While the volume of traffic has significantly increased over the past three decades, there have not been any additions to the major routes carrying capacity since the Spirit Class vessels were introduced in 1993-94. Consequently, 60% of the vehicles using the ferry on a major route last summer had to wait for at least one sailing. In a bold move to bring this portion of its fleet into the 21st century, on Friday, December 13, BC Ferries applied to the BC Ferries Commissioner for permission to add 5 New Major Vessels (NMV).

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Energy

Poll Finds 54% of Canadians Support Prioritizing Renewable Energy

54% of the respondents to a new poll from Abacus Data stated they think Canada should prioritize the development of renewable energy, 36% would like to see a ‘balanced approach’ and 11% would rather prioritize fossil fuels. 

“ We commissioned Abacus to run this polling for us and see where Canadians stand in terms of their support for renewable energy and around reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. What’s clear is that a majority of Canadians want to see government action to phase out fossil fuels and prioritize renewable energy. Canadians know that renewables are a win, win, win. We know that they save people money. They mean lower energy bills. Renewables mean cleaner air. They mean job creation. So the benefits are huge,” explained Julia Levin, Associate Director for National Climate, Environmental Defence.

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