Category Archives: Technology

Transportation

BC Ferries: Shutdown of Cortes Ferry reduced to 3 weeks; Hydro Electric Ferry coming sooner

Work on the Heriot Bay and Whaletown ferry terminals is proceeding faster than expected, and the much-anticipated shutdown of service on the Cortes to Quadra run has been shortened to three weeks. Cortes Island’s new hydroelectric ferry could arrive as early as late spring or summer of 2026. The Cortes and Campbell River ferries could both be fully electric earlier than previously expected. The key word for both of those last items is ‘could’ because they are possibilities, not promises. In this morning’s interview, Sheila Reynolds from BC Ferries gave Cortes Currents an update on the scheduling for our area.

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Energy, Indigenous Nations

BC Coastal First Nations vow to fight pipeline pact

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Coastal First Nations are vowing to use every legal tool to stop the proposed Alberta-to-BC pipeline deal and tanker ban changes.

Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative and elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation, said in a news conference that her nations “cannot support and will not support” the pipeline agreement signed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith that would see bitumen shipped from Alberta’s oilsands to BC’s northwest coast.

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Cost of Climate Change, Energy, Politics

MOU with Alberta: The Poll, Pipeline, Tanker Traffic and Global Temperature Rise

(Part 2 of 2)

In the conclusion of a series about Canada’s MOU with Alberta, four local leaders delve deeper into specific issues: the pipeline itself; whether Canada needs British Columbia’s support; the proposed lifting of BC’s tanker moratorium; and an Angus Reid poll suggesting a slim majority of British Columbians may be in favour of the MOU. 

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Energy

“Grand bargain” would result in more oilsands emissions, not less

By Janetta McKenzie and Ian Sanderson, News release from the Pembina Institute

CALGARY — There is no feasible scenario where a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the west coast could be filled with “decarbonized barrels” of oilsands bitumen, a new report from the Pembina Institute finds. 

This is the case even if a theoretical pipeline were twinned with the Pathways Alliance carbon capture and storage project, via the “Pathways Plus” concept the federal government has signalled it is considering for the next tranche of major projects, to be announced next month. 

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Energy, Environment

Four Local Leaders React to Canada’s MOU with Alberta

(Part 1 of 2)

Canada’s MOU with Alberta, a proposed new pipeline in British Columbia, and the possible lifting of the tanker ban have been hot news items over the past few days. Steven Guilbeault resigned from cabinet over his opposition to the way Prime Minister Mark Carney is handling these issues. In the first episode of a two part series about the MOU, Cortes Currents asked four local leaders for their take on these events. 

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