Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Some First Nations backed the new route while others maintained concerns around the cumulative effects of the project and insufficient baseline data.  BC has approved an amendment to the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline project, greenlighting a new, shorter route that will impact a different part of the province’s landscape ... ... The province's latest decision comes amid a Canada-wide push from industry to boost fossil fuel infrastructure as a remedy to U.S. tariffs. Opponents of such projects say it would pull public dollars away from long-term renewable energy projects and risk investing in assets that could soon be stranded as the world moves away from fossil fuels. In its decision, the EAO classified the amendment as "complex" due to its significant deviation from the original plan ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A pipeline project jointly owned by the Nisga’a Nation and a Houston-based company is seeking Indigenous equity partners as the B.C. government prepares to rule on the fate of the proposed route across northern British Columbia. The provincial government is reviewing an environmental regulator’s draft report in order to render the decision on the future of Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) Ltd., which would transport natural gas from northeast B.C. to the West Coast. The BC Environmental Assessment Office’s 24-page draft report, obtained by The Globe and Mail, said PRGT is currently co-owned 50-50 by the Nisga’a and Western LNG. “PRGT Ltd. stated that it created equity ownership opportunities for any First Nation,” according to the draft report. The pipeline project‘s co-owners also say they are committed to providing employment to Indigenous people ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Democracy and climate activists staged sit-ins Friday morning at the BC Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions in Victoria and Premier David Eby’s Vancouver office, calling on the provincial government to reject the US-backed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline. Savannah Barret, the Vancouver Island organizer for Dogwood BC ... said the project was first approved in 2014 when environmental assessments were different from what they are today. "We're echoing the calls from Indigenous sovereign nations that want a modern environmental assessment for this project, and that it should not proceed without that," she said ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

British Columbia's newly appointed environment minister Tamara Davidson has announced that in 2025, she will take time to deliberate on the future of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project. Premier David Eby and the NDP government must see the big picture and seize the opportunity to push through its approval, which, as the leader of the government, he is fully capable of doing. Greenlighting PRGT would add a valuable piece of infrastructure for the province and help position BC as a leader in diversifying trade and exports away from the United States ... CLICK HERE for the the full story