COMMENT: Crony capitalism alive and well at Mount Polley
This weekend, the Vancouver Sun reported that Alberta billionaire Murray Edwards helped organize a $1 million fundraiser for the B.C. Liberal party at the Calgary Petroleum Club last year. Rapidly becoming a household name in B.C., Edwards of course is the controlling shareholder of Imperial Metals, which operates the Mount...
LETTER: Gov't to blame for Mount Polley disaster
Dear Editor,I read with horror the article Mount Polley Disaster published in the The Boundary Sentinel on August 6, 2014.I have been following the news on the Fraser River Imperial Mines tailing pond contamination. I see that the government treated this toxic tailings pond with the same the extreme carelessness I have observed...
Mount Polley Disaster
In the early morning hours of August 4, BC Day, a catastrophic breach of Imperial Metals' Mount Polley tailings pond sent a slurry-like mixture of 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of fine sediment into Polley Lake. Hazeltine Creek and into Quesnel Lake. The breach has endangered not only drinking...
Northwest BC shouldn't look to CBT as a model
Establishing the Northwest British Columbia Resource Benefits Alliance (RBA) was a good move by the region’s local governments. Their news release announces that one of its first priorities is to negotiate a revenue sharing agreement with the Province. It argues that communities need access to new long term sustainable revenue...
BCSTA launches 'Back to School Action Plan'
Boards of Education are deeply concerned about the impact of the continuing bargaining impasse on students, families, staff, and the reputation of BC’s public education system. As the governors of BC’s local school districts and employers of staff who make our schools successful, BC school trustees know that a balance must ...
First Nations assert Aboriginal Title in Oppenheimer Park eviction
Homeless Tenters, First Nations Leaders from the Downtown Eastside, Coast Salish Territories and their supporters intend to defy an eviction notice given to the homeless in Oppenheimer Park on Sunday, July 20th at 7am. Together they have issued their own Eviction Notice to the City of Vancouver (see below). This land is still...
Police say young man's death was 'entirely preventable'
Despite the efforts of public and police to avert an accident, a teenaged boy was killed after trying to cross Highway 1 near Hope. At approximately 11 p.m. on July 15, Hope RCMP received a complaint of three persons walking westbound along Highway 3 (Old Hope Princeton Way). Extensive patrols were made, but no pedestrians ...
Van. Aquarium works to save False Killer Whale
A false killer whale calf, which stranded in the fog on North Chesterman beach near Tofino yesterday morning, ended his long day of rescue and transport at the Vancouver Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, presented by Port Metro Vancouver, where veterinarians and team members worked overnight to keep him alive. As Canada’s...
B.C.'s plan for protecting vulnerable species
British Columbia’s five-year plan for protecting species at risk was released today by Environment Minister Mary Polak and Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson. “Our new plan provides a clear and certain path forward for B.C. to show leadership in conservation of species at risk,” said Polak....
Breaking ground for the new correctional facility in Oliver
With the help of an excavator, representatives from the Province, Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB), local community and construction partners donned hard hats and officially broke ground today to celebrate the construction of the Okanagan Correctional Centre (OCC). The OCC project will act as a catalyst for the local economy and...
