Inside
● ●
COMMUNITY CENTRE OPTION P. 2 EDITORIAL P. 6
● ●
MASTER’S RUNNING CLUB P. 4 HALLOWEEN FUN P. 9
E xpress OMINECA
Publications Mail Contract # 40007840
$1.34 Inc. HST Vol. 35 No. 35
Serving Vanderhoof ● Fort Fraser ● Fraser Lake & Area www.ominecaexpress.com
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Pipeline slated for 2015
Committee vies for disclosure
TransCanada discusses $4-billion project with council
As pool vote looms, controversial facts to be publicized
Cameron Ginn
Cameron Ginn
Omineca Express
Omineca Express
A proposal to build a 700-kilometre natural gas pipeline that would pass through the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako was presented to town council on Monday, Oct. 22, by the Canadian energy company TransCanada. The $4-billion Coastal GasLink Pipeline project will transport natural gas from Dawson Creek to Kitimat for liquefaction at a terminal that LNG Canada - a corporation composed of Shell Canada Ltd., Korea Gas Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and PetroChina Company Ltd. - is proposing to build. TransCanada plans to start conducting field studies next year and file the required regulatory documents with the federal and provincial government by 2014. If the project is approved by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, TransCanada could begin pipeline construction as soon as 2015, said Bruce Wells, director of project planning and execution. Even during these early planning stages, the company is underscoring its commitment to transparency and, where possible, incorporating public input into the project. Continued on page 13
Newspaper advertisements, signage, human engagement. The pool committee laid out strategies last week to garner support for the construction of a $12-million aquatic facility in Vanderhoof. At a meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 23, the committee established dates for open houses in Vanderhoof and Cluculz Lake on Nov. 20 and 21, respectively, to promote the project and clarify concerns about costs. "We need everyone to bring two friends who are excited about the pool and start building this group," said Councillor Brian Frenkel, a committee member and supporter of the aquatic facility. Council scheduled a referendum on Feb. 16 to gain the electorate's approval to borrow $4 million at five per cent interest over 30 years to invest in building the aquatic facility, but the committee is already looking elsewhere for the remaining $8 million. Councillors Frenkel and Steve Little, chair of the committee, identified three major industrial employers who they would soon approach for larger contributions. In the next few weeks, the pool committee plans to launch a new website, independent from the municipality, containing frequently asked questions, pointblank facts and the findings of a $37,000 feasibility study that the committee didn’t release publicly until late October. Continued on page 3
Peter Rodseth of Vanderhoof, Bob Fladmark of Kluskus Lake, and Terry Teegee, tribal chief of Carrier Sekani First Nation, rallied outside the office of John Rustad, Nechako Lakes MLA, on Oct. 23, to protest against the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. Cameron Ginn/Omineca Express
Protestors denounce Alberta oil sands expansion Cameron Ginn Omineca Express A handful of protestors convened at the office of John Rustad, Nechako Lakes MLA, on Wednesday, Oct. 17, to oppose the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project. Wielding signs of political chastisement and resistance to Big Oil interests, the group talked about how the $5.5-billion project threatens everything from Canadian sovereignty to the endangered Nechako white sturgeon.
Spanning the whole of northern B.C., the proposed 1,172-kilometre pipeline would transport bitumen from Alberta's oils sands to the Pacific coast for export to Asia and the U.S. via hundreds of oil tankers. June Wood, a community working group member of the Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative, said the pipeline would cross 800 streams and rivers, including the Stuart River, where the prehistoric sturgeon is known to forage. "I'm opposed to the pipeline for what it could to the rivers," she
said. Wood, also a member of the Federation of B.C. Naturalists and the Nechako River Alliance, said the rapid expansion of the oil sands had to be stopped. "Without this pipeline, the tar sands would be limited to a certain amount of development," she said. Given the corrosive nature of the dilbit-infused product that Enbridge is proposing to transport inside the pipeline, a catastrophic spill on land would be inevitable, the protestors said. Continued on page 3
INSTEAD OF CHAMPAGNE, WE’LL JUST MAKE COFFEE AND GET TO WORK. NEW STORE NOW OPEN. Located at 599 W Highway 16 in Vanderhoof.
My Personal Promise. I’m committed to my customers and my community.
FTC-1837 BannerAd_Vanderhoof-NewStore_10.3125x2.5-Oct2012.indd 1
Phill deVries, STORE OWNER
250.567.2293 fountaintire.com
10/12/12 11:34 AM