First Nations chief blasts 'condescending' UN anti-racism directive that called for pipeline to be shut down
UN apologizes and rescinds their decision
UN apologizes and rescinds their decision
Trans Mountain ‘pipeline is going to get built’: Trudeau dismisses B.C.’s bitumen ban
- Thread starter mentalfloss
- Start date
These are the same nutbars that want to ban natural gas in Vancouver. I wish they would have done it 2 weeks ago.
I hear you but Gov't Union jobs aren't necessarily a bad thing. I worked for B.C. Gov't. for 35 years and encountered a lot of good people (among a few assholes) who were very capable people trying to do a good job. Looking back on the road maintenance prior to 1987 vs. the recent road maintenance I would say there is very little comparison. Today's performance is profit driven, back in the day preventative maintenance was built into the program. Maintaining such things as catch basins and culverts (to prevent floods) and the r/w beyond the shoulders were just a couple of things that attributed to safe driving. Highway construction was beyond reproach for the most part although there were a couple of fiascos that were the result of incompetence and worse among the higher echelons. The worst aspect of the union jobs in my view at the time was largely due to some greedy and incompetent Union members.
That could be easily straightened out at the next election. Recognizing that some governments are vastly better than others, I think the healthiest situation is a change once every 15 years or so as the best governments tend to lose something over time and a short term with a bad government gets people to understand reality and how bad some jurisdictions can be.
About the biggest thing I found was a lot of them were too stupid to realize when they had enough. During my time we went from having job security at the cost of low pay and few fringe benefits, to high pay, lots of fringe benefits and no job security. Thankfully I retired when I did. A lot of BC Gov't employees got dumped about 2003!
NP View: B.C. Premier John Horgan trips up in his virtue-signalling sword dance
It took barely half an hour for the Supreme Court to reach a decision in the case of John Horgan versus the interests of Canada.
Its unanimous conclusion was the one that’s been obvious since the British Columbia premier began his costly and doomed waste of court time: the shipment of oil across provincial lines comes under federal jurisdiction, therefore the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline is a matter for Ottawa to decide.
In stating the obvious, the court also exposed the ugly reality of the B.C. government’s campaign against the Trans Mountain project: this was never really about the constitutionality of a pipeline, but about the need of Horgan’s New Democrats to win votes, and its willingness to work against the interests of the majority of the country to get them.
In running for office, Horgan made clear his intentions. His government would “use every tool in the tool box” to block the expansion of Trans Mountain, which is crucial to Alberta’s need to get its oil to the coast for export. If that involved endless legal wrangles, costly bills for legal teams able to use the courts to slow progress, an ugly confrontation with neighbouring Alberta and the creation of divisions within the NDP, so be it. Horgan was willing to do it all to get the votes he needed to become, and remain, premier.
It was never a strong case, as the Supreme Court decision demonstrated. It was about virtue signalling. B.C. has a large and vociferous environmentalist community, which is adamantly opposed to anything it considers a threat to its view of a pristine world free of fossil fuels. By pandering to their cause, Horgan could gain their support at the ballot box. Once in power, but only barely, he needed their ongoing assistance to stay there. Horgan’s NDP retains its hold on office thanks to the good graces of three members of the Green party, who he is obliged to keep on side. So the government prolonged its obstructionism even after the province’s highest court made clear the hopelessness of its effort.
“At the end of the day, the (National Energy Board) is the body entrusted with regulating the flow of energy resources across Canada to export markets,” wrote Justice Mary Newbury in a decision last March. Therefore, “the (Trans Mountain expansion) project is not only a ‘British Columbia project.’ ”
But it was far too late to give in at that point, so B.C. sent its legal team off on another attempt to forestall the inevitable. And it lost. Not that the premier is likely to acknowledge he was wrong from the beginning. Far from it. He can now go to his supporters, head held high, and proclaim he fought for their interests right to the bitter end. At whatever cost and wasteful effort.
The sorry story might end there, except for another legal saga claiming Horgan’s attention. Once again, this one involves a pipeline, but in this case it’s a “good” pipeline. The B.C. government is keen on the construction of a 670-kilometre pipeline that is vital to a $40-billion liquid natural gas project. To reach the coast, the pipeline must cross a number of First Nations communities, where several hereditary chiefs are opposed. To make their point they’ve used some of the same tactics opponents brought to bear against Trans Mountain: setting up blockades, cutting down trees, appealing to the media over the justice of their cause.
In this instance, Horgan is deaf to their reasoning. The courts have ruled in his favour and “the rule of law needs to prevail,” he says.
One problem for Horgan is that he’s stumbling over his own virtue signals. To demonstrate its oneness with Canada’s Indigenous peoples, his government embraced the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The sweeping nature of the UN declaration prompted more cautious leaders to steer clear of putting it into law, but not B.C.’s premier, whose government adopted legislation last year to implement its contents.
The declaration says Indigenous people have the right to make their own decisions, and the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination wants the project halted on that basis, as does B.C.’s independent Human Rights Commission which has appealed to Ottawa, ironically, to halt construction. But Horgan says that, this time, the pipeline gets precedence.
“The courts have confirmed that this project can proceed, and it will proceed,” he proclaimed.
There’s an old proverb that those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Virtue signalling may not be fatal, but B.C.’s premier has certainly shown that those who exploit it for political gain may find it works both ways. Horgan can’t be both pro-pipeline and anti-pipeline; he can’t be simultaneously a champion of First Nations and the enemy of its leaders.
Not without exposing the hollowness at his core.
nationalpost.com/opinion/np-view-horgan-trips-up-in-his-virtue-signalling-sword-dance
It took barely half an hour for the Supreme Court to reach a decision in the case of John Horgan versus the interests of Canada.
Its unanimous conclusion was the one that’s been obvious since the British Columbia premier began his costly and doomed waste of court time: the shipment of oil across provincial lines comes under federal jurisdiction, therefore the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline is a matter for Ottawa to decide.
In stating the obvious, the court also exposed the ugly reality of the B.C. government’s campaign against the Trans Mountain project: this was never really about the constitutionality of a pipeline, but about the need of Horgan’s New Democrats to win votes, and its willingness to work against the interests of the majority of the country to get them.
In running for office, Horgan made clear his intentions. His government would “use every tool in the tool box” to block the expansion of Trans Mountain, which is crucial to Alberta’s need to get its oil to the coast for export. If that involved endless legal wrangles, costly bills for legal teams able to use the courts to slow progress, an ugly confrontation with neighbouring Alberta and the creation of divisions within the NDP, so be it. Horgan was willing to do it all to get the votes he needed to become, and remain, premier.
It was never a strong case, as the Supreme Court decision demonstrated. It was about virtue signalling. B.C. has a large and vociferous environmentalist community, which is adamantly opposed to anything it considers a threat to its view of a pristine world free of fossil fuels. By pandering to their cause, Horgan could gain their support at the ballot box. Once in power, but only barely, he needed their ongoing assistance to stay there. Horgan’s NDP retains its hold on office thanks to the good graces of three members of the Green party, who he is obliged to keep on side. So the government prolonged its obstructionism even after the province’s highest court made clear the hopelessness of its effort.
“At the end of the day, the (National Energy Board) is the body entrusted with regulating the flow of energy resources across Canada to export markets,” wrote Justice Mary Newbury in a decision last March. Therefore, “the (Trans Mountain expansion) project is not only a ‘British Columbia project.’ ”
But it was far too late to give in at that point, so B.C. sent its legal team off on another attempt to forestall the inevitable. And it lost. Not that the premier is likely to acknowledge he was wrong from the beginning. Far from it. He can now go to his supporters, head held high, and proclaim he fought for their interests right to the bitter end. At whatever cost and wasteful effort.
The sorry story might end there, except for another legal saga claiming Horgan’s attention. Once again, this one involves a pipeline, but in this case it’s a “good” pipeline. The B.C. government is keen on the construction of a 670-kilometre pipeline that is vital to a $40-billion liquid natural gas project. To reach the coast, the pipeline must cross a number of First Nations communities, where several hereditary chiefs are opposed. To make their point they’ve used some of the same tactics opponents brought to bear against Trans Mountain: setting up blockades, cutting down trees, appealing to the media over the justice of their cause.
In this instance, Horgan is deaf to their reasoning. The courts have ruled in his favour and “the rule of law needs to prevail,” he says.
One problem for Horgan is that he’s stumbling over his own virtue signals. To demonstrate its oneness with Canada’s Indigenous peoples, his government embraced the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The sweeping nature of the UN declaration prompted more cautious leaders to steer clear of putting it into law, but not B.C.’s premier, whose government adopted legislation last year to implement its contents.
The declaration says Indigenous people have the right to make their own decisions, and the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination wants the project halted on that basis, as does B.C.’s independent Human Rights Commission which has appealed to Ottawa, ironically, to halt construction. But Horgan says that, this time, the pipeline gets precedence.
“The courts have confirmed that this project can proceed, and it will proceed,” he proclaimed.
There’s an old proverb that those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Virtue signalling may not be fatal, but B.C.’s premier has certainly shown that those who exploit it for political gain may find it works both ways. Horgan can’t be both pro-pipeline and anti-pipeline; he can’t be simultaneously a champion of First Nations and the enemy of its leaders.
Not without exposing the hollowness at his core.
nationalpost.com/opinion/np-view-horgan-trips-up-in-his-virtue-signalling-sword-dance
Horgan IS ENTHUSIASTIC about insurance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Given the soaring insurance rates for autos and for housing...............................
one MUST ASSUME that Horgan OWNS STOCK SOMEHOW.........................
in that B.C. Crown Corp Insurance company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Or else he is worried that the grand govt pension he will get ...................................
after he is fired from politics - forv incompetence - will NOT be enough top let him live in full HOG COMFORT.......................
and so he is trying to balance the govt books with insurance price gouging??????????????????
Rather like Ontari-owe premier Wynne-bag trying to solve ALL HER FISCAL TROUBLES..........................
with relentless electricity PRICE GOUGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And yet the steel is cooking, pipe is being rolled, right of ways cleared, ditch dug, piling piled, pumphouses built and tank farms seeded.
All that pipe and steel headed to BC sure has Evraz busy.
YEAH..................................2003 was a VERY FUNNY YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ontari-owe premier and designated Wicked Witch of Toronto had quit to avoid being smeared by chicken sh+t Red Tories!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With Red Tories scared of the HOG BACKLASH FROM FROZEN WAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And yet in 2003 - the B.C. LIE-berals OUT DID HARRIS by a country mile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes- B.C. LIE-berals DID NOT JUST FREEZE WAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are RUMOURS CIRCULATING THAT LIE-berals IMPOSED WAGE REDUCTIONS ON THEIR HOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IS IT NOT IRONIC then that HOGS STILL SUPPORT LIE-berals in spite of their abuses.............................
and yet HOGS DESPISE Harris for MERELY FREEZING WAGES.......................................
and are ATTACKING DOUG FORD for not offering up GOOD ENOUGH WAGE INCREASES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW HYPOCRITICAL CAN THE HOGS GET????????????????????????????
Stay tuned...................................HOG REPORTS OF PLANNED NEW ROTATING STRIKES will soon be announced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And JUST THINK OF THE HOG FRUSTRATION.......................torn between various impulses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who would want to walk a picket line on a cold and windy and snowy day like today????????????????
Who would want to walk the line in the coming warmer and rainy weather?????????????????????
HOGS will much prefer to strike IN THE SPRING TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But one wonders if they are not thinking of demonstrating their "sincerity to the cause"..........................
by launching full scale strikes BEFORE THE BALMY DAYS OF SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will HOGS think it demonstrates sincerity to picket in the pouring rain????????????????????????
Well...............................hemerHOID IS TRULY FULL OF something a lot more toxic than crude oil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But it is my understanding that NO PERMITS for the sea side terminal have been issued at this time...............................
correct me if I am wrong here.....................but it seems to me that City of Vancouver plans to KILL THE PIPELINE......................
in a round about way...................................
by ensuring there is NO DOCK for tankers to be loaded at!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This sounds like a serious impediment to me................................
one that will require a MORE FORCEFUL ACTION by Ottawa.................................
and now we are back to WAITING for that LIE-beral minority govt TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In related news - arranging to finish building a pipeline and buying all that marvelous MAKE WORK...............................
and collecting lots of votes along the way................................
while quietly snickering up their LIE-beral sleeves at the western louts who wont vote LIE-beral and have NOT thought far enough
ahead regarding getting the ships loaded.............................................
sounds like TYPICAL LIE-beral style planning to ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Currently watching a CPAC airing of Case#38682: Attorney General of British Columbia v. Attorney General of Canada re: Trans Mountain Pipeline.
So far the lawyers for the Feds, AB, SK, ON are wiping the floor with the lawyers for BC, some FNs and other interested parties which more or less boil down to a boat load of 'what ifs'. Both the AG for the Feds and the AG for AB were extremely effective in their arguments. The AG for AB spoke of the history behind the line in regards to the 'regime change' as he put it, when the NDP took power in the last election. As is well known, the previous Liberal government, after sufficient consultations with affected parties and the inclusion of seven new environment regulations demanded by BC and which AB agreed to in full, the line project was approved in full. It must also be noted that our current Premier voted for the line at that time. (IMO had Horgan not sold his soul to the greenies in order to cling to power, we would not be in the position regarding the pipeline that we are today) Back to the hearings, he (the AG for AB) then went on to detail all the stumbling blocks such as several amendments to the Environment Act, the evil twins in charge of our government put in the way of the line up to and including the launching of court cases. They lost in lower court and immediately appealed to the BC Supremes where again they lost in a unanimous 5 zip decision.
"In a dense 65-page ruling Friday, a unanimous five-justice division of the B.C. Court of Appeal told the province it had no jurisdiction to enact legislation that would restrict the contents of a federally regulated pipeline."
"While provinces have the authority to enforce environmental protection laws, Ottawa said they didn’t have the right to ban a product outright moving via a federally approved pipeline or railroad."
Even if it were not intended to “single out” the TMX pipeline, Newbury maintained the law “has the potential to affect (and indeed ‘stop in its tracks’) the entire operation of Trans Mountain as an interprovincial carrier and exporter of oil …
“Such legislation does not in its pith and substance relate to ‘property … in the province’ or to ‘matters of a merely local or private nature,’ but to Parliament’s jurisdiction in respect of federal undertakings under s. 92(10) of the Constitution Act."
"In a dense 65-page ruling Friday, a unanimous five-justice division of the B.C. Court of Appeal told the province it had no jurisdiction to enact legislation that would restrict the contents of a federally regulated pipeline.
"Unbowed, Eby said the government remains opposed to the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline and surrender was too high a price to pay because of the potential cost of a “catastrophic undiluted bitumen spill.”
I wonder how many BC taxpayers believe that these, ridiculous and doomed to fail at every level, court cases were 'too high a price to pay'.
vancouversun.com/news/national/b-c-loses-another-round-in-battle-over-trans-mountain-pipeline-expansion
So far the lawyers for the Feds, AB, SK, ON are wiping the floor with the lawyers for BC, some FNs and other interested parties which more or less boil down to a boat load of 'what ifs'. Both the AG for the Feds and the AG for AB were extremely effective in their arguments. The AG for AB spoke of the history behind the line in regards to the 'regime change' as he put it, when the NDP took power in the last election. As is well known, the previous Liberal government, after sufficient consultations with affected parties and the inclusion of seven new environment regulations demanded by BC and which AB agreed to in full, the line project was approved in full. It must also be noted that our current Premier voted for the line at that time. (IMO had Horgan not sold his soul to the greenies in order to cling to power, we would not be in the position regarding the pipeline that we are today) Back to the hearings, he (the AG for AB) then went on to detail all the stumbling blocks such as several amendments to the Environment Act, the evil twins in charge of our government put in the way of the line up to and including the launching of court cases. They lost in lower court and immediately appealed to the BC Supremes where again they lost in a unanimous 5 zip decision.
"In a dense 65-page ruling Friday, a unanimous five-justice division of the B.C. Court of Appeal told the province it had no jurisdiction to enact legislation that would restrict the contents of a federally regulated pipeline."
"While provinces have the authority to enforce environmental protection laws, Ottawa said they didn’t have the right to ban a product outright moving via a federally approved pipeline or railroad."
Even if it were not intended to “single out” the TMX pipeline, Newbury maintained the law “has the potential to affect (and indeed ‘stop in its tracks’) the entire operation of Trans Mountain as an interprovincial carrier and exporter of oil …
“Such legislation does not in its pith and substance relate to ‘property … in the province’ or to ‘matters of a merely local or private nature,’ but to Parliament’s jurisdiction in respect of federal undertakings under s. 92(10) of the Constitution Act."
"In a dense 65-page ruling Friday, a unanimous five-justice division of the B.C. Court of Appeal told the province it had no jurisdiction to enact legislation that would restrict the contents of a federally regulated pipeline.
"Unbowed, Eby said the government remains opposed to the twinning of the Trans Mountain pipeline and surrender was too high a price to pay because of the potential cost of a “catastrophic undiluted bitumen spill.”
I wonder how many BC taxpayers believe that these, ridiculous and doomed to fail at every level, court cases were 'too high a price to pay'.
vancouversun.com/news/national/b-c-loses-another-round-in-battle-over-trans-mountain-pipeline-expansion
I do , but he has to keep his green members onside . It is only your money after all, why should he care ?
Of course they knew . They still require the two green members and the ex member now independent votes to pass any votes . Playing political games with your money , but money is cheap , look at the fuel pricing inquiry .