December 27, 2013

Prince George Free Press - DECEMBER 2013 B1

www.pgfreepress.com

Transport CanadaA partially loaded crude oil tanker is guided out of Burrard Inlet from Burnaby’s Westridge Terminal next to the Chevron oil refinery, visible at left. Dredging of Second Narrows would be required to carry larger loads.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver assured a Vancou-ver business audience last month that the federal govern-ment is committed to “world-class” oil spill prevention and response on the B.C. coast.

In a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade, Oliver stopped short of specifi cally endorsing the 45 recommen-dations in a new survey of marine and land oil transport safety, but repeated a vow from last summer to make “pol-luter pays” the law for pipelines in Canada.

“Th ere has never been a serious tanker accident on the West Coast,” Oliver said. “Nevertheless, we are committed to building a world-class system to prevent marine acci-dents. In the unlikely event there is an accident, we need to respond rapidly and comprehensively and make sure the polluter pays, not the taxpayer.”

Earlier, Oliver and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt released

a report by a tanker safety expert panel chaired by Gordon Houston, former president of Port Metro Vancouver and Prince Rupert harbourmaster.

Th e panel’s report calls for adequate funding to the Canadian Coast Guard to make it the lead agency in any oil spill response at sea. Potential polluters and their delegated spill response agencies should be prepared for a “worst case” incident like the Exxon Valdez grounding in Alaska in 1989, the report says.

B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak said it remains to be seen if Ottawa will take the necessary steps to meet the province’s conditions for approving new heavy oil pipelines. A federal review panel is due to issue recommendations by the end of December on whether the Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal for a double pipeline from northern Alberta to Kitimat should be allowed to proceed.

Th e federal report looks only at current traffi c, including crude and other petroleum products. It identifi es the south end of Vancouver Island and the adjacent coast, including Vancouver harbour, as being at “very high risk due to the

large volumes of vessel traffi c and bulk oil movements that occur within close proximity of environmentally sensitive areas.”

Th at is the region where Alaska crude oil tankers enter the Strait of Juan de Fuca to reach Washington state refi ner-ies, and the oil tanker exclusion zone ends. Between 30 and 60 tankers a year fi lled with crude oil or diluted bitumen also sail out from the Kinder Morgan Canada oil terminal at Burnaby through the same waters.

Traffi c from Burnaby would increase to about one tanker per day if Kinder Morgan’s proposed twinning of its Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta proceeds. Currently 30 to 60 tankers a year load at the Westridge Terminal in Burna-by.

Th e tanker exclusion zone, a voluntary agreement be-tween Canada and the U.S., extends 200 nautical miles west from the northern tip of Haida Gwaii to southern Vancou-ver Island. Th e federal report rates oil spill risk as “medium” on the northern and southern ends of the exclusion zone, and low in the central portion.

Tom FletcherBlack Press

Ottawa vows world-classoil spill prevention and response in B.C.

B2 Prince George Free Press - DECEMBER 2013 Special Edition: The Northern Report

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Prince George Free Press - DECEMBER 2013 B3 Special Edition: The Northern Report

“Are governments doing what Canadians want with respect to farmland?”

Th is is the question under investigation in a new study led by the University of Northern British Columbia. Th e three year project, headed by UNBC Environmental Planning Associate Professor David Connell, will examine how the changing role and value of farming in Canada may aff ect agricultural land use within and across national, provincial, and municipal jurisdictions.

“Th e average person shopping at a grocery store does not know where his food comes from. And the average Vancouverite visiting a farmers’ market because she values ‘eating local’ might be surprised at how much prime farm-land has been overtaken in the Fraser Valley for commer-cial, residential, and industrial interests,” says Dr. Connell, who is investigating the issue with researchers from across Canada, including fellow UNBC International Studies As-sistant Professor Matias Margulis.

Dr. Connell says the biggest cities in Canada are situ-ated where they are in part because that is where the best farmland is located. Consequently, as cities expand, land identifi ed as being some of the most fertile in Canada is be-ing replaced by developments such as golf courses, condo-miniums, and shopping malls.

“In BC, the area of greatest impact is in the Fraser Valley because that’s where there is the greatest level of urbaniza-tion and also the greatest quantity and quality of farmland,” says Dr. Connell.

“How important is the preservation of our best farmland to the public in BC and to the citizens of communities across Canada? Are local, provincial, and federal bodies implementing policies that refl ect the priorities of citizens? We are going to try to measure that.”

“Prior to 1972, local governments approved the conver-sion of about 5000 hectares of prime agricultural land to urban use each year,” says Dr. Connell. “Th e quality of farm-land in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) has decreased, with more prime farmland (Class 1, 2, and 3) being exclud-ed than being included. Likewise, most of the additions to the ALR have taken place in Northern BC, which growing conditions and soil quality are not as good. Th is means that

the best farmland in the Lower Mainland is being replaced with less productive land in the North. So while it looks like the total amount of farmland has not changed the quality of the land has deteriorated.”

Dr. Connell says the growing local food movement will be one of the factors evaluated in the study. Th at movement argues that there are social, economic, and environmental consequences for bringing food to communities from far away. Proponents also claim the food is healthier, fresher, and more nutritious. “If this movement continues to grow then there is a corresponding need to strengthen legislation that protects local farmland,” says Dr. Connell.

Th e research will also examine other issues aff ecting Ca-

nadian agriculture land use planning such as globalization, policies aff ecting farmland preservation, and issues of food sovereignty, or the right of people to defi ne their own food systems.

Th e research fi ndings will be presented to all three levels of government, distributed to agricultural advisory commit-tees, and will culminate in a national forum to discuss the fi nal results, and weigh possible best practices for commu-nities and governing bodies.

Funding for the study comes from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant worth $464,000. Th e proposal was selected from 1,799 submis-sions from across Canada.

Study looks at agricultural land use

Photo courtesy of UNBCUNBC professors Mattias Margulis and David Connell are examining how the changing role and value of farm-ing in Canada may affect agricultural land use within and across national, provincial, and municipal jurisdic-tions.

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Prince George is on the cusp of the most exciting time in its history! Not since the Klondike Gold Rush, over 125 years ago, has the region experienced such strong interest and unparalleled opportunities. Northern B.C. has perhaps the highest number of planned and proposed resource development and intense economic investment activity in North America at the present time.

Conservative estimates put planned and proposed capital investments in the region for the next decade at over $70 billion. Th is investment will be spread across a large num-ber of new and emerging sectors, including natural gas, mineral exploration and mining, coal, energy (including the completion of the largest new Highway 37 transmis-sion line), oil and gas, and a revival and strengthening in forestry. It will be taking place under a world-class regula-tory regime, which will ensure that our natural environment is protected for the enjoyment of future generations and that First Nations are consulted and share in the economic benefi ts of resource development.

Prince George’s key position as a transportation, labour, and service and supply hub ensures it will play a key role as these exciting projects move forward. It is estimated that these projects could create over 40,000 long term sustain-able jobs in the north, with very high family incomes.

It is surprising how much has changed in the last decade. Back in the 1990s, the forest sector was in turmoil, fac-ing soft wood lumber issues, collapsing U.S. markets, the closure of a large number of processing facilities, and last, but certainly not least, the beetle kill. During that period, more mines were closing than opening, mineral exploration was at a historic low, beef markets collapsed, and tourism was down. Unemployment rates in the north hit historic highs, and housing prices in places like Tumbler Ridge and Mackenzie collapsed.

Th roughout the turmoil in the resource sector and the economic challenges we faced, we in the north remained positive and optimistic. Leaders from First Nations com-

munities, all levels of government, stakeholders, and the resource sector continued to discuss challenges, and shared opportunities and success stories. Th ey pushed to introduce innovations in technology and transportation, to improve environmental protection, and to explore new opportunities in the service and supply sector. Our strength has always been our positive attitudes, our entrepreneurial spirit, and our close ties with the land and the resources. Our positive attitudes coupled with our will and commitment to put the welcome mat out to investors has been a key foundation in the emerging economic revolution we now face.

As Prince George is poised to become the hub for B.C’.s future economic success, it is time for all of us to play an ac-

tive and engaged role in guiding our future. Th at’s why I am pleased to be hosting the “Premier’s BC Natural Resource Forum” on January 22-23, 2014, in Prince George. Th is is the forum’s 11th year, and building on a solid foundation, I believe that we have a very exciting format and a great list of invited speakers who will address current and interesting topics for everyone involved in or connected to the resource sector. Th e BC Natural Resource Forum is a key oppor-tunity to share the vision of urban and rural BC working together for the common good of all, to explore the huge opportunities that are unfolding, and to share our thoughts, ideas and desires for how these opportunities will unfold in the best interests of all British Columbians.

Premier in P.G. for forumMike MorrisPrince George-Mackenzie MLA

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GROWTH. OPPORTUNITY. INVESTMENT.

FORT ST. JOHN – Almost nine out of 10 people approve of Site C, according to a new poll commissioned by BC Hydro.

Anderson Insight conducted the survey of just over 1,250 British Columbians. Eight-hundred people were called throughout the province, including the north and northeast, to partake in the poll. In addition 250 more participants were interviewed specifi cally in the north and northeast region to ensure a more reliable sample. Interviewing more people in the area that is aff ected by the project proposal reduces the margin of error, said Bruce Anderson, the polling company’s principal. Th e interviews took place in September.

“We wanted to have a picture, as we have over the last few years, where presently the project sits and this is a way for us to fi nd what the general attitude is towards the project – to get a snapshot, at both a provincial and regional level,” said Site C’s communication manager Dave Conway.

Forty-two per cent said they support Site C, 13 per cent opposed it, and another 42 per cent said they could support it under certain circumstances. Th e level of support and opposition were very similar on a regional level, stated the Anderson Insight report.

On a provincial scale, four out of 10 were aware of the project and 59 per cent were unaware. Regionally, the awareness was much higher at 78 per cent reporting that they had heard, read or seen material about Site C.

Despite the diff erence in awareness levels, Conway said the support didn’t waver.

“Th is is very typical in large infrastructure projects. Th e important thing to note from this is despite the aware-ness level of being higher regionally; the support hasn’t changed…” he said.

“I think the poll shows that there is a strong base of sup-port for the project.”

However Andrea Morison from the Peace Valley Environ-ment Association questions the legitimacy of the questions

formed to gain a provincial perspective on Site C.

“Obviously BC Hydro isn’t putting out informa-tion on the impacts and they do have quite a big budget to talk about how great the project will be,” said Morison, “and we are operating on a shoe-string budget to let people know about what some of the impacts will be.”

Anderson initially put the questions together in the poll.

“It’s fairly typical of how I do my work, so I draft ed questions of what I thought would be a good range … to explore perceptions on the project proposal.”

BC Hydro representatives gave him feedback and to-gether they designed the survey.

Conway added that the more an individual knew about the project, the more they were inclined to support it.

But Morison believes the opposite.“I think if people really knew more about this project

and the real impacts they wouldn’t even be sitting on the fence about it,” she argued, “I think if they understood more impacts of the dam they would come to the conclusion that the project is not in the interest of British Columbians.”

Th e building of Site C would cause numerous distur-bances to the environment. Approximately 5,500 hectares of the Peace valley would be fl ooded, and a number of at-risk fi sh species may be lost completely. Th e fl ooding would permanently impact access to land considered signifi cant and traditional to First Nations, and various migratory birds would be aff ected by the construction of the reservoir. About 30 homes would be displaced through the necessary realignment of Highway 29, to accommodate the fl ood line from the reservoir.

Despite these changes, BC Hydro has maintained that “the overall impacts of the project and the net benefi t to the province of British Columbia and BC Hydro rate payers, that the project should proceed.”

Th e poll was also a means to get feedback from residents regarding support on various generating projects.

“[Th e survey] was a little broader on the scope of just focused on [Site C],” said Conway.

It showed that a majority of residents supported buying from independent producers (73 per cent) to increase B.C.’s energy production, followed by adding new hydroelectric dams (69 per cent) and building new natural gas power plants (54 per cent).

Due to an anticipated population increase of one million people over the next 20 years and the potential for the lique-fi ed natural gas industry, BC Hydro says Site C is the answer to the province’s growing energy demands. Th is mega proj-ect would produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 450,000 homes per year.

However, the Wilderness Committee believes the prov-ince already has more electrical power than it currently needs, “and has access to even more hydro power through the Columbia River Treaty and the United States, as well as cheap hydro power imports from the Pacifi c Northwest.”

“Th e only uses for Site C would be to subsidize coal mines and gas fracing operations – and people in B.C. do not want that,” said the Committee’s national campaign director Joe Foy.

Th e project is currently in the third and last stage of the environmental assessment; an independent joint review panel made up of three experts is reviewing it. So far, the panel has issued BC Hydro to submit further answers to their Environmental Impact Statement.

“Th e JRP has come up with good comprehensive ques-tions and identifying signifi cant gaps in the proposal,” said Morison, “and I hope they will recognize … that this project shouldn’t be going ahead, it shouldn’t be approved.”

Should the project proceed and be approved, it would take seven years to build the facility, which could be fore-casted to begin as early as 2015. Site C has a price tag of $8 billion.

Hydro poll finds support for Site CKyla CorpuzNorthern Report

Dave Conway


A new study released by the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) shows that the economic benefi ts of transmission pipelines add billions to the Canadian economy annually.

Th e study, the fi rst of its kind in Canada, entitled “Th e Economic Impacts from Operations of Canada’s Energy Pipelines,” was prepared by Angevine Economic Consulting Ltd. Th is study details the economic im-pact that crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas transmission lines contribute to the Canadian economy. According to the report, the industry is expected to add $130 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) over the next 30 years based on current operations. Th is does not include what the transmission pipeline indus-try could add to the Canadian economy, if some of the major pipeline projects currently being planned were to become operational.

“Canada’s energy pipelines are an overlooked source of economic prosperity,” said Brenda Kenny, President and CEO of CEPA, in a press release. “Not only do they add billions to our GDP, they’re also a source of high-income jobs for many thousands of Canadians.”

All told, the pipeline industry is responsible for over 25,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs across Canada, accounting for approximately $1.9 billion in labour income in 2012. Of the 25,000 FTE jobs created by the pipeline industry, 30 per cent are located in Alberta, 21 per cent in Ontario, and 20 per cent in Saskatch-ewan, with the remaining 29% spread across the rest of Canada.

“Th ere’s a perception that only Alberta and their workers benefi t from the energy industry as a whole and from pipelines in particular,” said Kenny. “Th is report

clearly shows that the economic benefi ts of pipelines are spread across the entire country and contribute to the prosperity of all Canadians.”

Not captured in the report are the spin-off benefi ts of pipeline infrastructure. Upstream, energy producers are able to move more of their product and invest more heavily in expanding their operations. Downstream, Canadian refi neries, petrochemical plants and distribu-tion companies generate GDP contributions and provide employment and income. Th is is due, in great part, to the energy transported by Canada’s transmission pipe-lines. It is estimated that 21 percent of the total value of Canadian exports of goods are generated by the trans-portation of energy products via pipelines.

“Pipelines generate signifi cant spin-off benefi ts that far exceed the direct investment made in them,” said Kenny. “Our member companies are committed to building and operating a safe, socially and environ-mentally responsible pipeline infrastructure that will contribute to a strong and prosperous Canada for many decades to come.”

CEPA members are committed to advancing a safety culture, throughout the industry, based on a strong foundation of leadership and continual improvement leading to zero incidents. Th e Canadian Energy Pipeline Association represents Canada’s transmission pipeline companies who operate approximately 115,000 kilome-tres of pipelines in Canada. In 2012, these energy high-ways moved approximately 1.2 billion barrels of liquid petroleum products and 5.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Our members transport 97 per cent of Canada’s daily natural gas and onshore crude oil from producing regions to markets throughout North America.

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When a husband or dad left for work, he was usually home in time for supper. Th ese days and in industry towns, such as those that make up the Peace region, that’s no longer the normal expectation.

Whether it’s the mom, dad, husband, wife, son or daughter, coming home for dinner may take weeks or months.

Th is shift in the average household can be attributed to worker camps, where a labourer will work, sleep and eat. Camps have become a necessary component to meet the growing demands of the natural resource sector, and along with it comes a trickle-down eff ect that hits the heart of a community.

Th ough it’s not a new phenomenon, the eff ects of the camp lifestyle have captured the attention of governments, regulators, head offi ces, and health authorities. Open, closed, isolated, communal, temporary and long-term camps have left a footprint on Peace region communities.

“Fort St. John is certainly no stranger to large industry and work camps, that’s been a part of our history for many, many years and it’s something that we have certainly learned to live with and in the last couple of years. It’s an emerging topic … the impact of camps on communities and families,” says Fort St. John’s city manager Dianne Hunter.

Th ough Hunter doesn’t consider herself an expert on worker camps, she can attest to its eff ect on family life.

“I guess I’m more of a person both as a position of city manager, mother and grandmother that lives it, that’s impacted by it, and I see our community is impacted by it, and I have colleagues now who are impacted by it,” said Hunter.

During the BC Energy Conference that the city hosted in early October, Hunter gave a presentation on worker camps, high-lighting a new perspective to the already complex issue.

“I had a conversation with another city manager from another community … there was dismay in their community as a result of the work that was happening [in Fort St. John] and her comments were focused on a deterioration of the quality of lifestyle and community,” said Hunter.

Fort St. John, Dawson Creek or Fort Nelson could be viewed as host commu-nities. Workers fl ock to the north for a desirable wage, but leave their families at home. Hunter said this is the fi rst time in a long time that a large percentage of workers are choosing where they want to settle their roots over where the work is.

While the host communities experience a transient population infl ux, wear and tear on infrastructure, and housing infl ation, the home communities are left to cope with their own challenges.

“Her sense is that [they’re] left with older people, retirees, fatherless families … lack of volunteerism, all the things that knit a community together,” explained Hunter.

Coincidentally households in northeast B.C. can also identify with those struggles: one parent at home, while the other is away.

“Families are struggling with how to keep the family nucleus together … so it was a sense that communities are really changing and perhaps not for the better,” said Hunter. “Some families are more resilient and some

are not and so all the benefi ts are lost when you have a broken family.”

Clarice Eckford, the Peace Project coor-dinator with the Women’s Resource Centre in Fort St. John, has spent the past year studying the cause and eff ects of worker camps on society, among other topics regarding violence against women in Fort St. John.

Th e worker camp lifestyle is akin to gold-en handcuff s, Eckford says. Th e fi nancial rewards of working an industy job may take precedent over nurturing a family’s well-being. While camps don’t have a carbon copy eff ect on each worker, she has seen how it positively and negatively contributes to society, families and marriages.

Lori Heins is a mother of four and until recently was a resident of Fort St. John since 1997, and is what others would call a camp wife. Th e Heins family recently moved to Enderby in the Okanagan.

Her husband Steve works as an electri-cian journeyman in the oil and gas indus-try, and is oft en away from home months at a time, 138 days being the longest. Heins admits that living without her husband is challenging at times, but is altogether worthwhile.

“Th ere’s always those hard times. It’s never easy, but then you work together, and it’s made our family really strong,” she said.

Heins said it can be tiring being respon-sible for the all the day-to-day activities and chores, but her children are helping out as they get older.

She also said that having Steve away has showed her how independent she is, and believes her children have a great relation-ship with their father. Th e family stays in touch using text messaging, video messag-ing and daily calls. According to Heins, her children really take advantage of their fa-ther being home, while other ‘9-5 families’ may not appreciate all that time together.

“When papa is coming home, everything stops… so everything in our lives shuts off so that we can hang out with him. We don’t get a lot of quantity of time, but we get huge quality time,” said Heins.

“We tried the 9 to 5 thing and it kind of sucked,” she added.

Since having children, Steve has only missed two birthdays and one Th anksgiv-ing. She said that there’s a misconception of all camp families being rich, and while she said that it has allowed them to move to the Okanagan, it didn’t come without hard work and sacrifi ce.

“At the end of the day, we’re pretty proud of what we’ve done for ourselves and for our family. It is hard, but there is a good payoff in the end,” she said.

Th e worker camp paradigm is complex. Trying to simplify it would be futile. Un-derstanding how worker camps contribute to society, the impressions it leaves on fam-ily life and how it simultaneously stimulates the economy will take years, maybe decades to grasp.

“It truly is a Pandora’s box. As far as all the little impacts that occur to an indi-vidual, on a worksite, in a community, on a health region, on other service provid-ers: be it the RCMP, or mental health, who knows – the list is endless,” says Greg Th ibault, manager of public health protec-tion with Northern Health.

Th ibault is a key researcher on a series of reports that Northern Health has tackled regarding worker camps.

From Northern Health’s permits alone,

they knew of approximately 4,000 workers and 1,800 work sites approved by a regula-tory government agency. Th ibault explained that 1,800 work sites doesn’t equate to 1,800 campsites. One day a camp could be located at a site and the next week they can pick up and move down the road – that’s two sites – same company.

Th erefore what remains a mystery is how many camp operations have been, and are currently, established.

“Th ere is not one jurisdiction that over-sees camps,” said Hunter.

While some research has been done on worker camps, there is still a huge chunk of data missing. Northern Health has completed two research papers, each one hoping to unfold more information about this phenomenon. Th e fi rst paper looked at the state of industrial camps and the second looked at potential impacts on communi-ties.

“It’s really morphed into, ‘Gee we should be getting out to inspect these things more oft en,’ to, ‘Holy what the heck is going on out there’, to, ‘We’ve got a really good opportunity with all the resource develop-ment that currently exists with the tens of billions of dollars of infrastructure about to come swooping down on northern B.C. and all the workers associated with it,’” Th ibault added.

Th ibault is in the process of writing a third paper, to focus on how Northern Health could potentially be aff ected in

terms of health service delivery.Th ibault said that Northern Health has

recognized that they need to start working with industry in order to address health is-sues in camps, and has since reached out to several diff erent companies. Diet, exercise, substance abuse, health promotion, and prevention could be topics of programs that companies choose to implement in their camps. Th ibault believes the health needs of workers are dependent on the type of camp, worker, and industry served. In the last decade the standard of camp life has improved. Th e trend, according to camp construction company PTI, shows that liv-ing spaces are more generous with a variety of food and entertainment.

Catering to workers’ needs to stay con-nected to family or friends can contribute to their overall well-being.

“And if we can have a positive impact on camp life in general, it’s going to have a positive impact on home life, and that’s not only going to be in the north, but poten-tially across B.C.,” said Th ibault.

It starts with recognizing that a commu-nity, like Fort St. John, should take a leader-ship role and start the conversation, or participate in the conversation, said Hunter.

“As a community we need to build com-munities … that makes it a community of choice. If we don’t do it, it’ll happen regard-less and it’ll happen in a vacuum policy …and there’s going to be long-term implica-tions of some of that.”

The trials and tribulationsLife in and around northern work campsKyla Corpus and Jill EarlNorthern Report


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December 27, 2013

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Transcript of December 27, 2013