Environment

Environment


Coastal GasLink pipeline hit with $590,000 fine — its biggest one yet

The B.C. government has fined Coastal GasLink (CGL) nearly $600,000 for failing to protect the environment during construction of its contentious pipeline, bringing the total financial penalties for the project to almost $1.4 million.  The province’s Environmental Assessment Office issued the latest penalties on Sept. 11 for breaching the terms of the project’s environmental assessment […]

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28 months after FOI request, St. Catharines has not released chemical testing data for contaminated former GM site slated for residential development

Twenty-eight months after a Freedom of Information  request was submitted to the City of St. Catharines, officials have yet to release crucial reports detailing the presence of chemicals on the former GM site along Ontario Street that the previous mayor pushed to get developed behind the scenes.   These reports, Phase I and II Environmental Site […]

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Florida ‘whistleblower’ says he was fired for leaking plans to build golf courses in state parks

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former state employee who said he leaked information about the plans to build golf courses and hotels in Florida’s state parks has apparently been fired. But James Gaddis, who described himself as an “ethical whistleblower,” said he doesn’t regret making the public aware of the proposals, according to the Palm […]

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Quebec takes action on illegal dumping in Kanesatake

Months after a soil sampling attempt led to aggression against two Mohawk Council of Kanesatake (MCK) chiefs, prompting Quebec’s environment ministry to cancel the tests, the province has enacted interventions on dumping that could lead to massive fines. Kanehsata’kehró:non have long watched helplessly as hundreds of dump trucks a day have streamed into Kanesatake, bringing […]

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Roadblock training against dumping planned in Oka for Kanesatake

After demands for a meeting with government officials went unheeded, a group of Oka residents pledging solidarity with Kanesatake whistleblowers are taking a step closer to enacting checkpoints to stop dump trucks carrying potentially contaminated soil from entering the territory. Other types of traffic would be allowed to pass, the group has said. “I think […]

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1,000 wildfire evacuees now in Brandon

The number of wildfire evacuees in Brandon has reached about 1,000 people, according to Mayor Jeff Fawcett. That’s about five times the last figure provided by the Red Cross, which told the Sun on Aug. 7 that around 200 evacuees were staying in Brandon. At that time, there were evacuees in Brandon from Manto Sipi […]

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Manitoba Métis leader wins battle over fishing ticket as charge is stayed

The Crown has stayed proceedings against Manitoba Métis Federation president David Chartrand, who was given a ticket alleging he was fishing without a licence. Chartrand was given the ticket on a lake near the northern community of Cranberry Portage on June 30, and was accused of angling outside of the areas where the Manitoba government […]

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Sensors can read your sweat and predict overheating. Here’s why privacy advocates care

On a hot summer day in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, dozens of men removed pipes, asbestos and hazardous waste while working to decontaminate a nuclear facility and prepare it for demolition. Dressed in head-to-toe coveralls and fitted with respirators, the crew members toiling in a building without power had no obvious respite from the heat. Instead, […]

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Conflicting federal policies may cost residents more on flood insurance, and leave them at risk

Conflicting federal policies may force thousands of residents in flood-prone areas to pay more for flood insurance or be left unaware of danger posed by dams built upstream from their homes and worksites, according to an Associated Press review of federal records and data. The problem stems from a complex set of flood policies and […]

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Injured black bear killed by BC Conservation officers after Burke Mountain residents fed it over three days

An injured black bear in Coquitlam was killed by BC Conservation officers last week, after Burke Mountain residents had been feeding it for several days. Coquitlam RCMP and BC Conservation Services (BC COS) sent out a press release on Aug. 16, reminding the public to not feed bears and to keep their distance in the […]

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N.S. minister blames municipalities for delay in emergency alert in last week’s flood

The Nova Scotia government is criticizing municipalities for their decision not to request an emergency alert during flooding last week that killed a 13-year-old boy and caused extensive damage. In a letter to mayors and wardens sent Tuesday, John Lohr, minister of municipal affairs, said that normally alerts, which are sent to wireless devices, televisions […]

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Inside a former TC Energy exec’s claim he got pro-pipeline messaging ‘stuck on government letterhead’

The call starts as a run-of-the-mill internal corporate presentation.  With a cheerful preamble, Liam Iliffe, a  B.C.-based political staffer turned industry executive, introduces  himself to his colleagues at TC Energy,  a major North American energy company that builds and operates crude  oil and natural gas pipelines and other energy infrastructure. He  summarizes his background working […]

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