Residents in Likely, B.C. are concerned about drinking water affected by Mount Polley mining waste even after a water use ban was lifted for areas downstream of Quesnel Lake. The ban was put into effect on August 5, 2014, one day after the tailings pond at Mount Polley mine breached, sending billions of litres of mining waste into Hazeltine Creek, which feeds Quesnel Lake and Quesnel River.

Please help rabble.ca support democratic movements working to stop dangerous projects like Northern Gateway. Become a monthly supporter.

The Government of Canada approved the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline Tuesday, six months after the Joint Review Panel recommended the pipeline be built subject to 209 conditions.

A lawyer representing the City of Burnaby says the National Energy Board (NEB) has turned its review of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline into a "mere paperwork exercise" by cutting all cross-examination from the process.

"We were expecting that there would be public hearings and cross-examination of the evidence,"Gregory McDade said at a City of Burnaby information session last week. "There are no hearings...There will be no public examination of Kinder Morgan's evidence whatsoever."

A little-known bill, the Park Amendment Act, that will drastically alter the management of B.C. parks became law Monday, creating controversy among the province's most prominent environmental and conservation organizations. The passage of Bill 4 will make way for industrial incursions into provincial parklands including energy extraction, construction of pipelines and industry-led research.

Joe Oliver, Canada's new federal Minister of Finance, made quite a name for himself during his tenure as Minister of Natural Resources. In his former position Oliver proved himself a fierce and outspoken defender of the oilsands as the economic engine of Canada (even if he did tend to fudge the facts). But is it just the oilsands he wants to protect from the criticisms of the public? Or is there more to his fondness for corporations in general, even at the expense of public health and the national interest?

With Oliver moving to the helm of the country's finances, perhaps it's time to take a look back over his notable career.

Enbridge Northern Gateway is covering northern B.C. with ads in the run up to the Kitimat plebiscite, urging citizens to vote in favour of the company's proposal to ship oil across B.C. and on to Asia on oil tankers.  

During a provincial election or initiative vote, Elections BC restricts how much companies and other third-party advertisers can spend -- but no such rules apply to the Kitimat plebiscite, being held on April 12.

Full-page colour ads have appeared in community newspapers in Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Terrace, Smithers, Burns Lake and Fort St. James -- a town nearly 600 kilometres away from Kitimat. The estimated cost of those ads is about $8,250.

The province of Alberta has recently released a development plan for public schools that enlists Suncor Energy and Syncrude Canada in the creation of future Kindergarten to Grade 3 curriculum. Oil giant Cenovus will partner in developing curriculum for Grades 4 to 12.

The oil and gas industry's involvement in the province's educational development is creating concern among opposition parties and environmental organizations.

NDP Education Critic Deron Bilous called granting partnership status to industry "appalling."