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Oil spill threat remains one year after English Bay spill
Environmental group welcomes spill response reforms, but bitumen is the elephant in the room
Today marks one year since the grain ship Marathassa spilled thousands of litres of bunker fuel into Vancouver’s English Bay. The response operation that followed was widely criticized, and highlighted serious problems with the systems in place for spill response on BC’s west coast. One year later, both the federal and provincial governments have brought forward new initiatives to strengthen spill…
Read more »Greater Victoria Harbour Authority achieves Clean Marine BC four-anchor rating
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority has achieved a four-anchor rating from Clean Marine BC for its marinas, increasing their eco-rating certification since the 2012 audit. The Fisherman’s Wharf, Lower Causeway & Ship Point, Wharf Street and Johnson Street, and Mermaid’s Wharf marinas were awarded an overall score of 88.7% for their programs and initiatives that reduce environmental impacts such as…
Read more »BC Salmon Farmers Assoc report makes unsubstantiated claims
Georgia Strait Alliance urges Cohen Inquiry recommendations to be implemented
Vancouver – BC’s salmon farming industry has cherry picked data to misrepresent the role and impacts that open net cage salmon farms play in amplifying sea lice levels on wild juvenile salmon. Georgia Strait Alliance finds it irresponsible for this industry to dismiss scientific evidence that sea lice pose serious health consequences, including death, to wild juvenile salmon, which are…
Read more »GSA welcomes new provincial spill response legislation
Today, the provincial government introduced amendments to the Environmental Management Act intended to strengthen spill preparedness and response in BC. In response, Christianne Wilhelmson, Executive Director of Georgia Strait Alliance, made the following statement: Given the well-known spill response challenges we currently face in BC for all types of hazardous materials being shipped through our communities, this legislation is an encouraging…
Read more »GSA responds to Province’s announcement on Kinder Morgan
Province confirms that Kinder Morgan’s pipeline project has not met five conditions
The Province of BC cannot support Kinder Morgan’s application for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion based on the evidence the company has filed to date with the National Energy Board (NEB), the Ministry of Environment said this morning. “During the course of the NEB review, the company [Kinder Morgan] has not provided enough information around its proposed spill prevention and…
Read more »New poll shows majority of British Columbians want Kinder Morgan review halted
Sixty-eight per cent of British Columbians favour halting the National Energy Board’s review of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline proposal to allow the federal government to complete a promised overhaul of Canada’s environmental assessment process, according to a poll released today by Justason Market Intelligence. There is agreement in all parts of the province that the Kinder Morgan review should…
Read more »White Rock Harbour Board receives three-year recertification
Eco-certification presented at city council meeting
Georgia Strait Alliance presented the White Rock Harbour Board with its three-year recertification in the Clean Marine BC program on November 23 at the city council meeting. The White Rock Harbour Board holds a three-anchor rating, having achieved its original voluntary eco-certification in 2011. The program, which has regional counterparts in Ontario and Quebec, uses an independent audit to confirm…
Read more »100 groups call on Trudeau to stop pipeline reviews before Paris climate talks
Fixing the process isn't enough
A broad cross-section of 100 environmental, business and community interests, including many participants in the current National Energy Board (NEB) reviews, are asking Prime Minister Trudeau, before heading to Paris, to keep his promise and stop the costly, broken pipeline reviews, including Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain and TransCanada’s Energy East proposals. “Stopping the pipeline reviews is one of Prime Minister…
Read more »Civic leaders vote to strengthen local oil spill emergency planning and response
UBCM community safety resolution A4 passes unanimously
Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) applauds the decision of British Columbia’s local elected officials to vote in support of strengthening community oil spill emergency planning and response at the Union of BC Municipalities convention. Resourcing local governments for oil and hazardous and noxious substances emergency planning response, or Resolution A4, was one of five top priority issues selected for special discussion…
Read more »West Vancouver Yacht Club achieves four-anchor eco-rating in Clean Marine BC program
The audited eco-certification requires adherence to rigid environmental standards
Georgia Strait Alliance’s award-winning Clean Marine BC program welcomes a new certified marina: West Vancouver Yacht Club’s Fisherman’s Cove facility (WVYC) has achieved a four-anchor rating, which was presented at a private function last night. Clean Marine BC is a voluntary eco-certification program that demonstrates a commitment to environmental best practices by marinas, harbour authorities, boatyards and yacht clubs that…
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