Ivanhoe’s Kipushi zinc mine in the DRC officially reopens
The restart marked exactly a century since the mine first went into production.
Final arguments for Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline start today in Terrace.
The oral argument process is the final step in the two-year Joint Review Panel process, and is expected to take two weeks. It follows written final arguments that were submitted by May 31.
Enbridge will be allowed two hours to present their oral argument; 35 other participants will speak for one hour.
After the oral arguments are completed, the panel will begin preparing its report to the federal government, who will make the final decision on whether to allow Enbridge to build the two 1,170-kilometre long pipelines.
The panel’s report will be released to the public on December 31, 2013.
The project has been heavily opposed by First Nations, environmental groups and B.C. residents who fear an environmental disaster from a ruptured pipe or tanker. The arrival of the latest round of panel hearings was greeted by a protest rally in Terrace yesterday.
Proponents of the Northern Gateway (NG) project cite the economic benefits of being able to move oil from Alberta’s oilsands to international markets.
In its written submission to the panel on May 31, the B.C. government declined support of the pipeline, saying it did not believe the project met Victoria’s criteria for heavy oil spills.
“NG has presented little evidence about how it will respond in the event of a spill,” said the province’s report.
“Put another way, it is not clear from the evidence that NG will in fact be able to respond effectively to spills either from the pipeline itself, or from tankers transporting diluted bitumen from the proposed Kitimat terminal.”
In response, the federal government’s chief minister for B.C., James Moore, told media that hisgovernment would not attempt to push through the pipeline over B.C. government objections.
By Jen St. Denis
