February 28, 2008
City files statement of defence
COMMENT: Background: In summer 2007 the westernmost leg of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean in Burnaby, was chewed into by a contractor working for the City of Burnaby. 200,000 litres of oil spilled onto the land and into Burrard Inlet.
Instead of "What do we do to ensure this will never happen again?" and "What failed with the One Call?" program, the dialogue devolved quickly into corporate scapegoating. Was it Kinder-Morgan's fault? The City's fault? The contractor's fault?
Huge Burnaby oil spill, 24-Jul-2007
Oil: BC's Hydra-headed Headache, 02-Aug-2008 (excellent article in the Tyee by yours truly.)
Pipeline owner sues Burnaby for oil spill, 08-Jan-2008
City files statement of defence
City says Kinder Morgan is largely to blame for July 2007 oil spill and resulting damages
Brooke Larsen
Burnaby Now
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The City of Burnaby is rejecting claims it caused July's disastrous oil line burst, saying the pipeline's owner supplied inaccurate maps of its location.
Filed last week, the city's statement of defence blames Kinder Morgan Canada and Trans Mountain Pipeline for the burst, which forced residents out of their homes and blackened Burnaby's shoreline on July 24, 2007.
The eight-page statement also alleges the company failed to inspect the site before the rupture and delayed shutting off the pipeline afterwards, worsening damage to homes.
More than 200,000 litres of oil gushed onto Inlet Drive when a contractor hired by the city struck a Kinder Morgan pipeline while doing sewer work.
The spray continued for 20 minutes before it was turned off, causing millions of dollars of damage.
Kinder Morgan and Trans Mountain Pipeline sued the city last year, claiming a contractor used a backhoe near the line before its location had been marked out.
The suit also claims the contractor should have hand-dug or used a hydro-vac - a vacuum system used in excavation - when digging near the pipeline.
The suit seeks damages for loss of reputation, repair costs, lost oil and lost business but does not specify an amount. Contractors R.F. Binnie and Associates and Cusano Contracting and an unnamed backhoe operator were also named in the suit.
The city's statement of defence says Kinder Morgan supplied R.F. Binnie with inaccurate survey plans of the pipeline, "an error that directly led to the pipeline leak."
It also claims that Kinder Morgan knew about the sewer work but didn't mark out the pipeline's location or inspect the site.
Once the break happened, the company failed to "stop the flow of oil from the pipeline in a timely manner," resulting in "an increase in the rate of oil escaping from the pipeline, an increase in the area affected by the released oil, and an increase in the severity of damage to surrounding property," the statement said.
In its suit, Kinder Morgan claimed the city did not follow procedures set out in National Energy Board regulations for pipeline rights-of-way.
In its statement, the city said those regulations do not apply because the pipeline was within lands owned by the city.
"The pipeline was not in its surveyed position at the location of the pipeline leak but was within lands wholly owned exclusively by Burnaby," the statement said.
The statement also suggests that the company moved the pipeline in the mid-'90s without completing a new survey afterwards.
A spokesperson for the Kinder Morgan Canada did not return phone calls before NOW deadlines.
More than a dozen residents affected by the spill filed lawsuits against the city late last year. Shell Canada has also filed a suit seeking to recover its losses from the spill.
Last month, Coun. Garth Evans said damages in the case could exceed $20 million.
© Burnaby Now 2008
February 26, 2008
BC's Carbon Tax Shell Game
BC's Carbon Tax Shell Game
Professor Rees: growth unchecked.
Economist who invented ‘eco-footprint’ analysis is not impressed.
By William E. Rees
TheTyee.ca
February 26, 2008
There are plenty of things society could do to avert a full-blown ecological crisis but we don't do them and what we do do doesn't work. It seems that the ecologically necessary is politically unfeasible but the politically feasible is ecologically irrelevant.
To read the rest of this article click here
February 25, 2008
Offshore oil a no-go for B.C. despite the value
Barbara Yaffe
Vancouver Sun
February 23, 2008
Early this month Ottawa invited bids from oil companies for further exploration of the environmentally sensitive Beaufort Sea in the Arctic.
And, of course, everyone knows development of Alberta's oilsands is going gangbusters. This, despite the fact environmental groups are sounding serious alarm bells about the devastation the project north of Edmonton is generating in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, use of valuable natural gas and water pollution.
Oddly, in the midst of all this activity, a calm has settled over British Columbia's coast, where even discussion about drilling has stopped.
Judging from this week's provincial budget, carbon is now the enemy in B.C. Which won't come as good news to those hoping for an offshore oil industry. "B.C. is under the only federally imposed provincewide ban on offshore oil and gas in Canada," laments John Hunter, of the Victoria-based Ocean Industries B.C. "We can't even look, let alone touch."
In the wake of the federal announcement on the Beaufort, Hunter is wondering why B.C. is being discriminated against.
Past estimates have put the B.C. bounty at some 10 billion barrels of oil in four subsea basins.
It was with that in mind, back in 2004, that B.C.'s Energy Minister Richard Neufeld boldly declared: "Our goal is to develop this rich B.C. resource by 2010."
The province optimistically intended to leapfrog over a web of jurisdictional and environmental problems and start pumping the crude in time for the Winter Olympics.
That's not the intention any longer, provincial spokesman Jake Jacobs acknowledges. Despite the fact that the price of oil has gone due north.
A B.C. energy ministry website vaguely states an intention to "work with the federal government, communities and first nations to advance offshore development in a scientifically sound and environmentally responsible way."
A B.C. Energy Plan, released a year ago, reported the province was still committed to an offshore oil industry. It noted an intention to uphold its longstanding request to Ottawa to lift its moratorium on offshore exploration, imposed in 1972.
A major roadblock for B.C., of course, is the federal government. Because the resource is undersea, the feds have a big say, whereas Alberta's oil is on land. On-land resource development is strictly a provincial concern, so Alberta does as it wishes.
Both the B.C. and Ottawa governments are pro-development. But the chance of the Harperites becoming involved in a debate about a West Coast offshore oil industry is as realistic as Neufeld's pledge to get the project off the ground by 2010.
With a minority government, Conservatives have nothing to gain politically by advancing the cause, given the messy complications that offshore development would inspire.
In the past, the feds have said they were studying lifting the moratorium. But this week, in response to an inquiry, Ottawa stated: "At this time, the government of Canada is not considering lifting the moratorium."
An offshore industry was far easier for Ottawa to encourage off the East Coast because Atlantic provinces were much hungrier for jobs and less doctrinaire about environmental issues.
Even if B.C. were undaunted by environmental opposition to a Pacific coast industry, the native people would contest ownership of the offshore resources.
For good measure, there would doubtless be a donnybrook about whether the federal or provincial government should collect a lion's share of resource royalties.
Resolution of the ownership issue alone would entail years of discussion. It can take decades to launch an offshore oil industry.
If B.C. were serious about development it would move to secure a mandate from voters in a provincial referendum. Then it would initiate ownership negotiations; no company would undertake a serious exploration program on disputed land.
But the Campbell government has done none of this. Instead it has been busy fostering an image of B.C. as the greenest province in the country. Few missed the fact that Finance Minister Carole Taylor wore green shoes on Tuesday to promote her budget.
It would appear the window of opportunity for an offshore oil industry in B.C. has come and gone.
B.C. turns down methane plan in Flathead area
BP's Pullout from Flathead Sets Precedent for CBM Extraction
Wildsight
Feb 22, 2008
`We're Not Out of the Woods Yet,' says Wildsight
The provincial government's declaration that the Flathead Valley is off-limits for coalbed methane (CBM) extraction is a huge step in the right direction but there's still a long way to go.
“We are extremely pleased the government has formally expressed the environmental importance of the Flathead,” Wildsight's Flathead Program Manager Casey Brennan. “But we're not out of the woods yet.”
Yesterday's announcement forcing oil and gas giant BP's withdrawal from CBM extraction in the Flathead sets an environmental precedent - one that may apply to BP's pending extraction proposal in the Elk Valley, which would give BP drilling rights of roughly 400 sq. km within less than two months.
“We are also extremely pleased the government has deemed CBM extraction as a huge health and environmental risk,” says Brennan. “This precedent now applies across the board. There's no difference between CBM extraction in the Flathead and in the Elk Valley”
Wildsight states that while this announcement is admirable, the goal remains on finding long-term solutions.
“This announcement is the product of clear thinking on the part of our government, as well as the government across the border in Montana,” says Brennan. “Let's see this realistic reasoning carry forward, so all of us can enjoy a healthy future.”
Wildsight's campaign helped to demonstrate that people can have a voice in the future of their communities. A lot of letters have been sent out from local concerned citizens to decision makers and Wildsight will continue to lead an information and action campaign on this issue.
B.C. turns down methane plan in Flathead area
CBC News
Friday, February 22, 2008
An environmentally-sensitive area in southeastern British Columbia will not be mined for methane gas.
The B.C. government has decided that British Petroleum Plc. will not be permitted to extract coal-bed methane — a type of natural gas — from the Canadian side of the Flathead River Basin.
BP had wanted to extract coal-bed methane from an area covering 500 square kilometres in the Flathead area of the East Kootenays.
But a BP spokeswoman said the possibility of the development in the Canadian Flathead has been withdrawn from the provincial evaluation process of a much larger area where BP remains interested in exploring for coal-bed methane.
"The province recognizes the sensitivity of the Flathead Valley and so we are not including this area," said Graham Currie, spokesman for the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
The decision has pleased environmentalists who wanted to stop the project due to concerns about possible air and water pollution as well as damage to wildlife.
"The exclusion of the Flathead from this tenure [application] sets a precedent for British Columbia that signals the government of our province recognizes that there are areas that are not appropriate for this kind of industrial extraction activity,'' said Casey Brennan, who is with the environmental group, Wildsight.
Wildsight is an organization that works to maintain biodiversity and healthy human communities in Canada's Columbia and Rocky Mountains eco-region.
$1 billion fiscal year sets rights sales record
News Release
BC Government
February 22, 2008
VICTORIA – The Feb. 20, 2008 sale of oil and gas rights brings B.C.’s fiscal year total to an all-time high of $1.07 billion. The $116.9 million generated in bonus bids makes it the first time the province has reached over $1 billion in land rights revenues in a fiscal year and follows a billion-dollar, record-setting 2007 calendar year, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld announced today.
“British Columbia is attracting unprecedented interest and investment from oil and gas companies,” said Neufeld. “Over a billion in revenue from oil and gas rights sales contributes to B.C.’s bottom line, the long-term success of our province and the benefits of living in the best place on Earth.”
The fiscal year total of oil and gas rights for 2007-2008 surpasses the previous record of $625.7 million set in 2003-2004.
Sixty-six parcels covering 53,555 hectares were offered in the Feb. 20, 2008 sale, and bids were accepted on 65 parcels for an average price of $2,214 per hectare.
The key areas in the sale were a group of six drilling licences located within the Horn River Basin north of Fort Nelson that generated bids totalling more than $67 million. In addition, two drilling licences south of Fort St. John collected over $18.5 million on average prices in the $10,000 per hectare range. A lease parcel near the Buick Creek field north of Fort St. John earned over $1 million averaging over $3,764 per hectare.
The next sale is scheduled for March 26, 2008 and will offer 81 parcels covering 89,752 hectares.
Complete results of the sale and additional statistics are posted on the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources website:
www.em.gov.bc.ca/Subwebs/Landsale/results/default.htm
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Media contact:
Jake Jacobs
Public Affairs Officer
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
250 952-0628
250 213-6934 (cell)
Download this news release here
February 20, 2008
Hydro costs to jump 15 per cent in next two years
Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
February 20, 2008
Electricity rates will jump 15 per cent within two years, or about $120 per year for an average BC Hydro residential customer under a plan released Tuesday by the Crown corporation.
Hydro's updated service plan indicates that the increase, which requires the approval of the B.C. Utilities Commission, is necessary to support a massive increase in capital spending on expansion and upgrades to the province's aging electricity grid.
For example, in 2002 Hydro spent $531 million on grid improvements -- but that amount is projected to jump to $1.9 billion by 2011. The increase will be introduced in two stages, with annual increases this year and next year of about 7.6 per cent each.
That works out to an average monthly increase of $5 -- $60 a year -- for the upcoming fiscal year, and the same amount the following year.
According to Hydro, more than 50 per cent of customers will be paying the $5. Others will pay more, but would have the opportunity to lower their costs by cutting back on electricity consumption. Even a 10-per-cent reduction in consumption would compensate for the increase.
An application for the increase will be filed later this month with the utilities commission, the service plan indicates.
The service plan, for the three fiscal years from 2008-09 through 2010-11, shows that Hydro is also counting on a massive conservation effort on the part of British Columbians to keep electricity bills from climbing even higher -- since the only alternatives to cutting back on electricity consumption are to build more generation and increase dependence on imported power.
The amount of demand growth it proposes to curtail over the next four years is double the total amount of new power it could bring into the system by spending an estimated $6.5 billion to add a third dam, Site C, on the Peace River in northeast B.C.
About 15 per cent of B.C.'s present energy demands are met with imported power, but the B.C. government's energy plan calls for Hydro to be self-sufficient by 2015.
As part of that conservation effort, Hydro is proposing to spend up to $900 million on a "Smart Metering" program that would see all mechanical electrical meters replaced with interactive, digital devices that will allow Hydro customers to see, minute by minute, how much it's costing them to light their homes and operate refrigerators, computers, televisions and other devices.
Hydro says it will seek the rate increase to cover the cost of acquiring additional clean and renewable energy -- such as run-of-river hydro power from independent power producers -- and anticipates that in the near term, import power prices will be increasing.
Hydro also foresees expanding and upgrading its own infrastructure and that of BC Transmission Corporation "to ensure the long-term security of our electricity supply."
"This is really important work, and it's clean energy too," said Hydro president and chief executive officer Bob Elton. "It coincides with the government's climate change focus. It supports it but it is not caused by it.
"We have to do this investment. We have to rebuild these heritage assets so that, right now, we will have the reliability that we need and that it will be there for a long time to come."
Finance Minister Carole Taylor noted in a budget press briefing that the annual net in-migration to B.C. has reached 50,000 people and that it's Hydro's responsibility to ensure that their electricity needs are met.
February 19, 2008
Comment on BC Budget
Budget 2008 Meets Key Tests on Climate Commitments
BC's major environmental groups, 19-Feb-2008
BC introduces carbon tax
Dirk Meissner, Canadian Press, 19-Feb-2008
BC government carbon tax, cash incentives geared at greening up the public
Canadian Press, 19-Feb-2008
B.C. introduces carbon tax
Jonathan Fowlie and Fiona Anderson, Vancouver Sun, 19-Feb-2008
B.C. budget hikes fuel costs with new carbon tax
CBC News, 19-Feb-2008
B.C. pledges Greenbucks in bid to sell first carbon tax
Nathan VanderKlippe, Financial Post, 19-Feb-2008
Mining Industry Supports BC Budget
The Mining Association of British Columbia, 19-Feb-2008
Campbell's carbon tax not revenue neutral for working, low income people
B.C. Government and Service Employees Union, 19-Feb-2008
B.C. budget includes a number of smaller tax changes too
Chad Skelton, Vancouver Sun, 19-Feb-2008
Spending surpasses revenue in 'balanced' budget
Harvey Enchin, Vancouver Sun, 19-Feb-2008
Budget 2008 Meets Key Tests on Climate Commitments
BC's major environmental groups
19-Feb-2008
February 19, 2008, Victoria, BC - Major BC environmental groups today welcomed the 2008 budget that will put BC firmly on the path to achieve bold commitments set out in the 2007 Throne Speech. Of the key areas in which environmentalists were looking for clear action (see below), three were given strong grades. The remaining climate-related area--cross-budget consistency-- remains a concern, with ongoing subsidies to the carbon-emitting oil and gas sector and massive capital investments in new highways. Also of concern is the lack of new funds for biodiversity preservation and management.
| Carbon Pricing The carbon tax is designed to make BC a North American leader in using carbon pricing to encourage innovation, climate-friendly behaviour change and a transition to a low-carbon economy. Government chose to make the tax fully revenue-neutral, recycling the revenues through lump sum payments and tax breaks for individuals, with a focus on low-income families and tax breaks to businesses. | A |
| Public Infrastructure Investments To help kick-start the $14 billion Provincial Transit Plan, scheduled to be completed by 2020, $370 million was allocated over a four year period, including $93 million over the next year. Also included was money for energy retrofits on public buildings and green port initiatives. | A |
| Incentives For Citizens and Businesses The budget contains significant incentives to help British Columbians make changes to decrease their carbon emissions, including energy retrofit funding and tax exemptions for energy efficient vehicles and appliances. It also provides BC businesses with strong encouragement to invest in innovation to be leaders in the low-carbon economy of the future. | A |
| Cross-Budget Consistency There is a major disconnect between BC's climate plan and continued financial support for carbon-intensive resource industries. The highly profitable fossil fuel industry emits approximately 20% of BC's GHG emissions. Yet this budget provides large subsidies to expand carbon-intensive activities that could undermine BC's efforts to be a world leader on tackling global warming. Steps in the wrong direction include a 24% increase in oil and gas subsidies in 08/09-to $327 million -as well as continued funding and promotion of coastal oil and gas drilling, and a $621 million larger allocation for highway expansion than for transit. | F |
| Biodiversity There are almost no new monies earmarked for the protection of species at risk and their critical habitat. Although there is now political direction to establish a marine protected areas system for the Pacific coast, there are no new monies to achieve this. | D |
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BC Sustainable Energy Association - Tom Hackney (250-744-2720)
Better Environmentally Sound Transportation - Kris Etches
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - Chloe O'Loughlin (604-512-0428)
Dogwood Initiative - Will Horter (604-418-1672)
Georgia Strait Alliance - Christianne Wilhelmson (604-862-7579)
Living Oceans Society - Oonagh O'Connor (250-230-6580)
Pembina Institute - Matt Horne (778-235-1476)
Sierra Club BC - Lisa Matthaus (250-888-6267)
West Coast Environmental Law - Greg Gowe (604-220-2520)
Wilderness Committee - Andrea Reimer (604-719-3920)
BC introduces carbon tax
By Dirk Meissner
THE CANADIAN PRESS
19-Feb-2008
B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor, standing, smiles
as she delivers her final budget in the legislature
Tuesday February 19, 2008 in Victoria, B.C. Taylor
is applauded by B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell
right and Deputy Premier Shirley Bond left.
THE CANADIAN
VICTORIA - Finance Minister Carole Taylor introduced an escalating carbon tax on most fossil fuels Tuesday, one she says is designed to ignite an environmental social movement in British Columbia and across Canada to fight climate change.
And she's handing every British Columbian $100 in June as seed money to get them thinking green.
"This is an important turning point for British Columbia," she said. "We think for Canada."
The carbon tax , effective July 1, will be phased in over five years to give consumers and businesses time to adjust to the new tax and understand there is a cost associated with generating harmful greenhouse gases, she said.
The carbon tax will start at a rate based on $10 per tonne of carbon emissions and rise $5 a year to $30 per tonne by 2012, Taylor said. The tax works out to an extra 2.4 cents on a litre of gasoline, rising to 7.24 cents per litre of gasoline by 2012.
Taylor said the carbon tax on diesel and home heating oil will start at 2.7 cents per litre and increase to 8.2 cents per litre over the same five-year period.
British Columbians already pay a 3.5-cent-per-litre gasoline tax to help fund transportation projects.
"We're not just going to be talking about climate change," said Taylor. "We are acting. This could be a social movement in British Columbia."
Taylor said the carbon tax will be revenue neutral, meaning the government will not use money generated from the tax to fill its coffers. The carbon tax revenue, estimated to hit $1.8 billion over three years, will be returned to taxpayers through personal income tax and business tax cuts, she said.
The government will introduce legislation that requires it to table an annual plan that shows how the carbon tax revenue will be returned to taxpayers, Taylor said.
To coax British Columbians to start thinking green, the government will send every resident a one-time $100 Climate Action Dividend in June. Taylor said the province hopes British Columbians will use the $100 to help adopt greener lifestyles.
Lower income British Columbians will receive an annual Climate Action Credit of $100 per adult and $30 per child to offset the cost of the carbon tax, she said.
Taylor said the carbon tax is one of the government's key building blocks to help it reach its legislated goal of reducing British Columbia's greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020.
"We have to find a way that we can work towards improving our environment and at the very same time do it in a way that keeps our economy strong," she said. "One piece of the puzzle, not the whole story, is a carbon tax."
Quebec has already introduced a form of a carbon tax, but the revenues return to government green technology initiatives, not taxpayers.
She said she believes British Columbia is already at the forefront of an environmental movement in Canada.
Taylor said British Columbia led Canada into the healthy lifestyles movement decades ago by choosing aerobics and granola over the beer fridge and living room couch, and the province now is ready to cut greenhouse gas emissions by driving less and walking more.
She said the budget attempts to balance the needs of fighting climate change while continuing to nurture a healthy economy.
"It is a budget that confronts and completely overturns the outdated notion that you have to choose either a healthy environment or a strong economy," Taylor said. "That either-or-thinking belongs to the past."
She said the B.C. government has decided to tackle the climate change issue despite concerns from Ottawa about patchwork green solutions that include carbon taxes and cap-and-trade emissions deals like the one British Columbia and other provinces are exploring.
"We had made the decision not to wait for a consensus," Taylor said.
The budget forecasts a $50 million surplus and annual growth of 2.4 per cent.
Taylor said the downturn in the U.S. economy will hurt the province's export and manufacturing industries, especially the forest industry, but the provincial economy should remain strong due to strong trading relationships with Asia and robust provincial job growth.
The tax incentives aimed at keeping the carbon tax "revenue neutral" will be dispersed as follows: the bottom two personal income tax rates will be cut by two per cent in 2008 and five per cent in 2009 on the first $70,000 in earnings; effective July 1, the corporate tax rate will drop to 11 per cent from 12 per cent; effective July 1, the small-business tax rate will be cut from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.
-
VICTORIA - Highlights of the British Columbia budget presented Tuesday:
Carbon Tax:
-Beginning July 1, 2008, British Columbia will begin phasing in a carbon tax on all fossil fuels including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane and home heating fuel.
-The rate starts at $10 per tonne of carbon-equivalent emissions and will rise by $5 per year for the next four years.
-As of July 1, there will be a 2.41-cent increase per litre in gasoline. By 2012, it will be 7.24 cents per litre.
-For diesel and home heating oil, it works out to 2.2 cents per litre, rising to 8.27 cents by 2012.
-The tax will generate about $1.85 billion over three years.
-Two thirds of the money raised in the first year will come from business.
-The tax is to be revenue neutral and none of the money raised through the carbon tax will go toward program spending.
-Legislation will require a plan to be tabled in the legislature each year showing how the carbon-tax revenue will be returned to businesses and individuals.
Tax cuts:
-Each adult and child in British Columbia will get a $100 rebate - a so-called Climate Action Dividend - in June aimed at helping people adopt greener lifestyles.
-Lower-income British Columbians will be eligible for a $100 payment per adult and a $30 payment per child as part of a Climate Action Credit. The money will be paid quarterly.
-The bottom two personal income tax rates will be reduced for all British Columbians, resulting in a tax cut of two per cent in 2008 and 5 per cent in 2009 on the first $70,000 in earnings.
-Effective July 1, 2008, the general corporate income tax rate will be reduced to 11 per cent from 12 per cent. By 2011, it will be reduced to 10 per cent.
-Effective July 1, 2008, the small business tax rate will be reduced to 3.5 per cent from 4.5 per cent, with further reductions planned to 2.5 per cent by 2011.
Spending:
-Health spending increases by $2.9 billion over three years.
-$144 million over three years in extra money will go to K-12 education.
-$104 million of extra funding will go to reduce homelessness over four years.
-An additional $78 million over four years to allow emergency shelters to stay open 24 hours a day.
Overall:
-Total government revenue is forecast at $38.5 billion in 2008-2009
-Total government expense is forecast at $37.7 billion in 2008-2009
-The budget includes a $375 million contingency fund for emergencies and a $750 forecast allowance.
-The surplus is projected to be $50 million.
-The surplus for the last budget year was $2 billion.
VICTORIA - Here are some things people are saying about the B.C. Liberal government's latest budget:
"This is an important turning point for British Columbia. We think for Canada." - Finance Minister Carole Taylor on introducing what her officials say is the most unique carbon tax in Canada.
"Corporate income tax reductions will make up approximately 23 per cent of the overall climate plan tax reductions, yet industry will pay approximately 60 to 70 per cent of the new carbon taxes. From the point of view of industry, more work needs to be done to ensure true revenue neutrality for all sectors." - Byng Giraud, vice president, Mining Association of British Columbia.
"We congratulate British Columbia on taking this visionary step. This marks a real turning point for British Columbia and puts the province at the forefront of North American action on climate change." - Ian Bruce, a climate change specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation.
"They have their priorities upside down again. It's not all nice, lovey-dovey stuff like she makes it out to be. It's a cheap election trick. It looks phoney." - BC Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair on the government's plan to give every British Columbian a $100 cheque.
"We hope this budget will not increase the cost of business for retailers, which has been steadily rising over the past few years due to increases in occupancy, freight and staffing costs. This budget creates the potential for further increases in the cost of goods and transporting goods to retailers." - Mark Startup, president and CEO of Retail BC.
"The budget fails to deliver either adequate resources or any details on how government will tackle the real sustainability crisis facing health care - a crippling shortage of skilled health-care workers." - Health Employees Union.
"These cuts in school tax will assist B.C.'s major industries and largest employers adjust to challenging economic times, while the elimination of the capital tax will go a long way towards ensuring B.C. will be well placed to become the financial gateway to Asian markets." - B.C. Chamber of Commerce.
"The focus on climate change will leave B.C. with a legacy of debt." - Maureen Bader, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
BC government carbon tax, cash incentives geared at greening up the public
Canadian Press
19-Feb-2008
VICTORIA - From cleaner fuels to greener washing machines, the British Columbia government is asking individuals to take on climate change.
The Liberal government's 2008 budget includes funding for home energy improvements and tax breaks on energy-efficient appliances.
Car buyers will get up to a $2,000 reduction in sales tax for the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles and residents will even get a little green from the government to get them started.
In June, the government will send out $100 "Climate Action Dividends" to every man, woman and child in the province "to help people adopt greener lifestyles."
In addition to across-the-board cuts in personal income taxes - two per cent this year and five per cent next year on income up to $70,000 - low-income British Columbians will get a climate action tax credit of $100 a year per adult and $30 per child, to be paid quarterly with the GST tax credit.
But the cash incentives will be offset by the province's carbon tax, the first in Canada to apply to consumers.
The carbon tax will increase the cost of gasoline by 2.41 cents per litre and natural gas by 49.88 cents per gigajoule as of July 1. By 2012, the cost of gasoline will rise by 7.24 cents a litre.
The cost of the tax to individual British Columbians will depend on the choices they make, said Finance Minister Carol Taylor.
Those who choose to make changes and reduce their "carbon footprint" can save more than enough in household expenses to offset the carbon tax, she said.
"We do believe that people will have more dollars in the pocket despite this tax," said Taylor.
"They will have extra dollars in their pocket to help them make the transition if they choose to do so."
That's true of the first year of five-year plan. It may even be true for the second year, say critics.
But by the time the carbon tax climbs to $30 per tonne in 2012, the annual increase for a family that logs 40,000 on the road a year in a vehicle that burns 15 litres per 100 kilometres will be $496.80 a year. The cost of home fuel for a standard efficiency gas heater for the home will increase $105 a year.
A double-income family of four earning $60,000 a year will see a $45 reduction in income tax this year and $118 next year.
If they drive a vehicle that gets 10 kilometres a litre for 20,000 kilometres a year, gas will cost $24 more this year and $60 next year. The cost of natural gas heat and hot water will increase $21 this year and $53 next year, according to government estimates.
A senior couple earning $30,000 a year, driving 7,000 kilometres a year in a vehicle that gets about eight kilometres a litre will pay $10 more for fuel this year and $25 next. Home heating costs will increase about $30 this year and $70 next.
The government took the unusual step of making recommendations for some of the changes individual British Columbians can make to save money and the Earth.
Driving one day less per week can save $233 a year once the tax kicks in, according to government estimates. Taking public transit can save $185, walking to work $197 and weatherizing windows and doors can shave off $44 a year.
That's not to mention the savings on insurance costs, parking or the federal income tax credit for transit, according to budget documents.
Taylor said the gradual implementation of the carbon tax is meant to give people time to adjust.
"Nobody expects that immediately we're all going to go out and buy different cars or renovate our houses completely. But it gives us time to think about doing those things so that the next time a purchase comes up, we might change our behaviour along the way," she said.
Taylor said she'll use her $100 dividend to buy a new pair of running shoes. The B.C. finance minister said she has started walking to work and has worn out her shoes.
B.C. introduces carbon tax
Province is first jurisdiction in North America to have consumer-based carbon tax
By Jonathan Fowlie and Fiona Anderson
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
VICTORIA -- Driving and other fuel-dependent activities are about to get more expensive as British Columbia becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a consumer-based carbon tax.
However, Finance Minister Carole Taylor vowed Tuesday that all money collected through the new tax will be returned through a package of tax cuts and credits.
"We have to find a way that we can work towards improving our environment, but at the same time do it in a way that keeps our economy strong," said Taylor, as she presented a budget that, aside from the carbon tax, commits $1 billion over four years to fight climate change.
The $37.7 billion provincial budget also promises an additional $2.9 billion over three years for health care spending. That brings the total health budget to $13.8 billion for the coming year.
Taylor said the new carbon tax will begin July 1, starting at a rate that will have drivers paying about an extra 2.4 cents per litre of gasoline at the pumps.
If you drive a Prius hybrid, the government estimates the new tax will cost you about $20 extra per year. If you have a Dodge Ram pickup truck, that number will be closer to $68 it says.
The tax -- which will apply to virtually all fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane and home heating fuel -- will then increase each year after that until 2012, reaching a final price of about 7.2 cents per litre at the pumps.
After that, Taylor said, it will rest with the government of the day to decide if the tax rate should change any further.
"We've promised you green and today we've delivered green," said Taylor, dressed in green Fluevogs and a green suit for the occasion.
"This is an important turning point for British Columbia and we think for Canada," she added, likening the climate-change budget measures as a "social movement."
To help people adjust to the cost of the tax -- which promises to achieve about 7.5 per cent of the government's legislated reductions by 2020 -- all British Columbians will receive a one-time $100 cheque this June.
"We want to bring in the benefits first," said Taylor.
Corporate and personal income tax rates will drop to help make the tax revenue neutral, and lower-income British Columbians will receive an annual climate action credit of $100 per adult and $30 per child.
Overall, the government estimates the carbon tax will bring in revenues of about $1.85 billion over the first three years -- all of which it says will be returned to businesses and individuals.
Estimates suggest businesses will pay two thirds of the carbon tax, and will receive only one third of the refunds. By contrast, individuals are expected to pay one third, while receiving two thirds of the credits.
The move was seen as a huge win by environmentalists, who depicted B.C. as a leader in taking action on climate change.
"I think this is a landmark decision in North America as far as government addressing global warming," said Ian Bruce of the Suzuki Foundation.
"The B.C. government has decided to use one of the most powerful incentives at its disposal to reduce pollution," he added, saying he expects the move to help spur innovation.
Lisa Matthaus of Sierra Club B.C. agreed.
"This is the budget that is going to support the significant throne speech commitments from last year, in particular the carbon tax."
Not everyone was equally supportive.
"I think they were pretty quick to pull out the stick when it comes to accomplishing environmental objectives," said Laura Jones, vice-president at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"We know from our surveys that over 80 per cent of business owners are already taking action to get cleaner," she added, saying that is happening without a tax in place.
"I don't think this is the best way to accomplish the goal of getting more environmentally friendly," she said, explaining she would rather have seen a greater focus on education and incentives.
Niels Veldhuis of the Fraser Institute also took issue with the plan.
"This was a lost opportunity for British Columbia in terms of improving the investment climate," he said.
"We had a real and historic opportunity to improve our investment climate, to ensure our prosperity going forward by aggressively reducing business taxes and personal taxes."
For example top earners in B.C. pay taxes almost 50 per cent higher than their counterparts in Alberta, he said.
Instead of reducing taxes they chose to "change the mix," he said.
Though the 2008 budget is clearly a green one, health care also figured heavily into the spending, accounting for more than one third of overall spending.
The government says it will also reduce taxes above and beyond the carbon tax offset by $481 million over three years.
It will also spend $787 million over four years to strengthen social services.
Following the prudence that has become a trademark of Taylor's budgets, the finance minister is putting aside about $1 billion to deal with any surprises, such as larger than expected financial troubles in the United States.
B.C. budget hikes fuel costs with new carbon tax
CBC News
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
British Columbians will be paying more at the fuel pump and less at tax time under a new carbon tax plan on all fossil fuels unveiled Tuesday as part of the Liberal government's budget.
The budget, introduced by Finance Minister Carole Taylor in the legislature in Victoria in the afternoon, also included breaks in personal and corporate taxes.
Finance Minister Carole Taylor introduces
the budget in the legislature in Victoria
on Tuesday afternoon. (CBC)
As part of the new tax plan, carbon-based fuels — including gasoline, diesel, natural gas and home heating fuel — will be taxed at $10/tonne of greenhouse gases generated, starting July 1, 2008.
That will translate into a new 2.4 ˘/litre tax on gasoline at the pump and 2.8 ˘/litre for home heating fuel.
The carbon tax rate will rise by $5 a year for the next four years, until it hits $30/tonne of greenhouse gas generated in 2012, said Taylor.
The tax will earn the government an estimated $1.85 billion, but Taylor said the plan will be revenue neutral. The government will give all of the money back to taxpayers in the form of tax breaks, she said.
Income tax rates for the first $70,000 earned will be cut by five per cent in 2009, giving B.C. the lowest personal income tax rate in Canada for those earning under $111,000.
The corporations' tax rate will also be cut one per cent to 11 per cent in 2009, and 10 per cent in three years, making B.C.'s corporate tax rates on par with the lowest in Canada.
In total, businesses in B.C. will pay a total tax rate of 25 per cent when federal and provincial taxes are combined, making B.C.'s corporate tax rate 10 per cent lower than the U.S. average, said Taylor.
She also said that in the first year there will be $100 rebate to every adult and child in the province to offset the cost of the carbon tax.
The budget follows the throne speech last week, which Premier Gordon Campbell and his government urged British Columbians to take personal responsibility for reducing climate change.
Taylor said that, just as Canadians learned from British Columbians about aerobics, whole grain breads and healthy lifestyles 20 years ago, so will people in the province teach the rest of the country what it means to tackle global warming.
With files from the Canadian Press
B.C. pledges Greenbucks in bid to sell first carbon tax
Nathan VanderKlippe
Financial Post
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
VANCOUVER -- Forget Ralphbucks: British Columbia is promising to rain down Greenbucks in its bid to sell a dramatic new, North America-first carbon tax that will grab more cash from the pockets of motorists and those heating their houses in the cold North while leaving big industrial emitters unscathed.
"We promised you green and today we deliver green," B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor said as she stood on stage in Victoria Tuesday to deliver the province's budget in a striking pair of green heels.
"This is an important turning point for B.C., and we think for Canada because we are out in front on this," she said, suggesting the new tax could raise up a new "social movement" -- regardless of whether any other province follows suit, and despite serious concern from businesses cringing at the prospect of working under a patchwork of different climate regimes across the country.
And though the government's own estimates suggest the carbon tax will only trim B.C.'s emissions by 4.5% -- far shy of Premier Gordon Campbell's commitment of a 33% cut by 2020 -- Ms. Taylor was unapologetic.
"We don't want to wait," she said. "We think it's important to take the first step."
In January 2006, the Alberta government sent $400 cheques -- known variously as resource-rebate cheques, prosperity cheques or "Ralph bucks" -- to virtually every man, woman and child in the province. The rebate program cost $1.4 billion.
Ms. Taylor pledged to issue a $100 cheque to every person in the province in the weeks leading up to the July 1 launch of the carbon tax, which will begin at $10 per tonne of fossil fuel-fired greenhouse gas production. That amounts to 2.4 cents per litre of gasoline and 50 cents per gigajoule of natural gas, amounts that will triple over the next five years as the carbon tax grows to $30 a tonne.
By then, the owner of a gas-loving pickup truck who drives 40,000 kilometres a year will see a fat $500 added to his annual fuel bill.
Emissions from landfills and agriculture -- as well as from makers of oil, gas, aluminum and cement -- will not be taxed. Together, those emissions make up 30% of the province's carbon footprint -- although some may be covered in a cap-and-trade system expected to be unveiled late this summer.
In total, the tax is expected to raise $1.85-billion over the next three years, but Ms. Taylor stressed that none of that money will be used for new government spending. Instead, it will be returned to taxpayers in the form of credits to low-income people and new tax cuts that will, in 2008, drop personal income tax for those earning up to $70,000 by 2% and trim business taxes by a percentage point -- down to 11% for corporations and 3.5% for small businesses.
That makes it dramatically different from a carbon tax announced in Quebec, which will raise far less, but use the money to fund green research, rather than returning it to taxpayers. A B.C. government analysis suggests a dual-income family of four making $60,000 a year and driving 20,000 kilometres a year could actually see a $5 net benefit from the plan in 2009, the year when further tax cuts are also planned.
In effect, the carbon tax will transfer funds from businesses to individuals, who will face one-third of the burden but see two-thirds of the benefits.
The carbon tax legislation will also enforce a 10% salary deduction to any future finance minister who does not uphold the revenue neutral promise, and includes a healthy dose of government nannying, including helpful charts outlining the savings from lifestyle changes such as tuning up a car, weatherizing doors and windows and switching to a high-efficiency furnace.
On climate change more broadly, the B.C. government earmarked $1-billion for home energy audits, bio-diesel production, electrical connections at the ports and the purchase of fuel-sipping cars and energy-efficient appliances.
It also committed an enormous $2.9-billion in new health care money, and won plaudits from both business groups, who appreciated the revenue-neutral carbon tax and the chances it brings for fresh savings, and left-wing opinion groups.
A tax of "seven cents per litre, is not going to change anyone's behaviour. But I think the cumulative effect over time, when people are looking to buy a new vehicle, etc. -- that's where you're going to see the impact," said Marc Lee, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
"I would have liked to see something a bit more ambitious but I have to say it's very well-crafted."
Mining Industry Supports BC Budget
The Mining Association of British Columbia
February 19, 2008
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 19, 2008) - The Mining Association of British Columbia (MABC) supported many measures in BC Budget 2008 but expressed caution on some issues that could impact the mining sector.
"The 2008 Budget and its climate action provisions offer the mining industry some clear opportunities to work with government to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) and ensure the long-term success of the industry," said Byng Giraud, Vice President of Policy and Communications.
"While any new tax is challenging, we welcome the government's clear commitment to revenue neutrality in the implementation of the carbon tax. We also applaud the government's gradual approach to implementation," added Giraud.
Further positives in the 2008 budget included:
- An immediate reduction in general corporate tax and the commitment to reducing that tax to 10% by 2011.
- The announcement of an additional $7 million to assist with environmental assessment and permitting in British Columbia.
- The provision of $10 million to assist First Nations with natural resource decisions.
- School tax rate reductions for major industrial property.
- $12 million for Geoscience BC.
- Government's willingness to delay consideration of applying the carbon tax to industrial processes and fugitive emissions until more consultation occurs.
On the other hand, the MABC expressed a number of concerns with Budget 2008. "Corporate income tax reductions will make up approximately 23 percent of the overall climate plan tax reductions, yet industry will pay approximately 60-70 percent of the new carbon taxes. From the point of view of industry, more work needs to be done to ensure true revenue neutrality for all sectors," commented Giraud.
The MABC estimates that the industry (including smelters and operating mines) in BC produces 3.3 million tonnes of GHG emissions. Therefore, the mining sector will pay approximately $33 million in carbon taxes in 2008/09 increasing to $99 million by 2012. These costs combined with expected higher electricity costs and possible additional costs imposed by a cap-and-trade system add considerable uncertainty to the sector.
"Any cap-and-trade system must allow for the creation of new mines and smelters," added Gavin Dirom, MABC Vice President of Environment, Health & Safety. "Poorly designed hard caps could effectively prevent industry growth, so we welcome the government's willingness to work with industry in the design of the cap-and-trade system. The commitment to integrating measures to avoid double taxation reflects this government's ongoing support of the sector."
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Mining Association of British Columbia
Byng Giraud
Vice President, Policy & Communications
(778) 233-6449
Email: byng@mining.bc.ca
Website: www.mining.bc.ca
Campbell's carbon tax not revenue neutral for working, low income people
Campbell's carbon tax not revenue neutral for working, low income people
B.C. Government and Service Employees Union
February 19, 2008
B.C.'s new carbon tax is being implemented unfairly, says the B.C.
Government and Service Employees Union, and will mean that families and low income earners will pay more than their fair share of the costs when the tax on energy consumption is fully implemented in four years time.
"The minister claimed that low income earners wouldn't be unfairly hit by the new tax," says BCGEU president George Heyman.
"But by 2012, the Liberals will only return a dollar in special credits to low income people for every two dollars they take in the form of added carbon taxes," Heyman charges. "That's hardly revenue neutral."
On the other hand, Heyman says, corporations will get preferential treatment from the Liberals. "The so called revenue neutral tax cuts to corporations are actually corporate subsidies lavish in comparison to those tax cuts received by individuals," he says.
Heyman also questioned whether the Liberals would be able to enforce a tough regime of carbon emission levels without additional staff in key ministries. "If this is an environment budget, then where are the staff needed to protect the public interest?"
On other key issues, "aside from the green budget focus," says Heyman, "the finance minister had only hot air or empty platitudes to deal with British Columbians' other priorities."
He was particularly critical that none of the new health care funding was specifically earmarked to expand home support services and residential care beds to help British Columbians deal with aging family members.
Heyman was also disappointed that there is no provincial funding for a new child care system, to help B.C. families deal with the long waitlists, high parent fees, and alarming shortage of qualified staff.
Meanwhile, on the social services front, Heyman says new money allocated in the budget still doesn't make up for the deep cuts implemented during the Campbell government's first term. And he questioned spending priorities like the Liberal's homelessness strategy. "It's a band aid-not a real solution," says Heyman.
"A real revenue neutral carbon tax budget would deal with homelessness, child poverty and environmental protection, and share the benefits of economic prosperity by increasing welfare rates and the minimum wage.
-30-
Contact Stephen Howard, BCGEU communications 604-992-0105
B.C. budget includes a number of smaller tax changes too
Chad Skelton
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
VICTORIA - The biggest tax change announced in Tuesday's budget was the introduction of a carbon tax in B.C. - and a host of income tax and corporate tax cuts to ensure all the money collected by the new tax is returned to taxpayers in other forms.
But there were also a host of smaller tax changes for individuals and business announced in the budget.
Those affecting individual taxpayers include:
. The B.C. government will match the federal government's ecoAUTO rebate program for fuel-efficient automobiles, providing a Provincial Sales Tax reduction equal to the amount of the federal rebate.
. Homeowners will be able to leave their home for up to two taxation years for travel, work or schooling and still be eligible for the home owner grant or low-income grant supplement.
. The threshold for the First Time Home Buyer's program-- which exempts those buying their first home from paying the property transfer tax - has been increased from $375,000 to $425,000. The province has also eliminated the financing requirements of the program, meaning buyers will no longer be required to have a mortgage of at least 70 per cent of the purchase price to qualify.
. Energy efficient refrigerators, freezers and clothes washers with an Energy Star rating will be PST exempt.
. Residential gas-fired water heaters with an "energy factor" of 0.80 or greater will be PST exempt.
. Insulation for hot water tanks, water pipes and ductwork will be PST exempt.
. Electric-powered bicycles and tricycles will be PST exempt.
. Emission control devices for diesel vehicles will be PST exempt.
. Motorcycles and scooters that run exclusively on electricity will be eligible for a 50 per cent reduction in PST up to a maximum of $1,000. The exemption expires April 1, 2011.
. As of April 1, 2008, the passenger vehicle rental tax will no longer apply to passenger vehicles rented for eight consecutive hours or less. The government has also clarified that the tax should not have been applied in the past to vehicles used as part of a vehicle sharing program or on courtesy vehicles provided by mechanics.
. British Columbians with mental disabilities who a doctor certifies are unable to use public transportation safely will be able to apply for a refund of the fuel tax paid on gasoline purchases. Previously, the rebate was only available to those with physical disabilities.
. The gasoline tax in Victoria will increase from 2.5 to 3.5 cents per litre to help pay for regional transit services.
Those changes that affect businesses and charities include:
. All work-related safety equipment and protective clothing - such as safety goggles and work gloves - purchased by employers or self-employed people will now be PST exempt.
. Registered charities will no longer be required to collect PST on nominal items given in exchange for donations, like ribbons, key chains or pins.
. Hydrogen fuel-cell buses will be eligible for a PST reduction of 50 per cent up to a maximum of $10,000.
. PST will now be payable on coal and coke except when purchased for use in residential dwellings. According to the government, this brings coal in line with cleaner sources of energy, like natural gas, which are only PST exempt when purchased for residential use.
. Biodiesel and ethanol will be exempt from fuel tax, regardless of whether the fuels are used by planes, trains or ships. Previously, alternative fuels were only tax exempt if they were used in motor vehicles.
. The portion of the hotel room tax that is transferred to Tourism British Columbia will increase from 1.65 per cent to three per cent.
. As of the 2008 tax year, the provincial school tax rate will be reduced on major industrial properties such as pulp mills, sawmills, ports and mines - a tax reduction worth $12 million a year.
Spending surpasses revenue in 'balanced' budget
Harvey Enchin
Vancouver Sun
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Once you get clear of the thicket of climate change initiatives in the Liberal government's "balanced" budget you can see plainly that the rate of spending will surpass revenue.
That's right. Total government revenue is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.8 per cent over the next three years, while total expenses are forecast to rise by an average of three per cent.
Only through the magic of public sector accounting can governments can spend money faster than they bring it in and call the end result balanced.
The way government makes up the difference, of course, is by taking on more debt. The budget sees total provincial debt climbing from $37.7 billion in 2008/09 to $42.5 billion in 2010/11, an increase of $7.5 billion from the forecast in last year's budget.
Finance Minister Carole Taylor assures us that all is well because the ratio of debt to gross domestic product, which she described as a key measure of debt affordability, continues to decline. Sure enough, taxpayer-supported debt is forecast to drop from 14.1 per cent to 13.7 per cent over the next three years. However, this presumes taxpayers are not ultimately on the hook for the debt of Crown corporations. But they are. Toss the so-called self-supporting state companies and agencies into the mix and the ratio of GDP to total debt is expected to rise by a full percentage point -- from 18.4 per cent to 19.4 per cent. This ratio and its trend line might not concern the debt rating agencies, which use this taxpayer-supported version to assess the quality of the B.C's debt securities as an investment, but it should worry taxpayers.
While economic growth has been robust over the last five years, it has been slowly eroding with real GDP growth slipping from 4.5 per cent in 2005 to 3.3 per cent in 2006 and 3.0 in 2007. The forecast for 2008 is 2.4 per cent and the most optimistic prediction is a flat line below three per cent through 2012.
Tayor argued that B.C. has the second lowest ratio in Canada and its debt carries a triple A rating, matched only by Alberta and the federal government. Besides, she added, B.C. has big infrastructure needs. There are capital expenditure requirements for schools, roads, transit -- capital spending on health care alone is estimated at $2.7 billion. "We believe we are approaching this in a way that is sustainable in the long term," she said at a press conference before tabling the budget.
But if debt is not paid down when the economy is booming when will it be?
A sluggish economy will put increasing demands on government for support programs; it's not the ideal time for debt repayment. As the debt rises, the cost of servicing it increases. Indeed, the interest cost of debt is forecast to climb from $2.1 billion in the current fiscal year to $2.6 billion in 2010/11. To put that in perspective, interest on the debt in a single year is more than the budgeted increase in health spending over the next three years. It dwarfs the amount the government has committed to combatting climate change. It is triple the projected additional spending on social services.
If each British Columbian was responsible for his or her share of the provincial debt, the per capita obligation would be $7,992 this year, $8,500 next year, $8,888 in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games and $9,320 in 2010/11. And this assumes population growth of about 177,000 people over which to amortize the debt.
Rather than address the clear and present danger of a growing debt, the government has chosen to chase the phantom of climate change with measures its own figures prove will achieve next to nothing in achieve its stated goal of reducing carbon emissions by one-third by 2020.
But Taylor's green budget will have a significant impact unrelated to global waming (or cooling). It will accelerate economic decline. It will fuel inflation. It will make all goods transported in B.C. more expensive, including food. It will depress investment because business and industry will bear the brunt of the carbon tax.
Think you're getting a break on the $100 climate action dividend? The carbon tax will add roughly $72 a year to your natural gas heating bill and a minimum of $36 a year to the cost of gasoline. Easy come, easy go.
The carbon tax will make less money available for things that really matter, like health services, education, childcare, homelessness, mental illness, crime, research and development.
There are so many measures the Liberal government could have taken to improve its citizens' lives --cutting the property transfer tax comes to mind -- but opted instead to buy into a narrative that charges everyone with the offence of simply being here. A new study by University of Alberta professor Bev Dahlby determined that corporate income tax rate reductions in 2001 increased GDP per capita by 18 per cent above the level that would have resulted without them while personal tax cuts increased output by 7.6 per cent. In other words, the tax cuts will raise average incomes of British Columbians by 25 per cent over the long term.
Now, there are tax cuts in the green budget -- a five-per-cent cut for the bottom two income brackets -- but most taxpayers will find that the benefit will be more than offset by the higher costs of almost everything as a result of budget measures that is committed to spending billions on hot air.
BC 2008 Budget
BC Budget Webpages
http://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2008/default.htm
Budget Highlights PDF
"Reader-friendly, plain-language overview of Balanced Budget 2008."
Budget and Fiscal Plan PDF
The main budget document; it lays out the Province’s three-year fiscal plan, including economic outlook, revenues, spending, tax measures, and forecasting risks and assumptions.
February 14, 2008
Comments on the Speech from the Throne
Download the full text of the Speech from the Throne
"A climate action plan to advance those targets will be released shortly after the budget. It will be annually updated and founded on personal responsibility, sound science and economic reality. And it will be driven by one simple truth: it is people who cause global warming and it is people who must act to stop it."
BC Premier Gordon Campbell's Throne Speech, 2008
"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."
US Vice-President Dick Cheney, 2001
Hmm... personal responsibility ... persona virtue .... Cynical, maybe, but not wanting to be. There were big promises thrown out in last year's throne speech and they aren't being followed up with much here.
And as with last year's throne speech, we'll wait for the budget, and in the Climate Action Plan which will follow the budget.
Best catch in the Throne Speech so far is Charles Campbell's on the "energy corridor"
Campbell's activist crusade thunders out with visionary ideas
Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, 13-Feb-2008
Small-gov't Campbell plants big-gov't seedlings
Michael Smyth, The Province, 13-Feb-2008
Green Gord: Unclear on Concept?
Andrew MacLeod, TheTyee.ca, 13-Feb-2008
'Progress' on native concerns rings hollow with the leaders
Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun, 14-Feb-2008
The new Throne speech energy corridor proposal turns rumblings from a pipeline giant into a real threat of oil spills.
Charles Campbell, Dogwood Initiative, 14-Feb-2008
Campbell's activist crusade thunders out with visionary ideas
Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
VICTORIA - For the capstone of the throne speech this year, Premier Gordon Campbell went with a 45-year-old quote from John F. Kennedy.
"History and our own conscience will judge us harsher if we do not now make every effort to test our hopes by action."
The U.S. president was speaking in favour of a treaty banning atmospheric nuclear testing, initialled in the summer of 1963.
Campbell enlisted those words to rededicate his B.C. Liberal government to a saving-the-planet concern of our time, the fight against climate change.
He launched this crusade with last year's throne speech and this year's model took direct, argumentative aim at those who've disparaged his ambitions.
"Taking refuge in the status quo because others refuse to change is not an answer," said the text read Tuesday by Lt.-Gov. Steven Point but unmistakably voicing Campbell's thoughts. "The argument that B.C.'s mitigation efforts are, in global terms, too minuscule to matter, misses the point."
Never mind those tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions spewing from coal-fired power plants in China.
Never mind that Alberta's expectations for increasing emissions by 2020 exceeds B.C.'s targets for reducing them.
Our premier is worried about quantities far smaller than the tonne. "Every molecule of carbon dioxide released into our atmosphere by human activities matters," the speech declared.
"It hangs there for decades or even centuries and adds to the accumulated burden of global warming on our planet."
They were the words of a Gordon Campbell throne speech. But they would not be out of place in the mouth of the greenest activist.
Along those same lines, the speech cautioned today's crop of legislators against being "generationally selfish" -- putting current interests ahead of future generations.
"Critical to our success is long-term thinking that transcends the timelines of electoral cycles," was the way the speech put it.
"Most members of this legislature will not be alive in 2050. But most have or will have children and grandchildren who will be. It is for them and all who follow in our footsteps that today's decision makers must act."
Not the usual theme for a government facing the start of a reelection campaign in 14 months, as this one does. But it fits Campbell's current visionary and activist frame of mind.
More than three decades in public life, 14 years in the legislature, seven as premier, and he shows no sign of losing interest in the job or running out of ideas.
On the contrary, the throne speech overflowed with proposals and not just on the environment. There were 10 pages on health care and several on education and other social concerns.
About the only area where the Liberals didn't offer much was on the economy. They figure it's ticking along well enough to make do with a forestry roundtable, the promise of an agriculture plan and a few other tidbits.
Some of the throne speech proposals displayed the premier's penchant for loading up the public sector with agencies and programs for this, that and the other thing, all set out in capital letters.
Forests for Tomorrow. Live Smart BC. Brownfields to Greenfields. Youth Climate Leadership Alliance. Youth Live Smart. Trees for Tomorrow. Centre for Brain Health. Walking School Bus. Bicycle Train. Early Childhood Learning Agency. Centre for Autism Education and Research. And the Hip Centre, which regrettably has nothing to do with jazz musicians or beat poetry.
But in the midst of that bewildering variety of possibilities, one comes across an item that as a standalone announcement would probably make a front-page story.
This: "British Columbians want to understand why sentences in their province tend to be shorter than in other provinces for crimes such as homicide, theft, property crimes, fraud, impaired driving and drug possession. A comprehensive review of sentencing practices in B.C. courts will address those questions."
Or this: "New powers will be given to the college of teachers to remove teaching certificates from any member who is found to be incompetent."
Or the call for a tax-sheltered savings account that would allow people to put money aside for home support or assisted living in their old age.
But one has to note that this was a typical throne speech, meaning it came minus budget figures, legislation or the other trappings of actual, cost-able, checkable programs.
On climate change, for instance, the government won't be laying out the "action plan" for several more weeks.
"It will be annually updated and founded on personal responsibility, sound science and economic reality," the speech promised.
"And it will be driven by one simple truth: It is people who cause global warming and it is people who must act to stop it."
Details to follow. But as for the vision thing, he's got it and got it big.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
Small-gov't Campbell plants big-gov't seedlings
Michael Smyth
The Province
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Once upon a time, there was a premier who believed the No. 1 job of government was to get out of people's lives and out of your wallet.
That premier was Gordon Campbell. Remember him? The guy who said he could run the province with a dozen cabinet ministers and around half the MLAs we have now?
That Campbell was a big believer in smaller government.
"It is time to rein government in," Campbell said then. "It is too big, out of touch and too expensive."
Looks like Mr. Lean And Mean must have misplaced his ThighMaster. Now Campbell's roly-poly government is sprouting more new tentacles than squids during mating season. Yesterday's throne speech unveiled at least 17 new government programs and agencies, many of which appear to duplicate work already being done by other departments. "Your government will build on the expertise and success of the Brain Research Centre with a new Centre For Brain Health," Lt.-Gov. Steven Point told the legislature. Now, I'm all for brain centres, but do we really need one for each cerebral hemisphere?
But the announcement soon became a recurring theme in the speech: Why create just one government bureaucracy when two will do? There's the new "LiveSmart B.C. Initiative," for example, to create "more people-friendly neighbourhoods." But if that's not enough to rock your world, there's also the "Youth LiveSmart Outreach Campaign" that will encourage "young British Columbians to make carbon-smart lifestyle choices."
Just what we needed! And the two-for-one deals didn't end there. "A new Trees For Tomorrow program will launch a large, urban afforestation initiative," Point revealed. Then a few minutes later, he added: "The Forests For Tomorrow program will plant an additional 60 million seedlings over the next four years."
I know what you're thinking: What, no Woods For Tomorrow program? No Timberlands For Tomorrow secretariat? No Shrubbery For Tomorrow community round table?
Don't worry. Those are probably coming in the budget next week.
Meanwhile, you have lots of other new government programs to get excited about, like the B.C. Patient Safety Council; the Brownfields to Greenfields Redevelopment Strategy; the B.C. Bioenergy Strategy; the Citizens Conservation Council; the Youth Climate Leadership Alliance; the Walking School Bus Program; the Bicycle Train Program; the Patient Care Quality Review Board (five of those, actually); the Health Profession Review Board; the Community Safety Strategy; the Early Childhood Learning Agency; the Centre For Autism Education and Research; the Education Quality Assurance Program; and the Working Roundtable On Forestry.
Don't bother asking how much all these new programs will cost or why many of them apparently need their own government departments or bureaucracies to function. Those are the type of questions that simply don't get answered on throne speech day.
Just be grateful that Campbell, the guy who promised to rein in government, now has the wisdom to set up a Trees For Tomorrow program and a Forests For Tomorrow program at the same time -- even if you think he can't see the forest for the trees.
© The Vancouver Province 2008
Green Gord: Unclear on Concept?
By Andrew MacLeod
TheTyee.ca
February 13, 2008
Throne speech still fuzzy on global warming plan.
Premier Gordon Campbell's position at the head of the climate change fighting parade has been drawing criticism from the province's business leaders, so observers were wondering if the Feb. 12 throne speech would signal a renewed commitment to the file or a retreat.
They could not have been disappointed by the volume. The 42-page speech, delivered by Lt.-Gov. Steven Point, included a laundry list of ongoing projects and a few new promises, much of it focussed on the inter-related issues of climate change, forestry and the environment. There was little, however, that could be construed as a plan.
The Tyee actively requests that its material not be reproduced for public use. The full text of this article article is, of course, available at the Tyee, right here.
'Progress' on native concerns rings hollow with the leaders
Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The B.C. government's 2008 speech from the throne commenced with the promise of additional progress in the budding new relationship with aboriginal people.
"History has taught us that we all move forward by moving beyond positions that have held us back," said the text, written in the premier's office and read by the first lieutenant-governor of aboriginal heritage, Steven Point. "Working together, we are opening new doors for progress."
But that passage must have been greeted with a sense of irony by many of the province's aboriginal leaders, given the lack of progress on a key concern of theirs.
Native leaders have been pressing the provincial government to adopt what they call the Recognition Act, formally recognizing aboriginal rights and title.
As well, the act would set out the legal framework for "consultation and accommodation," two key concepts to emerge from a 2004 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada.
Essentially, the high court said the provincial government must consult natives and accommodate their interests whenever decisions would significantly affect their rights and title.
In effect, the law would set out the guidelines for those consultations -- when they would kick in, what form they would take -- and the mechanisms for accommodating interests. It would bind all provincial government ministries, agencies and Crown corporations to the same set of rules, attempting to bring order and certainty to the process.
Native leaders began pressing for the legislation in the wake of the generally upbeat mood surrounding the announcement of the new relationship in 2005 and early progress toward reconciliation in 2006.
The Liberals had already recognized rights and title in the speech from the throne. They also issued general directives to government agencies to consult and accommodate.
So the government agreed to discuss the proposed legislation in face-to-face negotiations, believing it might offer an alternative to endless litigation around the meaning of rights and title, consultation and accommodation.
But privately some members of the government worried that, far from ending litigation, the legislation might open the way to more action in the courts.
Natives would use the bill as leverage to wring concessions from the Crown on land use, development and other decisions.
If they didn't get what they wanted through the legislative process, they could still go to court and ask for more -- since provincial law could not possibly limit their rights and prerogatives under the Constitution.
There were growing concerns, too, about the scope of the legislation.
It would apply to hundreds of government departments and agencies, thousands of decisions, uncounted legislative and regulatory powers.
Could a single bill cover all that without generating myriad unintended consequences?
While the government representatives agonized over the very idea of the legislation, the natives submitted a draft text -- their version of the Recognition Act.
I've not seen the text, but I gather it increased the anxieties on the government side. The Liberals decided the concept needed a lot more work before it could make the grade as government legislation.
Premier Gordon Campbell and Aboriginal Relations Minister Mike de Jong delivered the word in a meeting with native leaders late last week.
They relayed the concerns about the scope and powers of the proposed legislation. They indicated the bill was unlikely to see the light of day in the spring session of the legislature; indeed, there was no mention of it in the speech from the throne.
At the same time, the premier and the minister expressed a willingness to continue working on some sort of legislative framework for consultation and accommodation, if only natives would be patient.
I'm not aware of any formal response from native leaders to the rebuff from the Liberals.
But the informal response was evident in their absence from the legislature on throne speech day.
Two native leaders, Chief Joe Hall of the Tzeachten First Nation and Chief Frank Malloway of the Yakweakwioose First Nation, were present on the floor of the house.
But they came because the provincial government had finally responded favourably to their persistent entreaties to help fund a native healing centre in their traditional territory.
The promised Stehiyaq Healing and Wellness Centre would be located in the valley of the Chilliwack River.
Otherwise, none of the major first nations leaders -- including those who've attended Liberal budgets and throne speeches in the past -- accepted invitations to be in the house to hear this year's throne speech.
Not intended as a show of disrespect to the new lieutenant-governor, I would think. Rather, a comment on the way the new relationship with the Liberals is increasingly under strain.
© The Vancouver Sun 2008
The new Throne speech energy corridor proposal turns rumblings from a pipeline giant into a real threat of oil spills.
Charles Campbell
Dogwood Initiative
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Announcements by energy giant Enbridge and the BC government look to clear First Nation and environmental obstacles to tanker traffic along BC’s coast. But public opinion remains firmly against tankers on our coast.
Two events in the past week have made those concerned about the possibility of oil spills along BC’s coast stand up and take notice. The first was Enbridge’s February 9th announcement that it had secured “third party funding” to push its Gateway pipeline project through the regulatory process. The Gateway Project is a pipeline proposal to export up to 1,000,000 barrels of tar sands crude per day to China via a tanker port in Kitimat. The project has met strong resistance from First Nations and environmental groups concerned about the likelihood of oil spills in Queen Charlotte sound, near Haida Gwaii and along the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest.
A year and a half ago, after numerous delays to the project largely due to the efforts of First Nations and environmental groups, the money for Gateway particularly Chinese financing began to dry up and Enbridge shelved their proposal. The rumoured new money behind the push indicates that wheels are once again turning.
The second event was a single line in a press release accompanying this year’s Throne speech. It said the government would be “pursuing creation of a new northern energy corridor from Prince Rupert to Prince George.” For ‘energy corridor’ read ‘pipelines and transmission lines’. This seemingly innocuous language means that the government is willing to do the heavy lifting with First Nations negotiations and environmental assessment for energy projects in the north, “streamlining” the process for companies like Enbridge.
To date the greatest obstacle to tanker traffic and oil spills on our coast has been determined First Nations opposition. Enbridge initially shelved its Gateway Project after the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council filed a law suit to halt Enbridge’s joint National Energy Board/Environmental Assessment. In a move that echoed a successful First Nation suit involving the McKenzie Gas Pipeline, they claimed the crown had failed in its obligations to consult the First Nation. That lawsuit hasn’t been resolved.
An ‘energy corridor’ would significantly undermine First Nations ability to have input into individual projects. The government is looking to grant a general right of way for energy transmission – be that oil, gas or condensate pipelines or power-lines. Good news for energy companies, not such good news for the rest of us.
There are currently oil and gas proposals on the table that, if approved, would see up to 320 tankers per year plying our northern coastal waters. At that rate industry averages suggest we would see a major oil spill every 6-7 years. For those of us who love our coast and are aware of the long term impact of the Exxon Valdez spill that’s just not acceptable.
Despite the rhetoric about aggressive action on climate change, the BC government is now trying to undermine the ability of First Nations to ensure the continued health of our coast. Now it is up to the people of BC to say no to tanker traffic. With polls showing 75% of British Columbians oppose oil tanker traffic we have the numbers on our side. Now it’s time to raise our voices.
http://www.dogwoodinitiative.org/bulletins/energycorridor/
2008 BC Speech from the Throne
Comments on the Throne Speech will be in a subsequent posting
Download this release
Download the full text of the Speech from the Throne
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2008OTP0031-000196
Feb. 12, 2008
Office of the Premier
THRONE SPEECH LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR NEXT GENERATIONS
VICTORIA - The fourth session of the 38th parliament was launched today with a speech from the throne that lays out new measures to create safe, secure communities, build excellence in education, further strengthen the New Relationship with First Nations, and give British Columbians options to become personally involved in combating climate change.
"Many members of this legislature will not be alive in 2050, but most have or will have children and grandchildren who will be. It is for them that today's decision makers must take action," said Premier Gordon Campbell. "By living smarter, we can save energy, water, fuel consumption, time and money. We can reduce waste and get better value from our land, our limited natural resources and our tax dollars."
A healthy environment and educated populace are essential to healthy human development and a globally competitive economy. A safe, humane society is the object and outcome of an enlightened, prosperous and caring community. The bedrock of each goal is a strong economy.
Government outlines new LiveSmart BC strategy:
* LiveSmart BC will reward smart choices that will save energy, water, fuel, time and money.
* The new LiveSmart BC initiative will help to contain urban sprawl and reward development that creates more affordable housing, new green spaces and more people-friendly neighbourhoods.
* Consumers will be given new tools to help conserve energy and save money on their power bills, such as Power Smart meters that will be installed in every home in British Columbia by 2012. That will give families new information and control over their power consumption.
* New "inclining block" rate structures will also allow families to choose and save by making Power Smart choices.
* These changes and the BC Energy Plan will be supported by a new legislated direction for the BC Utilities Commission.
* Green developments waiting for provincial environmental approvals will be fast-tracked and given priority.
* The new Green Building Code will be finalized and implemented to save energy and water.
* All new provincial public buildings will be constructed to LEED Gold or equivalent standards. Existing buildings will be retrofitted to make them more energy efficient, climate friendly and healthier for public servants.
* Higher densities will be encouraged around new transit routes to help make them more affordable and create affordable housing.
* Legislation will require local governments to incorporate greenhouse gas reduction targets and supporting strategies in their Official Community Plans and Regional Growth Strategies.
* Legislation will be introduced this session to facilitate British Columbia's participation in a regional "cap and trade" system that is being developed under the Western Climate Initiative. The framework for that system is scheduled for completion this year.
* A new Citizens' Conservation Council will support B.C.'s mitigation efforts with public education campaigns that will give citizens the tools and information they need to make informed choices.
* A new Youth Climate Leadership Alliance will be formed that will comprise students and other young people from across B.C. It will undertake paid government-sponsored field research, mitigation work, afforestation projects and adaptation efforts.
* A new Youth LiveSmart outreach campaign will encourage young British Columbians to make carbon-smart lifestyle choices that are good for the environment, their health, their pocketbooks and our planet.
* The Scrap-It program will be expanded to get older vehicles with higher emissions off the road.
* Other LiveSmart BC education and outreach initiatives will be launched by the government and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.
Other initiatives to safeguard the environment and tackle climate change include:
* The Province will pursue a goal of zero net deforestation, and work with First Nations, industry and communities to put that goal into law by 2010 and establish a viable strategy for realizing that vision by 2015.
* A new Trees for Tomorrow program will launch a large, urban afforestation initiative. Millions of trees will be planted in backyards, schoolyards, hospital grounds, civic parks, campuses, parking lots and other public spaces across B.C.
* Major investments in tree nurseries will be made to assist this initiative.
* All forest land currently identified as not sufficiently restocked will be replanted and no "NSR" backlogs will be allowed to develop in ensuing years.
* The Forests for Tomorrow program will plant an additional 60 million seedlings over the next four years.
* The discharge of landfill gas will be regulated to foster the capture and conversion of emissions into clean energy.
* A new "Brownfields to Greenfields" redevelopment strategy will target existing "dirty" sites for the creation of well-treed, green, liveable communities.
* Standards for low-carbon fuel content will be adopted to reduce the carbon intensity of motor vehicle fuels by 10 per cent by 2020, and new incentives will be created to encourage the purchase of fuel efficient vehicles.
* The new BC Bioenergy Strategy will create new opportunities in clean technology for rural communities, for independent power producers, and for our forest and agriculture industries.
* New investments will be made in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered buses, clean retrofits of dirty diesel trucks and the electrification of truck stops.
* The Innovative Clean Energy Fund will help create 100,000 solar roofs in British Columbia and build on B.C.'s expertise in solar technology. * A new Pacific Carbon Trust will foster economic growth from new opportunities in carbon credit trading and carbon offsets. The Trust will invest in made-in-B.C. offset projects that produce emissions reductions that are permanent, measurable, verifiable, and additional, and that are regulated by government. Projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration - including incremental tree planting - will all be eligible.
* The Trust will manage the revenues generated from government's plan to become carbon neutral by 2010. It will be open to offset purchases from private citizens, companies and other governments alike.
* The Province will expand British Columbia's hydrometric and other climate-related networks to improve our ability to monitor, predict and adapt to these conditions.
* The legislature will be asked to adopt new California-equivalent vehicle tailpipe emission standards, in tandem with California and a number of other states and provinces.
* Amendments to the Wildlife Act will build on the Mountain Caribou Recovery Plan, the Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery Project and the Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy.
* Tough new penalties will prevent and punish poaching and killing endangered species.
* Comprehensive air and water stewardship strategies will be released this spring, as new steps are taken to combat global warming. * This session, all members will be asked to build on the record of environmental stewardship with new conservancies and parks envisioned in approved land use plans.
* A climate action plan will be released shortly after the budget. It will be annually updated and founded on personal responsibility, sound science and economic reality.
Live smart means safe, supportive communities. Initiatives to create safe, secure communities include:
* A comprehensive review of sentencing practices will address why sentences in B.C. tend to be shorter than in other provinces for crimes such as theft, homicide, property crimes, fraud, impaired driving and drug possession. It will also assess how the federal government's anti-crime measures might affect demands on our police, Crown prosecutors, courts and correctional system.
* That information will contribute to a Community Safety Strategy that will be released this fall. That strategy will include enhanced policing, new community courts and expanded correctional capacity.
* Amendments to the Police Act will aim to implement Josiah Wood's recommendations to improve transparency, accountability and public confidence in the police complaints process.
* An updated 10-year mental health plan will be completed.
* Patients with severe mental illnesses who require intensive, sustained and complex medical treatment will be provided care in new and existing facilities at Willingdon in Burnaby, which will be retrofitted and opened this year, and at Riverview in Coquitlam.
* A new multi-year investment will be made to revitalize Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Anchored by the new Woodward's project, new public initiatives will be undertaken in partnership with the city and the neighbourhoods to enhance the 40-block area that includes Gastown, Chinatown, Strathcona and Japantown.
* Communities will be required to include provision for mental health and addiction service facilities in their community plans. * Expanded outreach programs will help lift people out of the street and offer them personalized support.
* A "211" service, in partnership with the United Way, will be launched to give citizens new telephone access to information about the full range of social services offered in their communities.
* The Province will work with local governments to explore the potential to further integrate policing and to examine the possibilities for amalgamating police forces.
* More will also be done, as government implements the Hughes recommendations on child protection, improves programs to prevent violence against women, and increases support to people with developmental disabilities, children with special needs and their families.
New initiatives to strengthen the New Relationship with B.C.'s First Nations include:
* Support for fast-tracked treaty negotiations at common tables, as suggested by the BC Treaty Commission and First Nations. * Pursuing "incremental treaty agreements" to help First Nations benefit earlier in the treaty-making process.
* Aboriginal rights to harvest wood for domestic purposes on Crown land will be given new statutory recognition.
* New investments in carbon offset projects that benefit First Nations will be an integral part of government's climate action plan.
* The Province will work with First Nations and the federal government to put Jordan's Principle into action, and to strengthen services for Aboriginal children and families. That principle says the interests of Aboriginal children must always be paramount, and that no child, on- or off-reserve, should be put at risk due to jurisdictional disputes.
* New legislation will enable Aboriginal authorities to assume legal responsibility for the delivery of most child and family services in their communities.
* The Province will contribute to the establishment of the Stehiyaq Healing and Wellness Village in the Fraser Valley. * New mechanisms will facilitate effective engagement of all parties in meaningful consultation and help First Nations participate as equity partners in major economic development projects.
New initiatives to build educational excellence include:
* A new program leading to a certificate in leadership will be introduced for teachers.
* New powers will be given to the College of Teachers to remove the teaching certificate of any member who is found to be incompetent. * New steps will be taken to expand B.C.'s public university system, provide new clarity of purpose in our post-secondary institutions and create new opportunities for higher learning. Funding will be targeted where it is needed most, to meet skills demands with added training capacity for skilled workers.
* The Provincial Nominee Program and the successful Skills Connect for Immigrants program will be expanded to help meet the demand for skilled workers.
* Post-secondary students will be given new consumer protection as institutional accountability is strengthened under the new Education Quality Assurance program.
* A major new arts endowment will provide lasting benefits to all British Columbians.
* Steps will be taken to enhance the Vancouver Art Gallery's international reputation as a showcase of B.C. art of all genres, cultures and regions.
* The Province will support the establishment of a National Maritime Centre for the Pacific and the Arctic in North Vancouver.
New initiatives for B.C. children include:
* Another 316 StrongStart BC centres will be added in the next two years, for a total of 400 in B.C. by 2010. StrongStart BC is a free, drop-in early learning program for preschool-aged children accompanied by a parent or caregiver.
* A new Early Childhood Learning Agency will be established. It will assess the feasibility and costs of full school day kindergarten for five-year-olds. It will also undertake a feasibility study of providing parents with the choice of day-long kindergarten for four-year-olds by 2010, and for three-year-olds by 2012. That report will be completed and released within the year.
* A new Centre for Autism Education and Research will be developed that will provide a residential environment for children with autism and create a national hub for research and a centre for parental supports.
* Creating new "Walking School Bus" and "Bicycle Train" programs to encourage children to walk or bicycle to school with adult supervision.
* Enacting new legislation to ban smoking in vehicles when children are present.
* Expanded pediatric oncology research will offer new hope for cancer prevention and treatment specifically focused on children.
* Committing to the upgrading and expansion of BC Children's Hospital.
Next week's budget will build on other initiatives to support B.C.'s continued economic prosperity that include:
* Pursuing creation of a new northern energy corridor from Prince Rupert to Prince George.
* Pursue the next phase of the Port of Prince Rupert development, in co-operation with First Nations and the federal government.
* Working with the federal government, a new integrated Pacific Ports Strategy will also be developed to make the most of Canada's Pacific Gateway.
* Amendments to the Employment Standards Act will improve protection for farm workers and prohibit agricultural producers from using unlicensed farm labour contractors.
* The new Working Roundtable on Forestry will recommend new possibilities for forestry, including new tenures; and a 90-day regulatory and process review will cut unnecessary administrative and process costs.
* New pension bridging opportunities will be developed for older workers nearing retirement. New training opportunities will also be offered to help forest workers who have been temporarily laid off to upgrade skills and earning potential.
* The new BC Bioenergy Strategy will create new opportunities in cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other clean, renewable fuels.
* The consultation now underway will continue to advance the potential for Site C, which could be a major economic catalyst for rural British Columbia in years to come.
* A new British Columbia Agriculture Plan will ensure farming continues to have a bright future in B.C.
-30-
Media contact:
Dale Steeves
Communications Director
Office of the Premier
250 387-6605
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the
Province's news feeds using RSS, visit the Province's website at
www.gov.bc.ca.
Download the full text of the Speech from the Throne
February 08, 2008
Clean power bridge? Or a bridge to the past?
COMMENT:
A bridge to the past
Clean power bridge? Stepping-stone? WestPac LNG spokesmen can't figure out how to spin their project.
BC Hydro says in its 2007 Annual Report that 1.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHGs) were created in British Columbia from electricity generation. GHG emissions in BC from all sources are 65-80 million tonnes. So only about 1.5 percent of our provincial GHGs are attributable to electricity.
Thanks to the huge hydroelectric legacy bequeathed to us by W.A.C. Bennett, British Columbians can boast that we are among the lowest GHG emitters in the world when it comes to electricity generation. That's not a problem that needs fixing. It certainly does not need the "fix" proposed by WestPac LNG.
The Texada generation project will generate up to 4 million tonnes of GHGs per year, tripling the provincial output. Some bridge. That's gotta be a "fix" of a different sort, because it certainly doesn't mean "repair" or "make better."
WestPac's gas plant may be as big as 1200 megawatts (MW), or five times the size of the former Duke Point project. Duke Point, readers may remember, was rejected in 2003 by the BC Utilities Commission and was cancelled in 2005 by BC Hydro and the BC Government. If Duke Point was not good for BC at 260 MW, how could the Texada project be good for BC at 1200 MW?
As for the natural gas, BC already produces far more gas than we use. The surplus is sold into the United States. So all the gas that WestPac proposes bringing to Texada Island will merely displace BC gas in the pipeline, causing an equivalent amount of BC gas to join that which is already being delivered to US markets. In effect, WestPac is proposing to import gas to BC to serve the US. Maybe that's what they mean by "bridge" and Texada is just a "stepping-stone."
The facts are pretty easy to understand. WestPac's Texada project is a bridge straight back to the thinking that got us to the problem that Premier Campbell is trying to fix. It is a stepping-stone to rubbing our collective faces in our concerns about climate change.
WestPac is all about making money for its investors. The Premier's climate change agenda is all about saving the world. Holy smokes. Difficult choice.
Clean power bridge
Laura Walz -- Peak Editor
Powell River Peak
Feb 7, 2008
BC introducing emission hard caps
Proponents of a combined liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and natural gas-fired electrical generation facility for the north-end of Texada Island say their project will provide a stepping-stone to the goal of producing power without emitting greenhouse gases (GHG).
Stu Leson, WestPac LNG Corporation president, and Bob Green, vice-president, business development, were in Powell River on Wednesday and Thursday, January 30 and 31. They said the company continues to wait for a provincial climate action team to determine sector targets, part of an initiative to reduce GHG. Legislation is expected to be introduced this spring to allow for the creation of market mechanisms, making BC the first province in Canada to legally require hard caps on GHG emissions. Those caps will be used as part of a "cap-and-trade system" that is scheduled to be developed by next August through the Western Climate Initiative.
"Every time we turn around this issue of how they are going to establish this cap-and-trade system, it becomes more complicated," said Leson. "We thought it was going to be some combination of western states and perhaps British Columbia. But now Canada it seems is trying to get together all of the provinces and come up with a system. Everybody has a lot of questions and it doesn't seem like anybody has answers or solutions. We really have to wait until some of the rules are established before we go too far with the final design of the projects."
Green, a chemical engineer who was a director of the BC Energy Commission, the precursor of the BC Utilities Commission, said the issue also involves a national political dilemma. "Currently, BC would like to see itself as the centre of the cap-and-trade system," he said. "Quebec would like to see itself as the centre of the cap-and-trade system. Ottawa is still on the fence, deciding how they want to deal with this issue."
Alberta has its own agenda because it has the responsibility in Canada to meet the energy needs of a good portion of North America, Green added. "Their situation is quite different and their viewpoint is quite different than others, because they are struggling to meet that responsibility as best they can," he said. "It is a complex issue. In the states, you have equally, if not more, complex issues to deal with. There is this need that has to be met, but how do you get people to agree on a course of action when the rules of the game are not quite clear?"
Green has also worked for West Coast Energy and owned his own business, Coast Pacific Management Inc., a natural gas marketing company that was bought by Avista Energy Canada Ltd. of Washington State.
The eventual goal is to produce power without emitting GHG, Green agreed, but it is a very difficult thing to accomplish. "It's what we aspire to, but to achieve that goal, there are a lot of things that have to occur," he said. "Ultimately, the people who are affected are the ones who have to buy into this. They have to agree, absolutely, to conserve and reduce their energy consumption."
There's some distance to go before that attitude becomes ingrained, Green added. "In the meantime, the world's not going to stop. It's still going to need the energy and it will be people like us and projects like ours to provide this stepping stone to that goal in the future."
While the company waits for the new provincial regulations, Green said he and Leson continue to advance the project within the confines of existing policy. "We're keeping aware of the changing policy within the energy milieu," he said. "We're keeping people, governments and government agencies informed of projects like this and we're examining the broad needs of the Powell River area."
While in town, one of the meetings Leson and Green had was with a group of people under the age of 35, who call themselves Emerging Leaders. The group meets about once a month, according to its spokesman Kevin Sigouin, and has had presentations from a range of people, including City of Powell River Mayor Stewart Alsgard, chief administrative officer Stan Westby, Tla'Amin (Sliammon) First Nation Chief Walter Paul, and Dave Formosa, president of the Powell River Chamber of Commerce. "It's an opportunity to hear from people in the know and ask them good questions afterwards," said Sigouin. "It's been really good."
The group wanted to hear from WestPac representatives, Sigouin added. "We had an opportunity to sit down with them, ask them pointed questions, hear them out," he said. "We thought we were going to be talking about WestPac and their plans for Texada, but 75 per cent of our time was debating our society and what we need to do to reduce our energy consumption."
Primary public view on the climate plan: Don't screw up the economy
Vaughn Palmer
Vancouver Sun
February 07, 2008
When a B.C. Liberal-dominated committee toured the province seeking feedback on the "climate action plan," the first thing it heard was that the government should not do anything to screw up the economy.
"A clear and unsolicited message the committee heard was that measures to reduce greenhouse gases must neither adversely affect the B.C.'s strong economic position nor increase the province's debt-to-GDP ratio," the committee reported.
"This message was reiterated time and time again."
A second finding was that government should be careful about loading on the carbon taxes.
Such taxes should be a "second choice," after government exhausts the possibilities for "incentive-based programs," the committee concluded.
Those recommendations were contained in a report from the legislature finance committee, delivered last November.
The panel had toured the province at the behest of Finance Minister Carole Taylor, seeking public views on this year's budget and economic plan. Among other things, she wanted know what the public would support in terms of incentives, disincentives and taxes in the fight against climate change.
The answers, though they've been on the record since the 100-page report was released, take on additional importance with the approach of this year's throne speech (next Tuesday) and budget (Feb. 19.) So it will be instructive to see if the Liberals were guided by the committee's generally cautionary findings, particularly on the taxation issue.
For instance, Taylor says any tax on emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should be "revenue neutral."
But in almost the same breath, she claims that the definition is broad enough to allow government to retain the proceeds from any carbon tax, providing the money is spent on a "dedicated purpose."
Not so, according to the legislature committee. It adopted a much narrower definition of revenue neutrality, whereby "increased revenues from a carbon tax would be offset by lowering other taxes, such as income tax."
The committee did receive numerous submissions calling for greenhouse gas emissions to be taxed at a rate of $30 to $50 per tonne, which would translate to seven to 12 cents a litre in the case of gasoline. But it concluded that at least some of those submissions were the result of an orchestrated campaign by "technologically savvy environmental advocacy organizations."
It also took note of concerns about "fairness and equity" in the application of carbon taxes.
"If a carbon tax is applied across the board, there would be a negative impact on particular groups, such as low-income earners, rural British Columbians and those without access to public transportation."
Hence a recommendation that the makers of any new tax should be mindful of the need to cushion those least able to pay it.
"Should the government choose a carbon tax," the committee said, "it should take measures to mitigate the impacts of such a tax on lower- and middle-income families." The report also urged the government to "recognize a clear urban/rural divide with respect to increases in transportation-related taxation."
Over to you Finance Minister Taylor.
None of this should be interpreted as lack of public support for action on climate change.
"The vast majority of British Columbians taking part in this year's budget consultation process want the government to take decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," the committee said. But in the main the public preferred incentives rather than punitive action, a view the committee members came to share.
"While the committee is not entirely against introducing new forms of taxation to address climate change, we strongly believe that the government should -- as first priority -- consider incentive-based programs targeting behavioural change in both individuals and businesses."
The report's mainly positive recommendations included calls for everything from "measures to promote environmentally friendly consumer packaging" to "programs to improve the efficiency of B.C.'s trucking fleet."
Another key finding was that people did not know nearly enough about what could and should be done. "As a first step," the committee endorsed "the creation of a website that will provide factual information on the impacts of climate change, information on what steps individuals and business can take to reduce their environmental impact, and serve as repository of the myriad of programs and ideas available to individuals and business willing to change their behaviour."
In short, before the government plunges too deeply into this crusade, it needs to tell British Columbians a lot more about what it is doing, could be doing and why.
Worth noting, too, that all these findings were unanimous, endorsed by the six B.C. Liberals on the committee as well as the four members of the Opposition.
February 06, 2008
BC Hydro launches Bioenergy Call for Power
February 6, 2008
BC Hydro to advance bioenergy production to utilize wood fibre
Vancouver – BC Hydro today released the first phase of its two-phase Bioenergy Call for Power with a request for proposals that will utilize forest-based biomass, including sawmill residues, logging debris and other residual wood for power production.
The Bioenergy Call will consist of two phases: the first phase will be a competitive request for proposals open to projects that are immediately viable and do not need new tenure from the Ministry of Forests and Range, with a goal of having electricity purchase agreements signed by fall of 2008.
The second phase will be launched by July 2008, after the ongoing biomass inventory and forest tenure analysis is completed by the Ministry of Forests and Range.
"This first phase will promote investment in new technology and take advantage of underutilized wood residue," said Rich Coleman, Minister of Forests and Range.
The Bioenergy Call for Power is a key component of the provincial government's Bioenergy Strategy, released last week, and the BC Energy Plan. It is intended to help address the effects of the mountain pine beetle infestation, while at the same time developing new sources of clean energy.
"The Bioenergy Call will help B.C. achieve its target for zero net greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen our long-term competitiveness and diversify rural economies," said Richard Neufeld, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources.
"Bioenergy is an innovative new source of power that is also clean, and this Call for Power will help BC Hydro meet the province's growing electricity needs," said Bob Elton, BC Hydro President and CEO.
Contact:
Susan Danard
Media Relations
Phone: (604) 623-4220
COAL: Screaming coal prices and a new coal mine on Vancouver Island?
COMMENT:The news article which follows is pointing at recent price rises for thermal and metallurgical coal. Some of BC's small coal miners react to this kind of news like Santa has just arrived and certainly spot prices of $200 a ton are a coal companies best Christmas ever. But the article also explains why these coal prices are so high right now, and it's all incidental transitory stuff - power cuts, flooding, snowstorms. You don't open new mines or enter into long term contracts based on such ephemera.
Nevertheless, Compliance Energy has announced a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese and a Korean company which reads as if these companies are about to fund a new coal mine on Vancouver Island. Whoa. Hold on.
Actually, no money will exchange hands at least until after the "due diligence" period which ends May 31. And even then, if it moves to the next stage, agreements will have to be signed, and then perhaps $600,000 will be paid to Compliance. This style of announcement is typical of the bottom-of-the-barrel companies that inhabit the TSE Ventures Exchange.
Here's another "nevertheless", and even a "however" for good measure: Nevertheless, and however, you may want to watch Compliance.
- Over the last couple of years it has been testing and sampling two potential coal mine sites on Vancouver Island, the Bear and Raven deposits. Both are on the western edge of the Comox Coalfield, between the Tsable and Trent Rivers, between Fanny Bay/Union Bay/Denman Island and Courtenay.
- Compliance is also acquiring substantial coal rights from West Fraser, and may intend to start exploring those rights for coalbed methane potential.
FYI, thermal coal is a lower grade than metallurgical coal. British Columbia mainly mines and exports metallurgical coal. There is no export market for BC's thermal coal because of shipping costs. Australian thermal coal has a readier export market in China and Japan. Compliance is here talking mainly about thermal coal.
COMPLIANCE SIGNS MOU WITH ITOCHU CORPORATION AND LG INTERNATIONAL CORP. TO ADVANCE THE RAVEN COAL PROJECT
Vancouver, B.C., February 1, 2008 - Compliance Energy Corporation (the "Company") announces that it has signed an exclusive Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with ITOCHU Corporation and LG International Corp. ("the Parties") for the development of the Raven Coal Project located on Vancouver Island. Under the terms of the MOU the Parties will make an initial payment of $600,000 to secure exclusivity in the project and subject to the favourable outcome of due diligence will fund the next $5.4 million in payments to earn up to a 50% interest in the Raven Coal Project. The $5.4 million will be spent as follows: $2.4 million to complete the purchase of the property and up to $3.0 million for environmental assessment studies and a bankable feasibility study. The MOU provides for a due diligence period up to May 31, 2008 at which time the Company and the Parties expect to have definitive agreements signed.
ITOCHU Corporation is a major Japanese trading house and, among other things, has extensive experience in the development of coal mines and the marketing and sale of coal globally and has investments in coal mines in Australia and Indonesia. ITOCHU had annual revenues of $22 billion US and Net Income of $1.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2007.
LG International Corp. is a leading general trader in Korea with a worldwide overseas branch network and has abundant experience in coal mining development and the marketing and sales of coal worldwide. LG International Corp. has annual revenues of $5.8 billion US and investments in coal mines in Russia, Australia, and Indonesia.
The Raven Coal Project located in the Comox Coal Basin of Vancouver Island, British Columbia covers an area of approximately 3100 hectares and has 39,093,000 tonnes of measured and indicated and 59,004,000 tonnes of inferred coal resources as reported in the Company’s technical report prepared by O.R. Cullingham Resource Consultant Ltd. (see press release May 29, 2007). The coal is classified as high volatile A Bituminous and is suitable for targeting the metallurgical coal market as a blend product or the thermal coal market. The Company recently completed a positive Preliminary Assessment Report on the Raven Coal Project. In the report, Associated Geosciences Ltd. of Calgary ("AGL") studied two production cases: one producing 823,000 tonnes of high volatile metallurgical coal per year and another producing 1,440,000 tonnes of thermal coal per year. Based on these studies AGL believes that the Raven Property warrants additional exploration and a feasibility study to form the basis of a production decision and that the estimated net present value of the project at a constant dollar discount rate of 12% is $105.6 million. AGL’s Preliminary Assessment was prepared by Peter Cain Ph.D., P.Eng. and Alan Craven P.Eng. who are the Independent Qualified Persons for reporting purposes as defined in NI 43-101Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Compliance Energy Corporation’s shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol CEC and investor information is available on the Company’s web page at www.complianceenergy.com.
On behalf of the Board of
COMPLIANCE ENERGY CORPORATION
John Tapics
Chief Executive Officer
Contact Rob Roney, Investor Relations at 250-897-0437 or Rod Shier, CFO at 604-689-0489 for further information.
www.complianceenergy.com
South African, Australian Coal Rise to Records on Supply Curbs
By Angela Macdonald-Smith and Alistair Holloway
Bloomberg.com
04-Feb-2008
A load of coal is loaded onto a ship berthed at the Port of Newcastle in
Australia, Sept. 3, 2007. Photographer: Andy Shaw/Bloomberg News
Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Coal jumped to records at South Africa's Richards Bay and Australia's Newcastle port as production was curbed by power cuts and flooding, while snowstorms disrupted mining and transportation in China.
Coal at Richards Bay rose $12.20, or 12 percent, to $111.30 a metric ton, according to McCloskey Group Ltd. figures. That's the biggest-ever weekly rise for the data on Bloomberg that go back to 2000. Prices at Newcastle climbed $23.09, or 25 percent, to $116.44 a ton in the week ended Feb. 1, according to the globalCOAL NEWC Index.
"It is another indicator of tightness" in supply of the fuel, Andrew Wells, an assistant editor at the Petersfield, England-based McCloskey, said by phone today.
The rising prices helped drive up coal producers' shares.
Centennial Coal Co., Australia's second-largest coal company by sales, gained 2.7 percent in Sydney trading and Gloucester Coal advanced 2.5 percent. China Shenhua Energy Co., the world's second-largest coal company, climbed as much as 5.5 percent in Hong Kong trading. U.K. Coal Plc rose as much as 2.2 percent in London.
Power shortages in South Africa forced Anglo American Plc to close mines last month.
Eskom Holdings Ltd., the nation's state-run power utility, is unable to meet demand after the government delayed a decision to expand generating capacity. Today it began cutting 1,500 megawatts of electricity to towns and cities.
Supply Needed
Eskom needs 5.4 million metric tons of additional coal in the next three months to restore stockpiles to 20 days of consumption.
In Australia, BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance is among mining companies that say they may miss deliveries after heavier-than-usual rain flooded pits in the world's biggest coal-exporting country.
Melbourne-based BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's biggest miner, said operations at its alliance with Mitsubishi Corp. may be affected for as long as six months.
The disruptions, in Queensland, are mostly affecting the now "unbelievably tight" metallurgical coal market, pushing up spot prices to about $200 or $210 a ton, Graham Wailes, a coal analyst at AME Mineral Economics Pty, said in Sydney.
The worst snowstorms in 50 years in China, the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, prompted the country to halt exports until April.
China Snows
More than three weeks of snow in central and southern China have brought transport networks to a standstill, killed at least 60 people and caused economic losses of at least 53.8 billion yuan ($7.5 billion). The country, reliant on coal for 78 percent of its power, is restricting exports to boost domestic supplies.
Indonesia may be unable to increase production of thermal coal sufficiently to compensate for shortages of supply elsewhere in Asia, as it has in the past, Wailes said.
"I just don't think the supply solution is readily available and that's probably why you've had these huge increases," he said.
GlobalCOAL's monthly index for Newcastle thermal coal prices rose $1.71, or 1.9 percent, to $90.87 a ton in January, the fourth successive monthly record. Newcastle is the world's biggest coal-export harbor.
The increase will influence negotiations scheduled to begin between suppliers and buyers on contract coal prices.
JPMorgan, UBS
UBS AG, Europe's biggest bank by assets, on Feb. 1 raised its forecasts for thermal coal contract prices for 2008 and 2009, citing the coal ``crisis'' in China and disruptions in Australia. Prices may reach $100 a ton this year and $125 in 2009, from previous estimates of $90 and $110, the bank said.
JPMorgan on Jan. 29 said it raised its estimate for 2008 contract prices for power-station coal to $90 a ton, from $70.
It boosted forecasts of 2008 prices for coal used in steelmaking to $140 a ton, from $120. Those for thermal coal are $55.65 a ton for the year that started April 1, while coking coal contract prices are $98.38, JPMorgan said.
In Europe, thermal coal for delivery to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Antwerp with settlement in the fourth quarter advanced $1, or 0.1 percent, to $126.50 a ton as of 4:37 p.m. in London, ICAP prices showed.
To contact the reporter on this story: Angela Macdonald-Smith in Sydney at amacdonaldsm@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 4, 2008 11:56 EST
February 01, 2008
How a filthy smelter can help clean up Alcan's books
PATRICK BRETHOUR
Globe and Mail
February 1, 2008
The creaking Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter in Kitimat is one of the great greenhouse gas sinners of British Columbia, placing a close second for the title of the province's worst climate change offender.
That looks to be a perilous position as British Columbia moves to implement policies to back up its pledge to slash greenhouse gases by a third over the next 12 years. All those carbon dioxide molecules streaming into the air will soon have a price. For Kitimat as it exists, any price for carbon is all pain, a liability on the balance sheet.
But two events this week, just hours apart, point to a much different possibility - of Kitimat's greenhouse gases becoming an asset for Alcan, one that might just tilt the balance in favour of proceeding with a $2-billion (U.S.) modernization project.
The first event was the revelation from B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell that Ontario and Quebec are interested in joining his climate change crusade and are now sitting as observers in the talks to set up a regional trading system to cut greenhouse gases.
Later in the day, the B.C. Utilities Commission gave its approval to a deal between B.C. Hydro and Alcan to sell electricity from Kemano, the power plant associated with the Kitimat smelter. That approval was the last condition Alcan had laid out before proceeding with Kitimat, and means the company will now scrutinize its internal financials before its board issues its verdict in April.
Whatever the other merits of the modernization project, it comes with a conspicuous benefit in Gordon Campbell's British Columbia: Greenhouse gas output would fall dramatically with the upgraded smelter, as modern technology took the place of machinery that was barely up to speed when it was installed in the 1950s. Even by the least favourable measure, Alcan's emissions would tumble by 40 per cent in B.C.
The same is not true for much of the company's operations in the rest of the country, where it either already has modern technology or doesn't have active plans to upgrade other older facilities.
And that is why the emerging alliance between B.C., Ontario and Quebec could be a significant plus for Kitimat and Alcan, as the three provinces lay the foundation for a cross-country trading system for greenhouse gas credits. The essence of that system is that those who cut emissions more than expected can cash in by selling the difference as a carbon credit to those who haven't found a cost-effective way to reduce their carbon output.
For now, all that is being said publicly is that Ontario and Quebec are attending the sessions as observers. But a senior official with the B.C. government confirms that the two eastern provinces want to join the Western Climate Initiative, (which may want to consider renaming itself shortly).
The rules are still being written for the WCI, but the senior official said the entire reason for the regional initiative is to allow for the trading of carbon credits across jurisdictions. Add it all up, and it means that Alcan could absorb the cost of reducing emissions in Quebec by cashing in carbon credits from British Columbia.
Alcan's stated preference is for an intensity-based system, where the yardstick would be the amount of greenhouse gases generated for a unit of production (in Alcan's case, per tonne of aluminum). On that basis, Kitimat's refurbished smokestacks look like even bigger assets, since Alcan estimates it will be able to slash its intensity by nearly two-thirds.
But even using the most stringent measurement, an absolute reduction in emissions, a significant amount of cash could be in play. The company says emissions would fall by 500,000 tonnes a year under the expansion project, even with output rising. Using the current price of carbon in European markets, that results in a credit worth about $15-million (Canadian).
Set against a total cost of $2-billion (U.S.), that sum might seem like a pittance. But the Kitimat project is, like every other major construction project in B.C., feeling the strains of inflation as the cost of steel, concrete and labour soar by double digits annually. That $15-million could spell the difference between a marginal project that falls short of an acceptable return, or one that just makes it over the hurdle - a shade of green that any executive can embrace.
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