Media Statement: September 25, 2014
Petronas LNG Announcement Highlights Need for Economic Back-Up Plan

For Immediate Release

Victoria B.C. – Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head and the Deputy Leader of the BC Green Party, says that Petronas’ threat to call off its $10-billion LNG project is another clear demonstration that British Columbia desperately needs an economic back-up plan.

“We have a government that has gone all-in on LNG,” says Weaver. “We have an official opposition that is essentially parroting the government in an attempt to appear job-friendly. The fact is, Petronas’ announcement has made clear what neither the government nor the opposition is willing to admit: That the promise of a ‘generational opportunity’ in LNG is a pipedream and we desperately need a back-up plan for when it fails.”

Petronas’ CEO, Shamsul Abbas, said that the development of an LNG export industry in Canada was over 40 years behind the United States. His statement echoes the conclusions of a recent Peters and Company report that noted that the U.S. Gulf Coast is now likely the most efficient place to construct LNG facilities in North America. In fact, according to regulatory filings, it would cost roughly twice as much to construct a facility in Canada as it would to build one on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Mr. Abbas was clear when quoted in the Financial Times: “Until investors cross the final investment line with an economically viable project, they remain just potential investors on paper”.

“I’ve been saying this since before the last election – the economics simply aren’t there for what the government is promising. It’s a race to the bottom to sell off our natural gas resources, at the expense of other opportunities.”

While, the government continues to double-down on LNG existing industries in B.C. have been neglected. A few years ago, B.C. was investing heavily in reliable, high-paying and up-and-coming sectors like the technology and renewable energy sectors. However with Premier Clark’s new singular focus on LNG, these sectors lack the certainty needed to continue to thrive. Anytime someone questions their approach, the government responds by saying “trust us.”

“We can no longer accept the government’s ‘trust us’ mantra on LNG development. Jobs and our economy are on the line here and British Columbians deserve to know that their government has a back-up plan for when the LNG dream fails.”

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Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
Mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
1 250 216 3382

This is the fifth in our series of stories celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of youth in our community. These inspirational young adults are enriching our lives with their passion and commitment to the betterment of society.

Tessa Owens

When Tessa was in Grade 6, she wrote herself a letter promising to devote her life to environmental advocacy. Six years later, it’s evident she has remained true to her word.  In everything she does, Tessa strives to continue, in her own words, “helping to educate global citizens about ecological issues and helping conserve the environment in any way possible in order to ensure a future for coming generations”. Now entering her first year at Lester B. Pearson United World College, a 2 year pre-university college offering the International Baccalaureate , Tessa will continue her studies surrounded by students from all over the world.

Tessa was born in Boulder, Colorado and moved to Victoria with her family when she was very young. Her education began at St. Margaret’s School. Once middle school started in grade 6 she moved to St. Michaels University School. While she has excelled academically (97% average), her extracurricular activities and pursuits outside of school have enriched her education, as well as the education of those around her. At just 17, Tessa boasts a resume that belies her age.

Tessa has a sense of clarity and purpose in life. She has set a variety of achievable goals for her future. And she even started researching universities when she was in Grade 7. Tessa plans to complete post secondary education, focusing on political science, environmental science and international development, with a view to get “my dream job working within the United Nations Environmental Program by the time I am 35”.

Tessa credits her parents with helping her develop her connection to nature and love for the outdoors. She has enjoyed camping and hiking with her family for as long as she can remember. And she loves being near the water and cannot imagine living away from the ocean.

In 2012, Tessa traveled to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro as a youth representative of Canadian Civil Society. There, she participated with We Canada and contributed to a report called “The Future We Want”. Tessa was profoundly affected by the reaction of delegates when she told them she was Canadian. She says “To be honest, I was embarrassed to be Canadian”. I understand her response. Canada once held an impeccable reputation for being brokers of international deals on the environment. Sadly, Canada’s reputation is now  one of breakers of international deals.

Noting the tremendous impact it had on her, Tessa vividly recalls watching An Inconvenient Truth when she was in Grade 5 . After finishing grade 10, Tessa attended a Climate Reality Leader training event hosted by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore in Chicago, Illinois. She’s since given presentations on the causes and consequences of, as well as the solutions to, global warming; presenting to diverse audiences, including her school and a PowerShiftBC conference.

At the end of 2013, Tessa traveled to Antarctica as one of 72 students selected in the Students on Ice 2013/2014 scientific expedition. This 2 week expedition was a transformational experience for Tessa. It completely drained Tessa’s savings that she had been contributing to  since she was 7 years old, but “it was worth every penny”. The students were joined by world-renowned educators, professors, activists and historians who provided a very unique learning experience – one that Tessa will never forget.

In February 2014, Tessa was part of a group of students who organized the “Defend Our Future” day of action in British Columbia. Meetings were arranged across British Columbia with twenty Members of the Legislative Assembly. Tessa spoke in a highly intelligent, thoughtful and passionate way about the need to uphold and commit to meeting British Columbia’s legislated 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets. She firmly believes that we all need to hold the government accountable to the commitments that they have made.

At 17, I may not be old enough to vote, but I still feel it is of paramount importance to convey my dissatisfaction with our government’s blatant disregard for these legally binding targets.  Policy decisions made today will undoubtedly have an effect on my life—both in the short and the long-term—and with this at the forefront of my mind, I stand in defense of my future”

These are Tessa’s words. Words that I found to be so powerful that I embedded them at the start of my response to the 2014 Budget.

More recently, Tessa had another transformative experience in attending Unist’ot’en Camp of the Wet’suwet’en Peoples (Yinka Dini – People of this Earth) near Smithers, BC. The Unist’ot’en Clan is part of the hereditary chief system which has governed Wet’suwet’en lands for many centuries. The camp has been there for 5 years and its purpose is to occupy the land in the path of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline.

For fun, Tessa enjoys weightlifting and says that she would like to compete in powerlifting some day. While she enjoys being with friends, she also values the time she spends alone in reflection. She is inspired by the likes of David and his daughter Severin Suzuki (whom she met at the conference in Rio), Bill McKibben and Elizabeth May.

I’m convinced that in the not too distant future there will be young men and women who will include Tessa on their list of people who have inspired them. In fact, she is already on my list. It’s youth like Tessa who fill me with optimism and a sense of hope for the future. If the six years since she wrote herself the letter are any indication, I can only imagine the impact Tessa will have on our society in the years ahead.

Media Statement: September 22, 2014
BC Government Silent on Mount Polley

For Immediate Release

Victoria B.C. – Andrew Weaver, MLA for Oak Bay – Gordon Head and Deputy Leader of the B.C. Green Party, is calling on the B.C. Government to take immediate steps to address growing concerns about the lack of response to the short-term environmental and economic impacts stemming from the Mount Polley tailings pond breach.

“The Mount Polley tailings pond breach happened over a month and a half ago,” said Andrew Weaver. “Yet local residents are still being kept in the dark about what their government and Imperial Metals are doing to remedy the immediate economic and environmental fall-out from the incident.”

So far the government has only provided information on its monitoring efforts and its commitment to determining the cause of the breach. Local residents are concerned that the government is not doing enough to address more immediate issues, such as financial support for affected families or reclamation of impacted areas.

Andrew Weaver visited the Scwepemc Sacred Fire during his August 28^th trip to the region. The Sacred Fire, which was lit on August 18^th near the entrance to the mine site, has becomes a community gathering point for those affected to voice their concerns.

“I had an opportunity to hear from people about what they believe needs to be done” said Andrew Weaver. “What I heard more than anything is that residents do not trust that the BC government or Imperial Metals are doing what is necessary to address their concerns. We need to change that.”

Since Andrew Weaver returned from Mount Polley more than three weeks ago, these concerns have continued to grow. His office has received correspondence from residents of Likely, BC, who remain concerned that they have still not heard what steps the BC Government is taking to address the more immediate concerns.

“The fact is, residents of the Mount Polley region shouldn’t have to approach an MLA from Vancouver Island to get answers from the government about what is happening to their region. This is a clear sign that more needs to be done.”

A full report of Andrew Weaver’s trip to the Likely, BC region can be found on his website:  http://www.andrewjweaver.ca/2014/09/10/mount-polley-breach-here/

Media Contact
Mat Wright – Press Secretary, Andrew Weaver MLA
mat.wright@leg.bc.ca
1 250 216 3382

The 86th British Columbia Youth Parliament will hold its parliamentary session in Victoria at the Provincial Legislative Chambers from December 27 to 31, 2014. The Youth Parliament is a province-wide non-partisan organization for young people ages 16 to 21. It teaches citizenship skills through participation in the December parliamentary session and in community service activities throughout the year. Youth Parliament is a one year commitment.

The BC Youth Parliament is non-partisan and applicants need only be interested in learning more about the parliamentary process and in serving their community.

The application is available here, along with an informational brochure and poster.

All applications must be received by October 22, 2014. Selected applicants will be notified in early November.

For more information, please click here.

This post is part of an ongoing series in which MLA Andrew Weaver will be sharing key information from inside the National Energy Board hearings on Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline proposal. To see previous posts, please click here. 

Trans Mountain’s Bold Claim

While reading through Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline application, my team was astonished to come across what has become one of the most talked about quotes from the entire 15,000 page application.

In discussing the impacts of oil spills, Trans Mountain tells us that “spills can have both positive and negative effects on local and regional economies.” Taking that point even further, they say that “spill response and clean-up creates business and employment opportunities for affected communities, regions, and clean-up service providers”

As you might predict, it didn’t take long for national and international news outlets to pick up on these quotes and for Trans Mountain to backtrack on their claims. According to them, the quote was taken out of context.

Given the serious and legitimate concerns we have about oil spills on our coast, I thought it was important to find out more about how Trans Mountain evaluated the potential economic impacts of a spill.

Requesting Trans Mountain’s Analysis

Now, let me first say that no economic benefits can justify the environmental catastrophe that a spill would cause. So many of our lifestyles, livelihoods and communities are based on the pristine coast we are so fortunate to have here in British Columbia. Not to mention the impact a spill would have on the environment itself, irrespective of our use of it. That is what makes Trans Mountain’s statement particularly troubling.

Yet, when it comes to this type of application, part of the process for weighing the costs and benefits of the pipeline also means analyzing the economic impact of a potential spill. Unfortunately, here’s what I found out from Trans Mountain:

In their entire 15,000 page application, Trans Mountain did not once adequately analyze the economic impact of a marine-based oil spill resulting from their project. Not only that, they told me they don’t need to do this. Here’s what they said:

“Economic cost-benefit analysis is an analytical tool sometimes used to inform whether a planned activity, policy or investment is beneficial to the economy and society. A spill is not a planned activity: it is an accident”. Therefore, “spills are not part of the economic benefits analysis undertaken for the project.”

If the economic impact of a spill is not analyzed in the application, then how can we know the true impact a spill would have on our local communities?  And if we don’t know that, then how can we know the full extent of the risks we will be undertaking should this project be built?

A Look at the Research

Trans Mountain’s statement is based on what they say is a “growing body of literature” that “shows that both positive and adverse effects can occur” from a spill. So what does that literature say? According to one study:

“The McDowell Group (1990) report concludes that there are positive effects on spill-related business and certain business sectors such as hotels/motels, car/RV rentals, air taxi and boat charters offset negative effects on Vacation/Pleasure business.”

Most of these “positive effects” benefit businesses and sectors that help clean up a spill or that house temporary workers who would travel here to clean up a spill. Local economies, like our commercial fisheries or our tourism industry—an industry that thrives on the unique and unparalleled beauty of our natural surroundings—won’t be so lucky.

Not only that, but as it turns out, even this growing body of literature clearly demonstrates that the net overall effect of a spill is negative.

Of course, what Trans Mountain’s statements also ignore is the potentially catastrophic impacts a spill would have on the environment itself. There are few places in the world that offer as pristine a coastline and as beautiful an environment as we have here in British Columbia. To lose that to a spill would be simply devastating.

Trans Mountain’s failure to consider the full range of negative impacts that its pipeline could have on our local communities and on our environment reflects a mindset that is simply out of touch with the beliefs and values of countless British Columbians. It shows just how far Trans Mountain is from ever gaining the social license it needs to build its pipeline.