PMJT: The First 100 Days

[George Wallace]

CBC.ca comments section

Ewwww!  Nasty.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Jeez Altair, how else are we going to find out what Montreal thinks?  And I look forward to educating you in the niceties of the Scottish tongue.....  [

To rebreathe life in the Auld Alliance, my friend? Long live Mary, Queen of the Scotts!!!

On a more serious note, the one thing that PM Harper did, which was long overdue, was rewrite the Federal Environmental regulations so that the environmental assessment process would stop being hijacked by specific lobby groups (such as the Natives right industry or the more radical environmental movements) as a stalling tactics that did nothing to address the specific environmental matters raised by the project at hand, but instead were used for self-publicity and to raise their utopian overarching environmental message no one cared for otherwise (such as the aforementioned: We-all-have-to-stop-burning-fossile-fuel-on-the-whole-earth crowd). These unhelpful groups and intervenors did nothing to assist with making proper environmental assessments of the actual project and were acting only to derail these projects altogether by delaying them in perpetuity.

That is the action of PM Harper that railed the environment lobby industry, which candidate Trudeau tried to get on his side when he talked, during the campaign, of "introduce a new and fair environmental assessment process". He may be indebted to these lobby groups, which means back to the old useless process.

I sincerely hope that this is one instance where the senior civil servants brief him on the realities of the old system and the reason why the Harper amendments have actually brought sanity back to the process: All people with a useful contribution can still be heard, but specifically on any actual environmental problems relating to the project at issue only, and so long as it contributes to the conversation by offering (or forcing the project's developer to come up with) alternatives or potential solutions to alleviate the perceived specific problem, the whole within a reasonable time frame so that delays do not become impediments in and of themselves. Hey! In fact, the process developed under PM Harper was "new and fair". What do you know!   

 

[Kirkhill]

.... Long live Mary, Queen of the Scotts!!!

And her mother Marie de Guise?  I don't think so.  I'm just as happy John Knox came along when he did.  We had quite enough of the Valois and Medici meddling thanks. 

And by the way, I think Mary claimed to be Queen of all the Scots, and not just the Scotts.

 

[stealthylizard]

There was quite a bit of pipeline work done while Harper was prime minister, at least for natural gas.  The economy was good, prices were decent, companies and people were spending money.  That isn't the case right now.  Three years ago at this time of the year I was working an average of 40 hours a week because of pipeline projects as a line locator.  It started to slow down last year (2014/15), now I'm down to 20 hours a week.  The only ones in this area still spending money are farmers and Atco Gas.  I can't do this for another year if things don't improve.  If the prime minister is going to do something, I'm hoping he does it quick.

 

[George Wallace]

BLAME IT ON TRUDEAU!

OK.  Harper is gone.  It is 2016.  The Liberals are in power.  They are at the reigns now.  This is complete BS and they should be ashamed at having things like this happen to Canadians, especially Canadians who are NOT RICH:

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Man evicted from hotel has ‘no place to go’
Long-term tenants Garnet Fulton and his family are being evicted as a North York hotel welcomes Syrian refugees whose rooms were booked last month.

The Toronto Star
By: Alex Ballingall News, Published on Wed Jan 27 2016

It’s not like Garnet Fulton had everything figured out before the hotel manager gave him the eviction notice. He recently survived a heart attack, can only work the odd shift as a security guard and is making ends meet on government assistance.

But now he has a lot more to worry about.

“We have no place to go,” he said over the phone from his third-floor room at the Toronto Plaza Hotel, which sits in a broad parking lot off Wilson Ave., near the intersection of Highways 400 and 401. Fulton has been living there with his girlfriend and their 2-year-old son, Baron, since last October, when they were kicked out of their Mississauga apartment after the building was deemed to have too many tenants, he said.

Last weekend, he was told by hotel management that he’d have to pack up and leave again — the same week the federal government is putting up hundreds of newly landed Syrian refugees in the Plaza. Fulton isn’t the only long-term hotel tenant being evicted; there are several others, he said.

Fulton said he was initially told he and his family had to leave by Friday, but he’s pushing Plaza staff to let him stay until Monday at least. Fulton pays $1,200 a month for his hotel room. His biggest worry now is having “no food, no shelter, no nothing,” he said.

“What it does to me is, they didn’t give us notice,” said Fulton, 53. “Just basically, ‘Get out.’ ”

Staff at the hotel declined to comment when reached by the Star. A worker at the front desk said the manager had left and wouldn’t answer questions until Thursday.

COSTI Immigration Services was contracted by the government to sort out temporary accommodations for newly arrived refugees in the GTA. Mary Celluci, COSTI spokesperson, said the group booked 150 rooms in the hotel back in December. She said they “didn’t expect” that anyone would be inconvenienced by the refugees’ arrival.

Fulton said he believes he’s being evicted to make room for arriving refugees. He said he welcomes the arrival of people fleeing violence and poverty in other parts of the world, but that he feels the plight of some Canadians shouldn’t be overlooked in the process.

“It hurts,” he said. “Why did this Trudeau guy do this when there’s homeless out there they could’ve helped, there’s needy people he could’ve helped, but he brought people over and — why don’t they start from the ground up?”

Though he’s not sure yet what he’ll do or where he’ll go, Fulton said he’s willing to work as much as he can to find a place to stay with his family.

“I’ll sweep floors, I’ll do anything,” he said. “I push myself, OK? I had a heart attack. Two weeks later I was riding a bike. I’m a fighter.”

With files from Nicholas Keung

More on LINK.

The "Refugee Problem" does not justify throwing Canadians out on the street.  Yes; it is time for the tables to turn and BLAME TRUDEAU.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Colin, I was going to tackle the technicalities - but decided against it as it would all be supposition on my part.

I
The existing mountain corridors have been in service for decades, and the railways for longer. How many disruptions of service have there been in that time due to seismic activity?  With respect to the pipelines the vast majority of breaks occur in urban settings where contractors suddenly discover pipelines that are clearly identified.  Not many breaks happen in the boonies.

Every thing going to Prince Rupert has to follow the Skeena valley and the rail, power, NG pipeline and road has been cut by landslides numerous times . I have been involved in pipeline review and worked with the companies involved. Some of them I trusted explicitly, others not so much. This is one of the ones I had to deal with http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/how-little-leaks-can-become-big-oil-spills/article4418229/

A few years later and on the same river another break was narrowly avoided, thanks to oversight by the company looking after the gas pipelines running parallel to it which resulted in a 600m HHD crossing for the oil and this for the NG lines. An interesting project to work on and with good people to work with.

 

[Kirkhill]

Tunneling river crossings,

5.4 Tunnel design and construction

The pipeline route segment between the upper reaches of the Clore River and Hoult Creek would cross a section of the Coast Mountains unbroken by low elevation passes. Northern Gateway proposed 2 tunnels, each approximately 6.5 kilometres long, to avoid construction, environmental, and operating risks associated with a conventional pipeline route on steep slopes. Northern Gateway's 2009 preliminary geotechnical report (revised in 2010) examined the geology and anticipated geotechnical conditions for the tunnels.

The geological assessment was based on a field investigation program consisting of geological mapping, core drilling, and geophysics. The field-mapping and drilling program included identifying rock types, estimating rock strength, and characterizing geological structures and discontinuities. Geological and engineering geology profiles were created for the tunnel alignments based on information collected. Rock mass properties for the main rock types along the tunnel alignments were developed and used to estimate tunneling conditions.

Northern Gateway's feasibility assessment considered slope hazards, portal locations, engineering geology, tunneling conditions, tunnel construction, and pipeline design and installation. In addition, tunnel and surface site investigation field work took place in October 2012. This consisted of portal site visits to visually assess the suitability of the proposed tunnel portal locations, geological mapping visits to visually assess geological units along proposed tunnel alignments, and access road and surface works visits to visually assess surface soil units and terrain (e.g., slopes, creeks, and instability). Three individuals representing two different Aboriginal groups participated in these site visits and field work.

Northern Gateway convened an external review panel of international tunneling experts to look at a number of scenarios, particularly with respect to the potential for difficult tunneling in portal areas and in fault zones. That panel concluded that the means exist to safely construct the Clore and Hoult tunnels.

Northern Gateway provided conceptual cross-sectional drawings for the tunnels indicating that each would be approximately 6.8 metres in diameter (Figures 5.1 and 5.2). The tunnels would either be circular or inverted U-shaped, depending on the tunneling method used (bored, or drill and blast). Other preliminary concepts that Northern Gateway presented included:

permanent infrastructure to provide road access for inspection and maintenance to all tunnel portals;
lighting and ventilation for inspection and maintenance;
power supply by either dedicated service line or on-site generator;
a maintenance building for maintenance equipment and material storage;
safety systems for tunnel monitoring that are designed to meet project requirements, and that would be connected to the Enbridge Edmonton pipeline operations control centre through remote communications to provide real-time monitoring;
monitoring sensors to detect vibration, temperature, fire, and gas; and
closing tunnel portal doors during normal operations to prevent unauthorized entry.
Northern Gateway said that it would develop further details about tunnel design and construction during detailed engineering.

The Office of the Wet'suwet'en raised questions about the camp and staging site, and the waste rock dump site. Concerns were related to potential effects from metal leaching and acid rock drainage in Wet'suwet'en territory and on their natural resources. It was also concerned that the volume of potentially acid generating rock is not known.

During the Panel's process, Northern Gateway's experts answered questions about the predicted tunnel waste rock volume, the potential storage space required, and the disposal of sulphide-bearing rock. These experts estimated the volume of in-situ rock from the tunnels at 350,000 cubic metres (plus or minus), assuming an approximately 13,000-metre combined length, a 7-metre width, and a 7-metre height. The locations of the disposal areas are illustrated in Figure 5.5. They also estimated a bulking factor of 30 to 40 per cent, representing 455,000 to 490,000 cubic metres of waste rock. The waste rock volume would depend on the tunnel construction method. Waste disposal fills would be approximately 6 to 8 metres high and would be contoured with the landscape. Regarding sulphide-bearing rock disposal, Northern Gateway's experts expect to segregate sulphide-bearing materials and use established techniques and design principles from the mining industry, such as encapsulation and containment. Another option may be dilution using limestone, depending on the amount of sulphide-bearing materials encountered.

Figure 5.1 Conceptual Drill and Blast Tunnel

Figure 5.1 Conceptual Drill and Blast Tunnel

Figure 5.2 Conceptual Bored Tunnel

Figure 5.2 Conceptual Bored Tunnel

Top of Page
Views of the Panel

The Panel heard evidence of a preliminary nature regarding construction of the Clore and Hoult tunnels. Northern Gateway would determine the final design of the tunnels during detailed engineering. The Panel requires Northern Gateway, before constructing the tunnels, to obtain further information on rock mass quality, groundwater conditions, mitigation measures for groundwater and potential sulphide-bearing rock, confined space entry procedures, final cross-sectional drawings, and the tunnel construction plans.

The Panel is of the view that Northern Gateway may have under-estimated the waste rock bulking factor given the rock type classifications in the preliminary geotechnical report for the tunnels and potential alignment changes. The Panel requires Northern Gateway, before constructing the tunnels, to develop final details on the location, size, and design of waste rock disposal. Provisions within the National Energy Board Act would allow Northern Gateway to apply for National Energy Board approval of amendments to its disposal locations, if necessary.

The same strategy would likely be used crossing the St Lawrence.

Other examples.
http://www.riverhumberpipeline.com/the-pipeline.aspx
http://oilsandstruth.org/keystone-pipeline-build-tunnel-under-mississippi-river

 

[Kirkhill]

The Review Panel concluded that the biggest challenge would be managing the spoil from the tunnels.

I am guessing that the spoil would/could be employed elsewhere down the route as fill or road beds.

These are still not reasons to stop the construction.

And here is another river tunnel - under the Merrimack

http://eaglefordtexas.com/news/id/141834/gas-pipeline-proposal-tunnel-merrimack-souhegan-rivers/

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Actually the property I grew up on had a tunnel built in the 40-50's to run a waterline through under the Capilano river. My brother got to walk a 9km long water tunnel near Sooke to assess the walls with radar. Funny enough even their radios failed after a few hundred metres and only 2 exits at either end! ;D

 

[PuckChaser]

So much for free votes in the Commons. Liberal MPs were whipped into defeating a Tory motion to publically support Energy East. Probably the same reason they were shut out in of the 4 western provinces. Wonder how all those NB MPs are going to fair when they find out their MPs voted against more jobs at refineries for their constituents?

http://ottawacitizen.com/storyline/kady-liberals-to-vote-down-pro-energy-east-pipeline-motion-put-forward-by-tories

@Kady: Liberals to vote down pro-Energy East pipeline motion put forward by Tories
January 28, 2016 1:12 pm

Bad news, Energy East enthusiasts: Despite continuing pressure from Western Canada, the federal Liberals aren’t willing to publicly back the pipeline proposal in a House vote — not yet, anyway.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, a Tory-initiated motion calling on the House to express its support for the project would undermine the process currently underway.

“[The motion] is inconsistent with the party’s pledge to review the current environmental assessment process,” and  the party’s plan to “modernize and rebuild trust in the National Energy Board,” PMO spokesman Cameron Ahmad told the Ottawa Citizen.

“Therefore, Liberal MPs will be voting against it.”

The Tories introduced the motion — which also seeks to have the Liberals “acknowledge the desire for the Energy East pipeline expressed by the provincial governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick” — just one day after the prime minister held a closed-door chat with Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, who has been a vocal opponent of TransCanada’s proposal to revamp existing infrastructure in order ship crude oil from Alberta to New Brunswick.

 

[ModlrMike]

This may well come back to haunt them. If there's no approval during this Government's tenure, it might influence their chances of victory next time.

 

[Altair]

So much for free votes in the Commons. Liberal MPs were whipped into defeating a Tory motion to publically support Energy East. Probably the same reason they were shut out in of the 4 western provinces. Wonder how all those NB MPs are going to fair when they find out their MPs voted against more jobs at refineries for their constituents?

http://ottawacitizen.com/storyline/kady-liberals-to-vote-down-pro-energy-east-pipeline-motion-put-forward-by-tories

I wish I had the energy.

Alas, I do not.

Officially taking a break from this site.

 

[PuckChaser]

I wish I had the energy.

Alas, I do not.

I really wish you did. How you try to spin Trudeau's pledge to have free votes in Parliament immediately dissolve at the first sign of trouble would be exciting.

 

[Kirkhill]

I wish I had the energy.

Alas, I do not.

Officially taking a break from this site.

You would have more energy with a pipeline to Montreal.

 

[Lumber]

So much for free votes in the Commons. Liberal MPs were whipped into defeating a Tory motion to publically support Energy East. Probably the same reason they were shut out in of the 4 western provinces. Wonder how all those NB MPs are going to fair when they find out their MPs voted against more jobs at refineries for their constituents?

http://ottawacitizen.com/storyline/kady-liberals-to-vote-down-pro-energy-east-pipeline-motion-put-forward-by-tories

Isn't this a good thing? Shouldn't parliament keep their hands off and let the NEB do their thing? I've only read the part of the article that was cut and pasted here, but it smells like the Tories knew the Liberals would shut it down, and pushed the motion to force the Liberals between a rock and a hard place.

 

[PuckChaser]

Isn't this a good thing? Shouldn't parliament keep their hands off and let the NEB do their thing? I've only read the part of the article that was cut and pasted here, but it smells like the Tories knew the Liberals would shut it down, and pushed the motion to force the Liberals between a rock and a hard place.

There's nothing wrong with Parliament saying we want this, and then letting the process take care of itself. As long as the NEB is kept at arm's length, there's no issue.

In case you were wondering, here's the actual motion. In no way does it circumvent the NEB decision.

Business of Supply

The Order was read for the consideration of the Business of Supply.

Ms. Bergen (Portage—Lisgar), seconded by Mr. Bernier (Beauce), moved, — That, given this time of economic uncertainty, the House: (a) recognize the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy and support its development in an environmentally sustainable way; (b) agree that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil; (c) acknowledge the desire for the Energy East pipeline expressed by the provincial governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick; and (d) express its support for the Energy East pipeline currently under consideration.

The Liberal government is now on record for not supporting any of these provisions.

 

[jollyjacktar]

The apple doesn't fall far from the PET tree, so it would seem.  Like father, like son.  1982 all over again.

 

[YZT580]

Isn't this a good thing? Shouldn't parliament keep their hands off and let the NEB do their thing? I've only read the part of the article that was cut and pasted here, but it smells like the Tories knew the Liberals would shut it down, and pushed the motion to force the Liberals between a rock and a hard place.

Two different and opposite issues here. You are absolutely correct, Parliament should keep its hands off, although I notice that the mayors don't have any business trying to step in either.  And the motion did leave space to support the NEB process.  But the second and more fundamental issue is the idea of whipping the party.  Better to have made a request and presented the arguments in caucus for a no vote but still left each member free to vote their conscience.  Now JT appears as the same tyrant that folks have accused Harper of being.  He lost credibility and broke an election promise at the first hint of conflict, much as he appointed his first potential candidate before the election after saying appointments were entirely a local matter.  The optics are really bad.

 

[PuckChaser]

Also note here, on the Liberal platform:

https://www.trudeaumetre.ca/promise/4303

For members of the Liberal Caucus, all votes will be free votes except those that implement the Liberal platform, traditional confidence matters, and those that address the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Liberal's own platform supported Energy East, but they were whipped into voting against it.

 

[Lumber]

The Liberal government is now on record for not supporting any of these provisions.

The Liberal's own platform supported Energy East, but they were whipped into voting against it.

We might be splitting hairs here, but I think we need to be clear; and this is why I don't see it as such a big deal.

First, refusing to support a motion to officially ackowledge support for a project doesn't necessarily mean that they do no support the project.

Second, they didn't "vote against" Energy East. They simply voted against a Tory motion to publicly throw their support behind it.