A number of major resource development projects in the works in B.C. are facing near-unprecedented levels of opposition from groups vowing the projects will never get off the ground.

Mega-project pipelines and LNG plants are touted to bring windfalls of jobs and riches to the province, but they have also triggered disobedience and dissent.

“The number of big projects with big fights at the same time is something new,” said Ben West, executive director of Tanker Free B.C. “There have been multiple forestry projects at the same time with campaigns against them ... but people mobilizing at this level on so many things simultaneously is new.”

Facing a gauntlet of determined residents, environmental groups and First Nations are: Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion, the Site C hydroelectric dam, Woodfibre LNG and Enbridge’s Northern Gateway project — the opposition to which is rivalled only by the legendary Clayoquot Sound protests in the 1990s, said West.

Public concern is spurred in part by the push for LNG, a new fossil fuel industry in the province, and the driest summer in recent memory in B.C., which was saddled with a dismal ski season last winter and ferocious wildfires and water shortages this year.

“Climate change is here and now,” said Caitlyn Vernon, campaigns director of Sierra Club B.C. “The B.C. economy, jobs and ecosystem are already feeling the impact.”

For now, the battles between the proposed projects and their critics are being played out in court.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs is fighting the battle on many fronts. The advocacy group opposes Enbridge, Kinder Morgan, and Site C.

There are so many legal challenges against those three projects, it’s hard to keep track, Phillip said. At last count, he noted, there were 18 against Enbridge, seven against Kinder Morgan, and six for Site C.

Phillip said the UBCIC is “fully committed” to the battle against Site C.

“If push comes to shove, there will be an on-the-ground strategy,” he said. “We cannot afford to lose the Peace.”

Many others have indicated they are not afraid to take a stand for their beliefs. Dozens of people trying to stop work by Kinder Morgan on Burnaby Mountain were arrested last fall, including Phillip. Mayor Derek Corrigan of Burnaby said he’s prepared to get arrested over the issue.

Earlier this month, violence marred a Site C public meeting when a man said to be wearing a Guy Fawkes mask was shot and killed by police outside the information session in Dawson Creek. In the aftermath, B.C. Hydro postponed a series of job fairs in northern B.C., citing safety concerns.

Jon Garson of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce said there has always been opposition to resource-based development projects in B.C., but the fact that many projects are going on simultaneously in a “condensed time frame” makes it seem as if there is more opposition.

The level of major infrastructure projects in B.C. is the highest it has ever been, he said, and that’s a good thing because B.C. is still a resource-based economy and the benefits of resource projects are felt not just in the industrial heartlands but also in Metro Vancouver.

Garson said projects go through rigorous assessment processes. At some point, he said, people have to trust the system.

“The public needs to have some faith that these processes are done in a largely independent way, meant to assess public and environmental interests,” he said. “That’s often missed.”

But the public remains wary, and many ordinary citizens — from Howe Sound and Burnaby residents to ranchers in the Peace Valley — are being prompted to activism.

For some, the issue has evolved beyond climate change and the environment

“There’s a growing frustration,” said West. “People are getting involved who may not be concerned about climate change or the projects themselves, but really just don’t like the erosion of democracy and the muzzling of scientists that have gone along with these projects.”

He believes the upcoming federal election and the court cases will help decide the fate of many of the controversial projects.

“My guess is we see court battles before we see the big Clayoquot Sound-type standoff,” he said. “There are a whole lot of court decisions happening that have a lot of implications.”

Five flashpoints across B.C.

Site C

The $8.8-billion Peace River dam has received green lights from the federal and provincial governments, yet opposition remains strong.

B.C. Hydro said the dam is needed to meet future energy demands, but environmental groups and ranchers say the approval process was flawed and decry the obliteration of more than 3,800 hectares of farm land in this era of drought and climate change.

Members of Treaty 8 First Nations have mounted a challenge in federal court, arguing the dam tramples over treaty rights. Some Metro Vancouver politicians have also questioned the necessity of the mega-project and have called for a two-year moratorium on Site C.

Despite opposition, the project appears poised to go ahead. B.C. Hydro has said it won’t wait on the outcome of any of the court cases. Opponents insist the dam is not a done deal.

Woodfibre LNG

“No to LNG! No to LNG!” was the war cry of a flotilla of small vessels which took to Howe Sound earlier this month to protest a proposed liquefied natural gas processing plant at the site of a former pulp mill.

It has taken years to restore Howe Sound, formerly the dumping ground for two pulp mills and a mine, to health, which is why the $1.6-million Woodfibre LNG plant is a tough sell.

Opponents say the project will damage marine ecosystems, including herring stocks, and that increased tanker traffic poses health and safety risks for Howe Sound communities. Also at risk are the area’s vibrant tourism and recreational industry.

The project’s environmental assessment review was temporarily halted in order to give Woodfibre LNG time to respond to 25 conditions placed by the Squamish First Nation, whose council votes Friday to accept or reject the proposal. A ‘No LNG’ rally is planned for Friday morning.

Enbridge Northern Gateway

Over a year after Enbridge’s $6.5-billion Northern Gateway project — which would transport half a million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to Kitimat — received federal approval, the project is languishing and mired in more than a dozen court challenges.

Enbridge arouses such ire that its paid ads in Tim Horton’s shops prompted calls to boycott the Canadian coffee institution.

Enbridge says it remains committed to the project and is working to meet conditions set by the B.C. government and the Joint Review Panel. Critics vow the project will never become reality.

For some, the battle against Enbridge has become a bigger fight. “Enbridge has become a symbol of how we’re treated in a democracy and how decisions are made,” said Ben West of Tanker Free B.C.

Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline

The dispute over the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion boiled over into arrests last fall when activists tried to block Kinder Morgan crews from drilling into Burnaby Mountain to gather data for its application to the National Energy Board.

Hundreds of people opposed to the $5.4-billion expansion, which would triple Kinder Morgan’s capacity to transport petroleum products from Alberta to Burnaby, were arrested.

Like Northern Gateway, critics say B.C. would shoulder most of the risks, while Alberta and oilsand producers reap most of the benefits.

This is one battle that may spill over into the fall’s federal election. The project has propelled Simon Fraser University professor and vocal anti-pipeline activist Lynne Quarmby to run for the Green Party, while NDP Burnaby MP Kennedy Stewart called the project the No. 1 issue facing the community.

Red Chris Mine

In the wake of the Mount Polley mine disaster last year in which more than six billion gallons of toxic waste was dumped into adjacent waters, owner Imperial Metals faced protests of its then-under construction Red Chris mine, located 80 kilometres south of Dease Lake.

A group of Tahltan First Nation elders had blockaded the gold and copper mine. The mine opened in February and was followed by a co-management agreement with the Tahltan. But dissent continues.

“Earlier mining wasn’t on our radar, but after the New Prosperity mine and Mount Polley, and now Red Chris, a number of environmental organizations are gearing up to engage with the mining industry,” said Joe Foy of the Wilderness Committee.

Red Chris and a cluster of mines proposed in northeastern B.C. are located at the headwaters of Alaskan rivers. The potential impact of a tailings-pond breach has fishermen, environmentalists and politicians in Alaska up in arms.

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