Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Eric de Place, Ken Boon December 21, 2016

This Week on GR

by C. L. Cook - Gorilla-Radio.com

December 21, 2016

Late last month, the federal Liberals okayed the Kinder Morgan TransMountain Pipeline. The contentious project would see a new pipeline built from the Tar Sands of Alberta, across the Rockies and the breadth of B.C. to Burnaby. From there, diluted bitumen would be shipped to offshore refineries, primarily in Asia.

The TransMountain would be a tough sell anyplace, but in eco-conscious British Columbia, where pipelines promise high risk for little economic return, it's especially fractious. Then there's the matter of just who's behind it. Despite a massive public relations campaign being waged to assuage environmental concerns, disastrous news headlines the Texas-based Kinder Morgan has generated do little to reassure nervous British Columbians.

Listen. Hear.

Eric de Place is policy director with the Washington State-based Sightline Institute, an independent, nonprofit research and communications center. He spearheads Sightline's work on energy policy, is a leading expert on coal and oil export plans in the Pacific Northwest, and is considered an authority on a range of issues connected to fossil fuel transport, including carbon emissions, local pollution, transportation system impacts, rail policy, and economics.

Eric de Place in the first half.

And; even as Mr. Trudeau's government throws open British Columbia's gates to the Tar Sands fossil fuel colossus it has gone one further, allowing the Site C mega dam proceed. Site C, listeners may recall, is the project that defies both rhyme and reason, dedicated as it is to creating power no one needs for prices no one will pay, while destroying some of the finest farm land in the province, thousands of acres of the Peace River Valley. Opposed by local First Nations, farmers, ranchers, and the environmental community, even the chair of the government's own panel, set up to rubber stamp this multi-generational white elephant, says the deal stinks.

Ken Boon is president of the Peace Valley Landowners Association. He a Peace River Valley farmer, and his family farm was recently expropriated by the BC Hydro project for a connecting highway scheme.

Ken Boon and Site C, running a river to ruin in the Peace Valley in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher emeritus, Janine Bandcroft will not be joining us this week with her usual events line up due to lack of activity this holiday week to come. So, first up, Eric de Place and "Law-Breaking, Pollution, Cover-Ups," taking a longer look at Mr. Trudeau' favored pipeline company.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Wednesday, 1-2pm Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca.  He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/