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Prime Minister Harper pushes for pipeline in Kelowna

Senior ministers directed
by PM to make trips to BC
in Support of oil strategy

 

By Patrick Vaillancourt,
News Editor

rime Minister Stephen

Harper was in Kelowna the
weekend of September 14 for
a national caucus meeting, as
well as to meet with residents
opposed to the proposed
pipeline projects in British
Columbia.

Although details of
Harper’s agenda while in
the province have not been
disclosed, there is a broad
consensus that the trip to
Canada’s West Coast is to

make a big push in support

of building the Keystone and
Northern Gateway pipelines, as
well as expanding the existing
Kinder Morgan Pipeline.

The Keystone Pipeline,
which has been the focus of
intense media attention and
scrutiny over the last year, will
take bitumen products from
Alberta’s oil sands to refineries
in Texas. While none of the
components of the proposed
Keystone Pipeline are to be built
in British Columbia, Aboriginal
leaders across the country have
been vocal in their opposition to
it, citing negative environmental
impacts.

The Northern Gateway
Pipeline project proposes a
1,170-km twin pipeline from the
oil sands to the port of Kitimat,
in northern British Columbia.

The waiting game

Popular courses force students into waiting list purgatory

Opposition to the Northern
Gateway Pipeline is focused on
the company Enbridge, which
has a relatively poor record on
pipeline safety and security.
The proposed flow of oil makes
pristine areas of the province
potentially vulnerable to oil
spills. The oil would be carried
onto tankers destined for Asia.
The proposed expansion
of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline,
however, strikes at the heart
of every British Columbian,
especially those living in the
province’s Lower Mainland.
The current pipeline, which was
designed to transport crude oil
but now carries refined product
from the oil sands, ends at the
Westridge marine terminal in
Burnaby. The expansion, which
proposes to twin the pipeline,
is meant to accommodate more

 

By Elliot Chan, Staff Reporter

efore each semester, students rally for a good registration spot and a seat in

the classes of their choice. The problem is, popular and prerequisite courses
are attractive. With limited space in each class, students who register late or have
a later registration date often miss the cut-off of around 37 students per class.
This leaves many abandoning the prospect and applying for less appealing or
relevant courses, thus prolonging their time at Douglas and other post-secondary

institutions.

Watching your ranking on a waiting list is a frustrating ordeal. Once ona
waiting list, Douglas College recommends that students check their status daily

and drop themselves from the list if they lose interest.

Although the system at Douglas tries to be as fair as possible, the result may
not always be favourable. Odds are you've already figured out whether you'll be
attending a course or not, but if you missed the chance this time, here are some

tips to avoid the same outcome next semester.

“If students want a better registration time, they will need a better GPA,”
the registrar’s office suggests. “They should also register on the day to avoid

disappointment—and even then sometimes courses just fill up.”

Popular classes like Biology 1103 often reach the waiting list maximum of 100
students. After the first week, the waiting list shrinks to around 60-70. Even so,

the prospect for attending the class becomes rather daunting.

The registrar’s office recommends that students on a waiting list attend the
first day of class and email the course’s instructor. Most professors won’t mind
students sitting in on the inaugural class while they gauge interest, potential for
dropouts, and ability to increase workload. It is then the instructors’ choice to

override the class limit or stay the course.

When sitting in on a class, it is important to respect the other students who
have already registered and paid for the course. Understanding that the room
may already be full, common courtesy is often a better route than eagerness.
Speak with the instructor, let them know your condition, and accept a seat if one

is offered for the time being.

If the instructor ends up offering you a seat in the course, you must pay the
tuition immediately: i.e. 23.75 hours after the offer has been sent. Failure to do so

will drop you off the list completely.

Planning ahead of time will give you an upper hand when it comes to getting
the most beneficial courses. Research the courses you want to take and mark
down the registration time, tuition fee payment deadlines, and any important

dates to consider in relation to the course(s).

Registration for Winter Semester 2014 goes from November 14 to 28, 2013,

with the tuition fee payment deadline for domestic students on December 9, 2013.
Classes commence in the New Year on January 6, 2014.

than double the amount of oil,
from 300,000 barrels to almost
900,000 barrels per day, to oil
tankers in the Burrard Inlet.
The oil is then exported to oil-
hungry markets in Asia.

The Kinder Morgan pipeline
was ruptured accidentally by
sewer contractors working for
the City of Burnaby, causing an
oil spill that forced evacuations
and damaged homes and marine
wildlife, as well as resulting in
traffic disruptions for months
after the spill was contained.

Environmentalists and
First Nations leaders opposed
to the pipeline say that the
government is meeting with
them purely as a formality,
while the Harper government
contends it is consulting with all
interested parties.

The debate, especially

with regards to the Northern
Gateway pipeline, has also led
to somewhat frosty relations
between BC Premier Christy
Clark and Alberta Premier
Alison Redford; relations which
have warmed significantly since
their respective surprise election
victories.

The Prime Minister’s
office has directed senior
cabinet officials to travel to
British Columbia, starting on
September 23, to engage in
a public opinion campaign
which they hope will win them
greater support for the building
of the Keystone and Northern
Gateway pipelines and the
expansion of the existing Kinder
Morgan Pipeline.

 

Phato courtesy of Elliot Chan