Citizens strongly opposed to Pitt River power plant proposal By Monica Carino, Associate News Run of River CEO, Jako Krushnisky, pointed out the company already has a power plant at Brandywine Falls. It generates power for 4,000 homes near Whistler. The seven plants along the Upper Pitt would cost about $400 million. Run of River consultant Russ Tyson said about 2,000 jobs will result from the construction. He said extensive consultation has taken place with First Nations, environmental groups, and local government. But according to a February 26 letter from Chief Percy Cunningham of the Kwikwetlem First Nation in Coquitlam, consultation hasn’t even started. Tension grew and so did the volume of the crowd following Park’s announcement, but quieted when Katzie First Nation spokesperson Debbie Miller asked people to be respectful and for Run of River to reschedule the meeting. The open house was part of the public review of the terms of reference for the project, the first stage of the process by which Run of River Power Inc. hopes to win certification from the environment ministry. A new meeting date for Pitt Meadows hasn’t been set yet. Another open house takes place March 4 at the Best Western lodge in Mission from 4 pm to 9 pm. Bill Park walked in just after 8 pm and told those assembled to leave. “I’m enforcing the fire code of BC; I’ll give you five minutes,” he said. The open house is the second of three to allow public comments on the draft “terms of reference,” or general description of the proposed project. Those comments will be posted on the Environmental Assessment Office website, with the public having until April 8 to make further submissions. Run of River Power Inc. is proposing to take 21 hectares out of the park for the transmission line. In return, it plans to add 492 hectares of Crown land to the park. No helmet exemption for Sikh motorcyclists in Ontario: judge By Nikalas Kryzanowski, News Editor O. February 26, so many people packed a small room in a Pitt Meadows Ramada Innto oppose the construction of proposed Pitt River power plants that the fire department had to shut the meeting down for safety reasons. People came from as far as Vancouver, some on a bus hired by the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, to speak against a Run of River Power Inc. plan to build seven power plants and small dams on creeks that flow into the Upper Pitt—enough to generate 180 megawatts and light up 55,000 homes. The size of the room was an issue even before Pitt Meadows Fire Chief A: Ontario judge has ruled that Baljinder Badesha must wear a helmet while riding his motorcycle on Ontario’s roads. The case went to court after Badesha was fined $110 for riding his motorcycle with only a turban on his head. Badesha’s religion forbids him from putting on-~ anything over his turban while outside his house. _ Ontario Court Justice James Blacklock ruled that allowing Badesha to ride without a helmet would cause an “undue hardship” because it would compel the province to “abandon a reasonable safety standard.” Badesha said that he wasn’t disappointed about the ruling but has yet to decide whether to appeal. He also said that he felt as though religious discrimination had taken place. Badesha’s supporters were very disappointed with the outcome. “I just heard the decision and I think we have to educate this community more,” said one man. “This is just a show of ignorance.” The Ontario Human Rights Commission argued the provincial helmet law discriminates against Badesha because it violates his constitutional rights. Crown lawyers argued helmet laws protect against devastating head injuries and save the public health care system millions of dollars. Non-fatal motorcycle accidents can cost the public up to $2.4 million, while fatal crashes can cost almost $20 million, according to Crown documents filed with the court. Similar helmet law challenges have seen exemptions made for Sikh motorcyclists in British Columbia. In BC, the cyclist helmet law states that “anybody wearing religious headwear that makes compliance impossible,” can be considered exempt from wearing a helmet. March 10, 2008 News Shorts By Nikalas Kryzanowski Burn’s Bog landfill status could be halted If Metro Vancouver chair Lois Jackson has her way, use of the ecologically sensitive Burn’s Bog as a landfill could soon be stopped. The Burn’s Bog landfill already takes the garbage of Vancouver, Delta, Richmond, White Rock, the University of B.C., and parts of Surrey. She intends to put forward a motion to the Metro Board to begin sending regional shipments of garbage to Washington State for disposal instead. Critics say the move to Washington will mean exporting waste-handling jobs out of the country. Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta said the move to the U.S. would mean the elimination of about 100 good-paying jobs. Nova Scotia may bury its greenhouse gases Entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia are studying the economic feasibility of burying carbon emissions as an environmentally friendlier way for the process of curing concrete. Robert Niven, president of Halifax-based Carbon Sense Solutions Inc., spoke today at the Atlantic Climate Change conference in Halifax, telling delegates that the province should start storing greenhouse gasses in underground caverns. He claims that his firm would like to combine carbon emissions with cement to make limestone used in pre- cast concrete. The federal government has committed $5 million in the last budget to assist in researching carbon storage. Norway builds doomsday vault The Norwegian government is going ahead with a plan to store all known varieties of food crops deep underground in an attempt to safeguard the world’s agriculture in the event of catastrophe such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes, or climate change. The seed vault is 120 metres inside a mountain on Spitsbergen, one of four islands that make up Svalbard in the Barents Sea, 1000 kilometres north of Norway’s mainland. The Norwegian government paid $5 million to construct the vault which will have room for 3 million seed samples.