Alberta should be penalized for tar sands development and Quebec for asbestos production

Ah, that is something I would dearly love to see, an ocean going ship capable of "docking" in Fort McMurray. Pray tell, is this a flying boat, or does it have catepillar treads to cross Manitoba and Saskatchewan on the way to Fort Mac?

It looks like this:

[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ziGQW8kVIzQ/T0aYdW7cH6I/AAAAAAAABwk/9j-19c4jWG...

bagkitty wrote:

And that made it across an ocean? Damn, I thought it would have been swamped by the first real wave it ran into.

And not to question your integrity or anything, but I doubt that is really Manitoba or Saskatchewan.... not enough black flies or mosquitos (and since there is greenery on the trees, don't try telling me it was too early in the season).

They had steamboats on the Athabasca River, but the rapids on the Slave River near Fort Smith were impassible. I don't think they could be considered ocean-going though.

You mean Port McMurray?

Lets not forget to penalize and sanction Saskatchewan for its uranium industry.  After all we know the stuff they produce is the main ingredient for WMD's. 

BC's fish farms are another area where maybe some international sanctions might help.  As well all the provinces engaged in fracking will need to be taught the lessons of international justice.  A no fly zone is required immediately over the skies of Comox and any RCAF plane caught flying should immediately be shot down.

kropotkin1951 wrote:

Lets not forget to penalize and sanction Saskatchewan for its uranium industry. 

Yup. 

That shit is being pushed on three fronts - mining, power plants, and waste dumps. 

And unfortunately it is an issue which cuts across party lines. Although the current government says they are not promoting it, there is a lot of money being offered to towns and First Nations to accept a dump.

bagkitty wrote:

Ah, that is something I would dearly love to see, an ocean going ship capable of "docking" in Fort McMurray. Pray tell, is this a flying boat, or does it have catepillar treads to cross Manitoba and Saskatchewan on the way to Fort Mac?

Quote:

July, 2006

Northern Transportation Company Limited sails tug to Fort MacKay, Alberta
Fort MacKay, Alberta, July 17, 2006 - Northern Transportation Company Limited is very pleased to announce the arrival of the company’s tug the NT Marjory at Fort MacKay, Alberta on Friday, July 14, 2006.
The NT Marjory sailed from Hay River, Northwest Territories, traveling along the southern shore of Great Slave Lake to the Slave River, south on the Slave River to Lake Athabasca and then south on the Athabasca River to Fort MacKay.
The landing of the NT Marjory at Fort Mackay represents a significant shift in the focus on logistical planning that faces companies holding oilsands leases in the Fort McMurray region. Companies can now consider the northern water route as a strategic transportation option when planning the design, manufacture and delivery of equipment, modules and large fabrication components for oilsands projects or for mining projects in northeastern Alberta.

Look at a map and stop thinking in southern terms.  Canada is sea to sea to sea.

http://www.ntcl.com/

http://www.fortmckaygroup.com/

Boom Boom wrote:

I wonder how Alberta's northern neighbours - those who will be  affected -  feel about this development.

They own NTCL.

Quote:

NTCL is proud to be an aboriginal-owned company. We are the founding company of the NorTerra Inc. group of companies, owned by the Inuvialuit Development Corporation and Nunasi Corporation, which also owns Canadian North, Weldco Companies, Braden Burry Expediting and Northern Industrial Sales.

Both of these are serious, damaging and damning issues. The tarsands are way to expensive to be economical and are environmental disaster (i wonder if you can see that great splotch from space). Still the feds and Alberta pour billions into 'sustainably' develop this 'huge' resource. Enbridge is proposing a twin pipeline to carry that would be oil through Alberta across the mountains to Kitimat, BC, which is located near well-known treacherous waters. But somehow it's safe for super tankers. Good trick. (see northern gateway, Enbridge pipelines, EnPipe Line Project)

Both the feds and the Quebec government ike to make the differentiation between chrysoltile asbestos, which Quebec mines, and other forms of asbestos. Chrysoltile being of course safe for use in human dwellings and the latter dangerous. But Chrysotile is banned most everywhere, has been criticized by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Medical Association and a large number of international organizations. Still the feds try to sell as safe. One particularly dough-headed scientist wrote that even dinosaurs breathed some of this asbestos. Last time I looked dinosaurs were oil (see above). Fortunately, as far as I know, only 1 asbestos mine continues to operate as one went bankrupt in January I believe.

The issue of uranium mining in Saskatchewan is probably more important now than asbestos, but I don't know that much about it. Also a major issue are the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines in the Northwest Territories, which are immense projects producing what are reputed to be some of the finest in the world. When a company like DeBeers joins the party, the fun is just starting The federal government is a keen supporter. Here's a lovely photo of the Ekati mine and how it blends so innocuously into the landscape. Reminds me of a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

It seems to me that it is the federal government that needs to be held accountable as well as the provinicial and territorial governments. It also seems to that our country deserves to be sanctioned by anyone with an environmental conscious and that collectively we should get real story of these kinds of projects onto the top of the national agenda.