Click on the link below to watch Gary address the issue of Tsunami Debris clean up in the legislature.
http://bcleg-ds1.insinc.com/ibc/mp/md/open/f/8/10/20120516wv150en?f=w&m=v&l=en&w=14:20:05&d=00:04:15
Gary calls for a coordinated effort to put forward a tsunami debris clean up plan on Coast
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Gary Coons questions the Enbridge Pipeline in the Legislature
Click here to watch Gary speak in the Legislature about the need for the government to take a stand on behalf of British Columbians against the Enbridge Pipeline.
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School-year debate surprises MLAs
By Les Leyne, Times Colonist May 3, 2012
British Columbia politicians are a bit taken aback at how important the school calendar seems to be to people.
Education Minister George Abbott said Wednesday he’s surprised at how much reaction there has been to the legislation that would eliminate the standard school calendar and allow boards of education to set their own calendars.
“We really didn’t expect this was going to provoke the discussion and debate that it has,” he said. Continue reading
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Prince Rupert city council takes aim at cap on port’s property taxes
By Alan S. Hale – The Northern View Published: May 02, 2012 5:00 PM
Prince Rupert city council is now considering its options for what to do about the provincial cap on port property taxes that the provincial government recently made permanent in their last budget.
But exactly what action it will take – if any – will have to be discussed in the weeks to come.
Prince Rupert resident, David Russell, came to the council meeting on Monday and asked councillors why they weren’t doing more to convince the province to have the cap repealed.
“Is there anything we can do about this? I can’t imagine the Alberta government going to Fort McMurray and saying ‘oh, you can’t tax the oil companies on this land any more than this amount of money.’ Why are we being limited,” says Russell. Continue reading
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Les Leyne: Island transport spending is small stuff
By Les Leyne, Times ColonistMay 1, 2012
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Leyne+Island+transport+spending+small+stuff/6545769/story.html#ixzz1tkwByc2K
The Ministry of Transportation noted in passing the other day that it has spent more than $548 million on Vancouver Island in the last decade.
It was the third-to-last line of a news release announcing – wait for it - $1.8 million worth of work on the road to Bamfield. And officials had to include road maintenance to bulk it up a little. In Metro Vancouver, they don’t even bother issuing news releases for projects that small. Continue reading
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Provincial NDP caucus speaks out against pipeline
Published: April 30, 2012 7:00 PM
Updated: May 01, 2012 12:30 PM
Click here to view article from original source
THE NDP caucus has written and signed a letter detailing its opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and sent it to the National Energy Board Joint Review Panel, which will decide whether the project will go ahead.
The three northwest MLAs – North Coast MLA Gary Coons, Stikine MLA Doug Donaldson and Skeena NDP MLA Robin Austin – have made their opposition to the project known but this letter is significant, said Austin. Continue reading
Filed under energy, environment, Uncategorized
B.C. NDP outlines objections to Enbridge pipeline to Joint Review Panel…see attachments
April 30, 2012
VICTORIA – The B.C. New Democrat Official Opposition caucus has formally registered its opposition to Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Project with the National Energy Board’s Joint Review Panel.
“Under the Enbridge proposal, British Columbia would assume almost all the project’s risk, yet would see only a fraction of the benefits,” said New Democrat leader Adrian Dix. “By any measure, such a high-risk, low-return approach simply isn’t in B.C.’s interests.” Continue reading
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Bella Bella Community School Hunger Strike
Below is an official transcript of MLA for North Coast, Gary Coons, speaking in the legislature on March 29, 2012
G. Coons: Next week the students of Bella Bella Community School, with the help of staff and community members, will hold a 48-hour hunger strike to protest the proposed Enbridge pipeline and associated oil tankers. Coinciding with the joint review panel hearings, people from across the country will be joining the students in their silent expression of their democratic voices from April 1 to April 3. Continue reading
Filed under energy, environment, Uncategorized
MLA Gary Coons speaks to the sinking of the Queen of the North and environmental protection in Gitga’at Territory
On March 15, MLA for the North Coast Gary Coons spoke in the legislature about the need for greater environmental protection and clean up response following the sinking of the Queen of the North.
Below is the official transcript.
Click here to watch video.
SINKING OF QUEEN OF THE NORTH
AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
OF GITGA’AT TERRITORY
G. Coons: March 22, 2006, will be a day I never forget. I received a call around one o’clock in the morning with the news the Queen of the North had sank. Two lives were lost. My thoughts still go out to the Rosette and Foisy families and hope that closure will come sooner rather than later. There are still lingering, devastating impacts on passengers and crew members, who were bumped from their beds into the cold night and traumatized beyond imagination. Continue reading
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Pipeline Tensions: Frustration Mounts at Review Hearings as Enbridge Lawyers Try to Limit Testimony of Elected Representatives
February 17, 2012 18:31 ET
First Nations Drummer Temporarily Barred From Hearings by National Energy Board Security Staff and the RCMP
PRINCE RUPERT, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Feb. 17, 2012) - The Metlakatla First Nation has registered its objections over Enbridge’s attempts to limit the testimony of MP Nathan Cullen and MLA Gary Coons, as well as the National Energy Board’s own attempt to bar a First Nations drummer in regalia from attending the hearing proceedings.
Frustrations boiled over this morning after National Energy Board security staff and the RCMP temporarily threatened to bar a First Nations woman who had expressed frustration at Enbridge’s lawyers’ attempt to limit the testimony of MP Nathan Cullen. The incident occurred during Mr. Cullen’s testimony. Continue reading
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