The UN has asked Canada to suspend construction of a dam in Peace River, B.C. (Photo: CC, Basil D Soufi via Flickr)

The Lead

In a rare move, the United Nations is asking Canada to suspend construction of the Site C dam in northeastern British Columbia until it’s received “free, prior, and informed” consent from affected Indigenous peoples.

The request, made in a letter from Noureddine Amir, chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, asks Canada to report back to the committee on what steps it will take to halt construction of the Peace River dam by April 8.

“The Committee is concerned about the alleged lack of measures taken to ensure the right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent with regard to the Site C dam, considering its impact on Indigenous people’s control and use of their lands and natural resources,” the letter reads.

The dam would flood 128 kilometres of the Peace River and its tributaries in the heart of Treaty 8 traditional territory, according to the Narwhal, and is expected to cost at least $8 billion. Site C is currently subject to two civil lawsuits from First Nations, who argue it infringes on their constitutionally protected treaty rights. A court date has not yet been set.

Amir’s letter to Rosemary McCarney, Canada’s ambassador to the UN, arrived as Canada continues pushing for a seat on the UN security council.

In Canada

Due to “unexpected challenges,” pro-pipeline groups have cancelled plans to drive a truck convoy from Alberta to Ottawa.

The grassroots group Rally 4 Resources, based in Red Deer, Alta., had planned to start the convoy on Feb. 15, with funds raised by fellow advocacy group Canada Action.

The coalition was building on the momentum from 30 rallies it has held across Canada since March 2018. However, “it is no longer viable” to proceed with the convoy, organizers said.

Meanwhile, a separate convoy from Red Deer to Ottawa is planned for mid-February by a group associated with Canada’s so-called “yellow vest movement,” Global News reports.

Canada Action founder Cody Battershill denied that involvement from this group had caused them to cancel, adding that Canada Action will be holding pro-pipeline rallies in Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and B.C.

Internationally

The Trump administration is expected to give BP and other big oil companies more power to self-regulate their offshore drilling operations, years after investigators found that lax regulatory oversight was one of the leading culprits behind the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, the worst environmental catastrophe in U.S. history, reports the Guardian.

The BP disaster killed 11 workers, spewed four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, and cost BP $65 billion.

The White House wants to open offshore oil and gas drilling to the vast majority of American coastal waters, including in the Arctic.

On Tuesday morning, Brent Crude was at US$60.27 and West Texas Intermediate US$51.94.

Noteworthy

In Opinion

Although some Albertans may be musing about separating from Canada, sparked by an ailing oil and gas industry, the province has more to gain by sticking with Canada, Donald Barry writes for National Newswatch. He calls the province’s frustration with the feds “understandable,” but says “the odds are that Trans Mountain will be approved,” and that an independent Alberta is unlikely to help.