All posts by Kelly Hobson

Canada’s pipeline organization doesn’t want B.C.’s government as a regulator

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The organization representing the companies that own Canada’s transmission pipelines says a government-led spill response protocol in British Columbia is not “necessary or optimum,” according to newly released documents.

The documents—which give insight into discussion with the public and big players in the pipeline industry as the Ministry of Environment develops a new land spill response protocol—were obtained through a request under the B.C. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

In a report presented to B.C.’s Ministry of Environment last March, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association said that while it supports the “world leading” spill response protocol the provincial government plans to implement, the spill response measures should be voluntary and allow for “industry discretion” in determining response to spills.

The Association says the existing spill protocols enforced by the National Energy Board and B.C. Oil and Gas Commission already regulate the industry heavily.

“If you see the B.C. (Oil and Gas Commission) as a government-led organization, then we’re fully in support of that,” said Kai Horsfield, a research coordinator at the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. “But we don’t believe the Ministry of Environment has the capacity or the need to duplicate that regulation.”

B.C.’s Ministry of Environment says there’s recognition that a new spill response regime could mean multiple regulatory bodies asking for the same things.

“We want to avoid unnecessary duplication,” said David Karn, spokesperson for the B.C. Ministry of Environment. “And we continue to have respectful discussions with stakeholders.”

But the Ministry of Environment says it is crucial spill regulation is in their hands.

“The B.C. Ministry of Environment is the lead provincial agency for all spills affecting the province regardless of industry sector or source,” said Karn. “The majority of issues associated with a spill are environmental in nature and therefore the B.C. Ministry of Environment is the most appropriate agency with the relevant staff and expertise to address the environmental impact of spills.”

The Association also said it believes collecting more money to establish a provincial spill response fund is “not required.”

In September of last year, the Ministry of Environment released a report on the comments received from April to July of last year during their public consultation on B.C.’s spill response policies.

“The province has been clear that we need to improve our spill preparedness and response on both land an in the marine environment,” said Karn.

The “vast majority” of the 101 respondents indicated B.C.’s current spill preparedness and response has “significant gaps” or is “not effective at all,” according to the report.

The majority of respondents also indicated “support” or recognized a “need” for a provincially regulated and industry funded spill response organization.

The report indicated the comments from the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association that “a government led or regulated, industry funded spill response organization is neither necessary nor optimum” was part of a “limited number” of respondents not in support of such an organization.

The released documents come in the wake of a toxic fuel spill in Vancouver’s English Bay last month, which has critics and activists saying the province isn’t prepared to handle spills effectively.

In 2012, the Ministry of Environment set out five minimum requirements that must be met before heavy pipelines proposed in B.C. can garner approval.

The Ministry of Environment plans to implement their new spill response protocol in 2016.

What were the documents?

Briefing notes and reports from the B.C. Ministry of Environment regarding the new government-led industry funded land based spill response protocol.

Where did you get them?

B.C. Ministry of Environment

What did they tell you?

That the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association doesn’t want the B.C. government to have a regulatory role in the transmission pipeline industry.

Document Pages (page 12 and 13)

Proof of Informal Requests: 

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More complaints might mean less graffiti in Edmonton

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Two artists work on a mural at the Tweddle Place Tennis Courts, one of Edmonton's legal walls. | Photo by the Edmonton Arts Council
Two artists work on a mural at the Tweddle Place Tennis Courts, one of Edmonton’s legal walls. | Photo by the Edmonton Arts Council

Forest Terrace Heights may have a lot of graffiti complaints – but they don’t have a lot of graffiti.

Last year the community filed 53 complaints about graffiti and vandalism through Edmonton’s 311 service, compared to just 11 the previous year, according to 311 data released last month.

“We have been encouraging people to make complaints when they see stuff,” said Rae Hall, president of the Forest Terrace Heights Community League.

She said there’s very little vandalism in the community, despite the jump in complaints.

Hall knows firsthand how reporting graffiti – and reporting it quickly – can make a long-term difference in a neighbourhood.

“When I first moved to the neighbourhood, constantly I was seeing graffiti in this one spot,” said Hall. “First you got one spray of graffiti, then you got another, and it just kind of started to spiral out of control.”

Hall finally reported the vandalism, and the graffiti was cleaned up. But the problem persisted.

“A couple weeks later, there was some more graffiti,” said Hall. “I called it in immediately, it was cleaned up immediately, and we actually haven’t had anything on that building since.”

The culture of reporting vandalism in Forest Terrace Heights is indicative of a larger trend in the City of Edmonton. Graffiti and vandalism complaints across the city were up 35 per cent in 2014 compared to the previous year, according to 311 call data released last month.

Rate of graffiti and vandalism complaints in Edmonton in 2013 by ward, according to 311 call data. 

 

Rate of graffiti and vandalism complaints in Edmonton in 2014 by ward, according to 311 call data. 

Those complaints might be leading to less graffiti and vandalism in Edmonton. The City of Edmonton’s most recent graffiti audit says incidents of graffiti and vandalism have been declining steadily since 2010.

“We really encourage awareness in the community of recording, reporting and removing graffiti,” said Katie Hayes, graffiti project manager for Edmonton’s Capital City Clean Up program. “The faster we can get citizens to report it, the faster we can get it removed from properties.”

Since the launch of the graffiti management program in the spring of 2008, Edmonton has implemented services to support residents and private property owners affected by graffiti and vandalism, said Hayes. The graffiti wipe out program brings together volunteer groups who paint over graffiti at no cost to the property owner.

Residents can also apply for a free graffiti clean up kit, which includes painting supplies and discount coupons to Rona. The number of kits ordered by residents more than doubled between 2014 and the previous year, according to Hayes.

Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen says these programs, in addition to the launch of the City’s 311 app last summer, have encouraged Edmonton residents to report problems in their community.

“We have programs in place like the 311 app and like Capital City Clean Up that are really raising awareness,” said McKeen, who serves Downtown Edmonton. The rate of graffiti and vandalism complaints in McKeen’s ward more than doubled between 2013 and 2014, according to 311 call data.

“The ward is really starting to come alive, revitalize, and people’s standards are going up. There’s a reason Edmonton was called Deadmonton in 2001,” said McKeen.

He says addressing concerns in the community is just part of a new engaged citizenry.

“It’s a good sign, people are reporting things. With the amount of new residential buildings downtown with young families moving into the area,” said McKeen. “Things that people passed by years ago without making any noise, maybe people are reporting it now. Whether it’s graffiti or some other form of vandalism.”

“I suspect rather than us having a spree of vandalism, we just have a community that’s more sensitive to it and more likely to report it.”

No more ‘pink power’: 25 years of Canadian women’s hockey on the world stage

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When Vicky Sunohara pulled a pink jersey on 25 years ago, she wasn’t bothered that her first tournament representing Team Canada wouldn’t be played in traditional red and white. The young hockey superstar was ecstatic to represent her country in the inaugural women’s world hockey championship in 1990.

“There was a lot of talk about us wearing pink,” said Sunohara, now coach of the University of Toronto women’s hockey team. “As much as the Canada flag is red and white, I didn’t care as long as we were playing for Canada.”

The “pink power,” as some called it, propelled Canada to a gold medal on home ice in Ottawa. The victory was the first of many milestones to come for women’s hockey in Canada. 

The inaugural world championship in 1990 marked the first time the International Ice Hockey Federation sanctioned a women’s hockey tournament on a world stage. Advocates of women’s hockey had worked tirelessly for years in hope of recognition from the IIHF.

“It was just one big team of worldwide women’s hockey enthusiasts that collectively pursued a common goal,” said Fran Rider, president of the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association. Rider grew up playing hockey in Canada in the 1960s and ‘70s. At the time, women in hockey faced narrow competition and limited ice access. 

“You really appreciated the other players and the other teams,” said Rider. “We shared a love of hockey. We wanted to play it, wanted to make it better for the future players.”

The 1990 world championships became a catalyst for enrollment in women’s hockey programs across Canada. A decade after the championship, the number of women playing hockey in Canada had more than quadrupled, according to Hockey Canada.

“Girl’s and women’s hockey in Canada became the fastest-growing sport in this country for over a decade,” said Sue Scherer, captain of Canada’s national team at the inaugural world championship. “The 1990 worlds here in Canada was the beginning of a new evolution for girl’s hockey.”

Women’s hockey was added to the Canada Games for the first time in 1991. The women’s hockey community then focused on completing the hat trick: the Olympics.

After advocacy and cooperation by women’s hockey organizations around the world, women’s hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan in 1998.

“We realized the impossible dream, which is getting women’s hockey into the Olympics,” said Rider. “We did that by working together and not worrying about boundaries or opposition.”

Canada has made other significant gains in women’s hockey since Nagano. Today, women’s hockey players can attain scholarships and funding at Canadian universities, where most schools have a women’s varsity team. Elite players aiming for Olympic glory can also expect an amateur salary paid out if the team wins a medal, an initiative introduced at the Vancouver Games in 2010.

For Scherer, the inaugural world championship was the tipping point that led to these changes after decades of progress in women’s hockey in Canada. 

“We were playing not only for ourselves and for our country, but we were playing for all the women across this country who had laid the foundation for us,” said Scherer. “It’s really special that we were able to be part of something that allowed the game to grow.”

Despite all these triumphs, Rider, Scherer and Sunohara agree there is still room for improvement, and for women’s hockey to achieve credibility within the sporting community. 

“When you’ve come so far, you appreciate so much of what you’ve got,” said Sunohara. 

“A women’s professional league would be just amazing,” she said. “To be able to do something that you absolutely love and get paid for it, I think would be the ultimate for women’s hockey.”

News stories from the inaugural women’s world hockey championship in 1990 can be found here and here.

WestJet’s loss of $45.5 million will benefit company, customers

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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Canada’s second-largest airline may have taken a $45.5 million hit on the sale of 10 planes last year, but they stand to gain in the long run—and so do their customers.

WestJet Airlines sold 10 Boeing 737-700s to Southwest Airlines last year, as part of a routine upgrade to WestJet’s fleet. The deal resulted in a non-cash loss, meaning there are no direct implications for WestJet’s cash flow.

But it does mean they lost money.

 

The loss came from a difference in exchange rate from the time the planes were purchased over a decade ago. Aircraft are dealt in American funds, and the Canadian dollar was much stronger when WestJet sold the planes than it was when they first purchased them.

Despite the loss, WestJet says there’s value to the upgrade for both the company and their customers.

“We saw an opportunity to replace 10 old 737-700s with 10 new 737-800s,” said Robert Palmer, manager of WestJet’s public relations. “Fleet optimization will result in lower costs because the fleet is, overall, younger and more fuel-efficient.”

For WestJet customers, that means cheaper flights.

The new Boeing planes in WestJet’s fleet have more seats, and can operate at less cost with higher fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs.

According to one of WestJet’s financial analysts, David Tyerman, the fleet optimization is part of a larger trend.

“In the industry you’re seeing more upgauging,” said Tyerman.

“Upgauging” is the practice of replacing smaller planes in a fleet with larger, more economic and efficient aircraft.

“A side benefit of all this is bigger airplanes have a lower seat cost,” said Tyerman. “The reason for that is they seat an extra 20 people roughly, but they don’t use a lot more fuel or other costs to fly those extra people.”

Tyerman said the $45.5 million hit is just a drop in the bucket for WestJet.

“Relative to the magnitude of the company, it’s not that large,” said Tyerman.

But it does hold implications for WestJet’s financial long game. The company is in a race with their biggest competitor, Air Canada, to expand in response to consumer demand. Both airlines have been adding seats and routes, in addition to upgauging.

“They’re trying to match their capacity and size of airplane better with the demand,” said Tyerman.

This month WestJet announced the addition of nine new routes and more flights on 15 existing routes.

“WestJet Encore is now serving Canadians coast to coast,” the company announced in a press release.

The addition of flights mostly impacted Atlantic Canada, and business routes including flights in and out of Calgary.

Both WestJet and Air Canada expanded their capacity in 2014 at a rate much greater than the growth in the economy. Both airlines project similar growth in 2015.

“How can you possibly add that many seats when the economy’s not growing that fast?” asked Tyerman.

“Those two airlines in particular picked up enough demand to be able to fill their aircraft and make more money,” said Tyerman. “Their strategies worked.”

The question is whether the same strategy will work for WestJet in 2015.

“It’s a risk for sure,” said Tyerman. “They just got a big windfall that might help them fill the airplanes, with the crash in oil prices.”

The plummeting price of oil means jet fuel will be cheaper. So while WestJet continues to upgauge, they’ll also enjoy lower fuel costs.

“Ticket prices will come down also, over time,” said Tyerman. “Which is great news for consumers.”