ndp-on-tmx-pipeline:-we-didn’t-want-it-they-built-it.-so-let’s-use-its-full-potential
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NDP on TMX pipeline: We didn’t want it. They built it. So let’s use its full potential

ByVaughn Palmer

Article content Eby and Sharma exaggerate the degree to which the TMX is “underused … with capacity to spare” after one year of operation. Article content The Canadian Energy Regulator reports that the line has operated at about 80 per cent of its 890,000 barrel-per-day capacity since coming online in May 2024. Moreover, the performance improved in the first quarter of this year. Article content “The pipeline ran at about 85 per cent capacity during the three-month period ending in March,” Chris Varcoe reported in the Calgary Herald this week. The Globe and Mail’s Emma Garney further reported that the line “hit a high of 90 per cent” in March. Article content The demand is such that Trans Mountain has already begun test work to boost capacity by up to 10 per cent by the end of 2026. A longer-term project would add pumping stations to boost it to 1.14 million barrels a day, later in the decade. Article content So much for the B.C. NDP notion that the $34 billion pipeline is languishing through insufficient use. Article content Article content But rather than consult the country’s energy regulator or the national newspapers, perhaps Eby and Sharma were taking their lead from Steven Guilbeault. Article content Guilbeault served as environment minister in the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, where he flourished as a fan of carbon taxation and an opponent of fossil fuel expansion. Article content Carney reassigned him to the Canadian Heritage Department at about the same time as the PM reduced the carbon tax to zero and began talking up the need to expand resource production. Article content It didn’t stop the new heritage minister from wandering outside his lane last month to announce that Canada has no need of more pipelines because TMX was operating at “40 per cent capacity” and the world was approaching “peak oil production.” Article content In the first instance, Guilbeault clearly didn’t know what he was talking about and in the second, there’s much room to debate about when peak oil will be reached. Article content Article content Still, there is a capacity issue regarding the TMX terminal in Burnaby, though not one that involves the pipeline. Article content The terminal is already busy with tankers, having loaded some 741 in the first quarter of the year at a rate that fell just short of one a day in March. But tankers are unable to load fully because of the risk of grounding in Burrard Inlet. Article content The New Democrats have recognized the limitation and come out in support of a federal proposal to dredge Burrard Inlet to a depth that full tankers can traverse. Article content Leading the call is Energy Minister Adrian Dix. As NDP leader, Dix’s snap decision to oppose TMX in the midst of the 2013 election campaign contributed to his loss to Christy Clark. Article content Now that the line is running, Dix supports maximizing its use. “We built it. We paid for it. We should use it,” he says, taking a realistic view of a project that cost him much. Article content Article content Article content

vancouver-aiming-to-grow-urban-forest-canopy-but-don’t-expect-the-promised-100,000-new-trees-soon
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Vancouver aiming to grow urban forest canopy but don’t expect the promised 100,000 new trees soon

ByDan Fumano

Article content Vancouver’s “greenest” city plan, approved in 2011 by the city’s then Vision-Vancouver-majority government, set a target of planting 150,000 trees by 2020. According to a 2020 city presentation, 139,000 trees were planted by that deadline — an average of almost 13,900 a year, far more than the recent pace. Article content Vancouver staff said Wednesday that the city’s focus will be not on the number of trees planted, or the number added, but on the percentage of the city’s land mass protected by tree canopy. Article content ABC Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung said she understands the shift to focus on canopy percentage over tree numbers. But she asked staff whether the target of 30 per cent could be higher, or it could be achieved sooner than 2050, considering that canopy cover increased from 21 per cent in 2013 to 25 per cent in 2022. Article content Joe McLeod, Vancouver’s associate director of urban forestry, responded: “I think the last five per cent of this goal is going to be a lot harder.” Article content Article content “The cream has been skimmed off the top, so to speak,” McLeod said. “During the ‘greenest city’ decade, from 2010 to 2020, all the easiest, least inexpensive tree-planting spots were capitalized upon. And now we’re getting into the harder-to-reach areas. … It’s going to be trickier.” Article content Also, the city wants to prioritize adding trees to areas where the need is greatest. Article content During Vancouver’s June 2021 heat wave, vulnerable people living in areas with less forest canopy were at higher risk of death from heat-related illness, this week’s staff report says. Article content The report includes maps that reveal a stark divide between Vancouver’s cooler and leafier — and traditionally more affluent — west side, and the historically lower-income east side, which is hotter and has fewer trees — especially in and around the Downtown Eastside. Article content Tree planting by the City of Vancouver along East Hastings in one of the areas of Vancouver with the smallest tree canopy. Photo by City of Vancouver Article content A similar pattern plays out across the region. A 2021 analysis by Postmedia journalist Nathan Griffiths found that wealthier neighbourhoods were significantly cooler than their lower-income neighbours who were surrounded by more concrete and roads, and fewer trees. Article content Article content It can be more difficult — and expensive — to plant trees in these “very urbanized environments,” McLeod told council. Article content Removing pavement and excavating to create a new tree pit can cost as much as $20,000, he said. Article content “It is a costly endeavour, but it improves the public realm and obviously provides great benefits to the community.” Article content He cited the 700-block of East Hastings as an example where the city has recently been able to add several new trees to a tree-deficient area. Article content ABC Coun. Mike Klassen proposed directing staff to explore innovative ways to reduce urban heat islands in neighbourhoods with less tree canopy cover, including areas where it is challenging to grow trees. Article content Klassen’s proposal, which council supported, mentioned the example of “vegetated shade structures.” These are roughly four-metre-long sail-shaped awnings covered in vegetation, which are designed by a Spanish company and have been installed above urban streetscapes in Spain, England and Turkey. Article content Asked whether ABC’s 100,000-tree campaign promise was unrealistic, Klassen said: “I’ll never apologize for being ambitious.” Article content “I think all innovative solutions have to be brought to bear,” he said. “What’s our goal? Our goal is to create cooler conditions in the face of a changing climate, and we’re using whatever tools are at our disposal to achieve that.” Article content Article content Article content

bc.-could-face-huge-challenges-if-alberta-declares-independence
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B.C. could face huge challenges if Alberta declares independence

ByAlec Lazenby

File photo: B.C. Premier David Eby, left, speaks to reporters with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith during meetings with Canada’s other premiers at the Council of the Federation meetings in Halifax on July 16, 2024. Photo by Darren Calabrese /The Canadian Press Article content A vote for independence in Alberta would divide Canada at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening the country’s sovereignty and could pose headaches for B.C. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account or Article content Article content The trading relationship between B.C. and Alberta is estimated at well over $30 billion annually and “Wild Rose Country” is B.C.’s most important economic partner within Canada. Article content Ports in B.C. rely on railways, pipelines and highways that cross Alberta to move goods to and from the rest of the country, and there could be enormous challenges if these routes are disrupted. Article content Article content Premier David Eby has been reluctant to weigh in so far on the possibility of a sovereign Alberta outside of comments calling for national unity in the face of Trump’s 51st state threats. Article content By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Article content However, he’s not been shy about calling out his displeasure with outside actors becoming involved. Article content “It is a tired trope. It is a waste of time, and it is an attack on the unity that we have right now as a country standing up to the Trump administration, for political, partisan gains,” Eby said in April in response to former Reform Party leader Preston Manning’s column in the Globe and Mail suggesting a victory for Mark Carney’s Liberals in the federal election could lead to Western secession. Article content Conservative Leader John Rustad has been more supportive of Alberta’s grievances, saying Carney needs to “step up to the plate” after his victory. Article content The fires of separatism leading up to the April 28 federal election have been exacerbated in the weeks since by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s move to lower the number of signatures needed to trigger a referendum, from 600,000 to 177,000. Article content Article content A new Alberta Republican party has also been organizing to get those signatures in time for a 2026 referendum. Article content Article content Those developments could cause tension this week as the premiers of B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut are meeting in Yellowknife for their annual conference. Article content As that meeting began on Wednesday, Eby lamented separatism, without using the word “Alberta,” saying it’s hard to “imagine a worse time to be tacitly or overtly supporting voices” that want to break Canada apart. Article content Stewart Prest, a University of B.C. political scientist, said the challenge for Eby is to balance his belief in Confederation with an understanding of Alberta’s, and to a lesser extent Saskatchewan’s, concerns they aren’t receiving their fair share. Article content “If I were the premier, I would be finding ways to say that Alberta is heard and seen as part of Confederation, but also that this federation is stronger for Alberta’s presence than if Alberta is separated,” said Prest.

‘don’t-always-go-up’:-bulk-of-metro-vancouver-presale-condos-sold-in-2022-and-2023-now-appraised-below-original-price
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‘Don’t always go up’: Bulk of Metro Vancouver presale condos sold in 2022 and 2023 now appraised below original price

ByJoanne Lee-Young

The Butterfly on Nelson Street in Vancouver Nov. 21, 2023. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG Article content Thousands of presale buyers in Metro Vancouver face completing their purchase of condos that are now worth less than they were in 2022 and 2023 when they signed the contracts to buy them. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Sign In or Create an Account or Article content Article content More than half of the appraisals required by mortgage lenders to complete sales are now coming in at values lower than original sale prices. Article content As a result, lenders will only write smaller mortgages. That means condo buyers have to satisfy lenders by ponying up the difference between the unit’s value in 2022 or 2023 and what it is worth now, either by putting in more cash or refinancing. Article content Article content A Vancouver appraiser who works with banks, law firms and mortgage brokers is raising the alarm because the buildings are now built and developers are trying to finalize sales. Article content By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Article content “Presales don’t always go up. There was that mindset where if it happened before, it’s going to happen again,” said Adam Lawrenson, owner of Vancouver-based Adlaw Appraisals. “I can’t say an exact number, but over half (of appraisals) are now coming in below their sale price.” Article content He estimates condo values have dropped between five and 20 per cent below what buyers originally promised to pay when they put down a non-refundable deposit. Article content That’s one reason why a growing number of buyers are looking to sell these new or barely used properties. This market glut and a lack of demand is helping drive down prices. Article content “You can easily get a brand new unit or a one- or two-year (old) unit at a cheaper price point than these presales, so that comes into play when we are doing our appraisal and looking at current market values.” Article content Article content With sellers dropping prices to speed up sales, that sets a new base for future, lower, appraisals. Article content Article content No area in the Lower Mainland is immune, but there are some buildings and areas that are more susceptible to having units “being underwater.” Article content There are “areas of Langley that got overbuilt and developers were leaving them vacant for six to 12 months, in hopes the market would turn around. But you can only hold for so long before you have to start selling them,” Lawrenson said. Article content There are also a few buildings in north Burnaby where presale buyers are now looking to get rid of units as soon as they close their sale. Some have 30 listings of one-bedroom apartments. Article content There are also some higher-end buildings in downtown Vancouver, such as The Butterfly on Nelson Street, with presale units that sold at presale for over $2 million. Some of these have appraisals that are now down $300,000 to $500,000 from their original prices, said Lawrenson. Article content According to research by Rennie Intelligence, which does marketing for major developers, investors made up around half of all buyers in the years between 2021 to 2023.