CP Train Derails near Hells Gate, B.C., Spills Fuel into Fraser River

A photograph distributed by an agency of the B.C. government shows a train derailment that occurred on November 23, 2017.

A Canadian Pacific Rail train has derailed near Hells Gate, B.C. in the Fraser Canyon and leaked some fuel.

The train derailed due to a rock slide on Thursday.

The B.C. Environmental Emergency Program posted an update Friday morning.

They will be working with Canadian Pacific Railway to monitor the spill response activities and assess environmental impacts.

“Fuel was leaking out of the vent line hole, over the steep bank and into the Fraser River at a fairly steady flow,” the update said.

The hole has been temporarily patched.

Affected First Nations have been updated on the situation and will continue to be notified of ongoing response actions.

There’s not yet information available on how much fuel leaked.

GOOGLE MAPS

Story will be updated..

Chilliwack, B.C., Homeless Camp Residents Get Trespass Notice

A resident of a homeless camp in Chilliwack holds up a notice of trespass. The group of people living there in tents have been ordered to leave by Monday at noon. (Deborah Goble/CBC)

Homelessness growing the fastest in the Fraser Valley out of all of the Lower Mainland

Residents of a homeless camp in Chilliwack, B.C., have been handed a notice of trespass — despite their claims they have nowhere else to go.

“This is one of a few tent cities in Chilliwack. We’ve all banded together to survive because there are no beds at shelters,” said Dawnette Simons, who has been living at the camp since it started five years ago.

Simons said the residents were given the notice 10 days ago and have been told to leave by Monday at noon.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do. This is the end of the rope, so to speak, in terms of a place for homeless people like us,” she said.

The residents say they believe they’re on Crown land. But there are signs saying no trespassing all around the camp.

Veronica Evans lives in this tent with four other family members, including her 72-year-old mother. (Doug Kerr/CBC)

Simons says the group isn’t planning to dispute the order. Instead, it’s now looking to move to a patch of grass in the middle of a three-way intersection close to a nearby Walmart.

The camp at Evans Road is the same place where a 51-year-old woman died after her tent collapsed under heavy snow last winter.

That woman’s sister is Veronica Evans, who still lives at the camp. She lives in a tent with five family members, including her 72-year-old mother. They all use a propane stove to keep warm.

“I have an air horn if there’s a fire,” Evans said.

“I go ‘doot doot doot’ and everyone comes running with shovels and what not, and we put the fires out in minutes.”

Homelessness in the Fraser Valley has grown faster than anywhere else in the Lower Mainland. In Chilliwack, the homeless count nearly tripled, from 73 to 221 people.

Mayor Sharon Gaetz didn’t respond to CBC requests for an interview on Sunday. But she has previously told CBC News that there are 18 different homeless camps spread throughout the large municipality.

She also pointed out that housing is a provincial responsibility.

CBC News

[SOURCE]

Kinder Morgan Serves Notice to Landowners on Pipeline Route

Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Expansion Project’s Westeridge loading dock is seen in Burnaby, B.C., on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

Letters to be mailed to property owners along proposed route of Trans Mountain expansion

CBC News Posted: Feb 23, 2017

Kinder Morgan is beginning to issue letters to Burnaby, B.C. landowners whose property falls on the pipeline corridor, outlining how the project will utilize their land.

“One of the next steps in the process for us … is to get into more of the details of the route of where the pipeline will go,” said Ali Hounsell, spokesperson for Kinder Morgan “There’s about 60 parcels of land through Burnaby that the pipeline will go [through].”

The proposed route for the Kinder Morgan expansion pipeline is highlighted in green. The orange trail is an alternative route — which runs through a residential area.

Hounsell says the pipeline will not run through residential areas. Of the 60 parcels, a dozen are either commercial or industrial zones with the City of Burnaby owning the remainder.

“There are no individual homeowners who will be impacted by the new route,” said Hounsell. “The idea is that we are trying to minimize the disruption to individuals. Obviously, when we get to the construction phase, there will be some disruption.”

Opposed landowners

The notices are part of a draft document that was approved by the National Energy Board earlier this month. The plan requires Kinder Morgan to list the number of landowners that are affected by the project.

Anyone objecting to the use of their property can file a statement of opposition to the NEB, which could potentially reroute the corridor if the reason for the opposition is found to be justified.

But Hounsell says there are existing relationships between landowners along the corridor and Kinder Morgan.

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan says there’s still a long fight ahead of the Kinder Morgan expansion project. (Simon Charland/CBC)

But, Burnaby remains opposed to the project with Mayor Derek Corrigan saying the route remains “offensive.”

“They are now looking at going through the Burnaby Mountain conservation area, which is not a good alternative as far as we’re concerned,” said Corrigan. “It will have a significant impact on our conservation and park area.”

Corrigan is also challenging the notion that no residential areas will be adversely affected by the property.

“There is no way that they can bring this pipeline through a very dense urban area and not have an impact on residents in general, and some residents in particular.”

Upcoming roadblocks

Burnaby has appealed the the NEB’s approval of the project, and will argue their case in the Federal Court of Appeal. Meanwhile, the City of Vancouver is in the process of requesting its own judicial review of the B.C. government’s approval of the project.

“There [are] still significant hurdles for Kinder Morgan to achieve before this project moves ahead,” said Corrigan.

The company says it will attempt to mend its fractured relationship with the city.

“We continue to make efforts to reach out to them, and we’re hopeful and optimistic — now that the pipeline is approved — to be able to sit down and have these kind of working relationships,” said Hounsell.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kinder-morgan-serves-notice-to-landowners-on-pipeline-route-1.3997092

Court Hears B.C. Mountie Twice Convicted Of Punching Indigenous Suspects

A veteran RCMP officer is awaiting sentencing for punching a handcuffed teenager in the face during a violent arrest in Terrace in 2014. (Terrace Standard Newspaper )

Veteran RCMP constable likely won’t serve jail time for punching handcuffed teen in Terrace

CBC News Posted: Oct 21, 2016

A veteran RCMP officer convicted of punching a handcuffed Indigenous teenager was previously convicted of assaulting an Indigenous man in a jail cell more than a decade ago.

The earlier assault was revealed during a sentencing hearing for Terrace, B.C. Const. Bruce Lofroth.

Lofroth has worked as a police officer for almost 30 years, first with the Victoria Police and then as an RCMP officer and member of the Emergency Response Team in northern B.C.

Lofroth, 53, pleaded guilty this year to a 2014 assault during a violent arrest.

He was charged after a video of the incident was made public.

The video was shown twice during Lofroth’s four- hour sentencing hearing in B.C. provincial court in Terrace.

Lofroth punched handcuffed teen in face

The video shows a subdued teenager lying on the sidewalk in handcuffs offering no resistance, just before Lofroth punches him in the face.

The “depth of recoil of Lofroth’s punching arm is indicative of the force used,” said Crown prosecutor Michael van Klaveren.

RCMP Constable Bruce Lofroth was raised in Terrace and has policed the northwestern B.C. community for years. (City of Terrace)

Thirteen years prior to that sidewalk punch, in 2001, Lofroth was convicted of punching a man in a Prince Rupert jail cellblock.

At his sentencing hearing this week, the Crown stated the man, who Lofroth had arrested, kicked and spat at the officer.

Lofroth unlocked the cell door and punched the prisoner, according to the Crown. The man fell to the floor and suffered a cut lip that required stitches.

Court heard Lofroth was under emotional stress at the time because of the death of his brother.

He was found guilty of the 2001 assault, but the judge granted him a conditional discharge and told him he expected this would never happen again.

But, now, it has.

At Friday’s sentencing hearing, defence lawyer Brad Smith argued the two incidents were unrelated, separated by a period of 13 years.

‘He has accepted responsibility’

Smith described Lofroth as a quiet family man, a father of two teenagers and a veteran Mountie “who doesn’t hesitate to do the jobs others do not intend to do.”

“He’s the sort of man you’d like to have in your corner in a crisis.”

“He has accepted responsibility for what he has done,” said Smith, who noted that the teen in the case had attacked Lofroth before he was subdued.

“His career will not recover from this.”

Smith called for a conditional discharge, which would mean no criminal record. He said Lofroth has already been disciplined by the RCMP for use of excessive force.

The lawyer also pointed out Lofroth had been on desk duty at reduced pay, had been permanently removed from the Emergency Response Team and had been embarrassed in his community by media coverage of the case.

Crown seeks suspended sentence

The Crown is seeking a suspended sentence, which would mean a criminal record for the veteran Mountie.

It is also asking for a number of conditions, including anger counselling for Lofroth, a letter of apology to the youth he struck and mandatory community work within the First Nations community.

Judge Edmond de Walle, brought in from Salmon Arm for the sentencing, reserved his decision to a later date.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/terrace-rcmp-bruce-lofroth-punched-handcuffed-terrace-teen-and-man-in-prince-rupert-jail-cell-1.3816845

B.C. House With 10,000 Dirty Needles Connected To Youth In Provincial Care

RCMP Corp. Craig Douglass said the house connected to nearly a dozen youth in Prince George was a “crack house” and “flophouse.” (Betsy Trumpener/CBC)

CBC News

Children as young as 12, some in government care, stayed in Prince George drug house

Children as young as 12, some in government care, were “effectively living” at a northern B.C. drug house where 10,000 dirty needles were found last month, CBC News has learned.

RCMP Corp. Craig Douglass called the rental duplex unit on Spruce Street near downtown Prince George, B.C., a “crack house” and “flophouse.” He said addicts bought drugs there and frequently stayed overnight while using crack cocaine, heroin, and crystal meth.

RCMP raided the home in response to a report of a woman being threatened with a firearm on Nov. 19. They arrested 15 people and found a vast quantity of used needles inside.

“A staff sergeant estimated 10,000 [needles] in this residence,” said Douglass. “They were in every cranny and crevice, in the couch, in bags of garbage, in any spot lying on the floor.”

Youth had nowhere else to go: Turpel-Lafond

B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, said about ten young people, aged 12 to 15 years old, were connected to the house.

“They were effectively living in what I can only describe as being a bit of a drug house,” she said.

Turpel-Lafond said she has been lobbying MCFD for several months to find them a safe place to live, but there are no beds or facilities in Prince George where they can get help.

“These are young people who are supposed to be in [ministry] care, living in a safe, appropriate home,” said Turpel-Lafond.

“These are some of our most vulnerable children, who are likely to come to serious harm. These are kids who’ve experienced abuse, who need a home and who need safety.”

Without a safe place to go, the youth have been surviving on the street, couch surfing, returning to abusive homes, or sleeping at a drug house, she said.

Turpel-Lafond said the youth may have been injecting hard drugs.

“They’re very easy prey for sexual abuse,” she said. “They’re in peril. This is an issue I’ve brought to the attention of  the ministry repeatedly.”

Turpel-Lafond is also critical of the community’s response.

“There must be people [who were] driving by that place every day and knew what was going on,” she said.

House previously raided

The ministry declined to comment on these specific allegations, citing privacy issues. It did say that the ministry has strict protocols in place to respond to allegations once youth are in its care.

Douglass said it wasn’t the first time officers had been called to the house and found young people there. A previous raid in August resulted in the arrest of a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy.

“It’s not all that uncommon,” said Douglass. “We do find kids of all ages in these [type of] residences at times. Sometimes it’s toddlers crawling on the floor, sometimes it’s teenagers.”

Douglass said RCMP contacted the teenagers’ guardians and alerted the Ministry of Children and Family Development.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/prince-george-house-10000-needles-1.3346500