Frankly Speaking

Joe Smuin explains an aspect of Kettle Valley Railway history to an attentive group on Sunday. A ceremony was held on the KVR grade above the Coquihalla highway to mark the 100th anniversary of the opening of the rail line between Brookmere and Hope through Coquihalla Pass. A group of rail history and outdoors enthusiasts marked an important 100 th anniversary Sunday, with a commemorative “last spike” ceremony. The event was organized by my friend, longtime Canadian Pacific Railway railfan Brian Peters. July 31, 1916 was the day the Coquihalla line of the Kettle Valley Railway opened for traffic. The construction and opening of the railway was the final step in a lengthy political and economic campaign to link the Okanagan, Boundary and Kootenay areas of B.C. with the coast by rail. The campaign also sought to prevent American railroads (specifically the Great Northern Railway, operated by Canadian J.J. (Jim) Hill) from reaping most of the profits from the mines, smelters...

Kinder Morgan photo A portion of the twinning of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain oil pipeline through Jasper National Park has already been built. The B.C. government hasn’t closed the door tightly on Kinder Morgan’s plan to twin the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, but Monday’s submission to the National Energy Board from the province is certainly a devastating blow to the twinning proposal. In particular, the province is unable to determine whether the project meets two of five conditions it has insisted upon for supporting heavy crude oil pipelines, based on the information provided. These relate to oil spills along the pipeline route and at the Burnaby marine terminal, and the company’s ability to respond to emergencies. Most B.C. residents support the strong stance the province has taken, and the five conditions that Premier Christy Clark has insisted must be met for B.C. to accept such a pipeline. It is important to remember that the Kinder Morgan pipeline played...