Harper: ‘Science’ will determine fate of pipeline
Firmly abiding by the party line, Prime Minister Stephen Harper continues to express his support for the Northern Gateway project, which would extend a pipeline to deliver crude oil from Alberta’s oilsands to a B.C. port. This time, Harper told reporters that science, not politics, will be the guiding factor in this decision-making process.
“In a broad sense, without getting into the specifics of any project… we think it’s obviously in the vital interests of Canada and in the vital interests of British Columbia,” Harper said, in Vancouver, on Tuesday.
“As Canada’s Asia-Pacific gateway, the economic growth we expect to have here in the future is going to be based on commerce with the Asia-Pacific region and we think it’s important that we continue to diversify our exports through this province.”
Rejecting the suggestion that the $6-billion project is a signed, sealed and delivered initiative, the Winnipeg Free Press reports Harper mentioned few specifics about the pipeline, instead discussing the importance of “independent evaluation” in making this decision.
Taking the environmental risk factors into consideration, the Prime Minister also announced plans for further investment in the surveillance and mitigation of these possible safety challenges, for the Enbridge Northern Gateway and beyond.
Adam Van Koeverden wins kayak silver
Another silver! Canadian Olympic favourite, Adam van Koeverden, won his fourth career Olympic medal in London – a Silver – early on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old athlete, who hails from Oakville, Ont., is now Canada’s most-winningest Olympian in the kayak event. Earlier this week, Van Koeverden placed first in the preliminary rounds for the K-1 1,000-metre sprint, but in Wednesday’s final, he was narrowly defeated by Norway’s Eirik Veras Larsen in the last 250 metres.
“I’m happy,” said Van Koeverden, in The Globe and Mail. “I’m not over the moon. I was racing for gold.”
The decorated Olympian won a gold and bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Games, and a silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. Van Koeverden is staying mum on his post-London Olympic plans, but with his shiny new medal, he beats the record set by fellow Canadian kayaker, Caroline Brunet, who won two silver medals and a bronze at the Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Games.
Are TV Spoilers Over?
Are TV spoilers over? For a famed reality TV site, the answer appears to be yes, for now.
Reality Steve creator has pulled all the Bachelor Pad spoilers from his site, following aggressive legal action from the show’s producers, reports Entertainment Weekly.
Steve Carbone, the site’s creator, wrote that he was, “informed by the lawyers for the production company of the Bachelor franchise that they believed a breach had occurred in the agreement I signed,” referencing a recent settlement with the Warner Bros.-owned NZK Prods, Alternative TV and Bachelor creator, Mike Fleiss.
In December, the studio sued Carbone for soliciting information from The Bachelor cast and crew, but this most recent announcement follows the reveal of his likely source – season nine contestant, Erica Rose.
In Tuesday’s statement, posted online at Reality Steve, Carbone writes his relationship with Rose was based on, “non-Bachelor/ette/Pad related stuff,” and that she was a “good friend,” but, “Boy was I wrong.”
Carbone continues, and wrote, “She turned over a few of my texts – taken out of context – to the producers of the show, which led to the barrage of tweets from Fleiss and a demand letter from lawyers for the production company of the Bachelor franchise… In their letter, they stated that they wanted me to do two things. No. 1. Take down all Bachelor Pad spoilers that I’d already posted or were about to post about this season. No. 2, pay a fine.”
Though Carbone complied with all of the production’s legal demands to “protect himself,” he still plans to spoil “the finale of this season that they go back to film later this month,” and “future Bachelor or Bachelorette seasons,” as he has done for years.
—-
Joanna Adams writes about news and entertainment for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at†@nowstarringTO.
For more, follow us on Twitter at @TorontoStandard and subscribe to our newsletter.
