What could be more “Canadian” than hockey and our abundant natural resources?
Canada has proven to be the best in the world at producing hockey players. And when it comes to this country’s unmatched natural resource endowment, a true blessing, and our ability to extract metals and Oil (commodities the world desperately needs) using the highest labor and environmental standards, we are also world leaders.
This is something to celebrate as a nation and expand upon.
That much-needed positive message is being delivered from British Columbia this week by BMR and many others.
Starting Tuesday, we’ll be reporting from Smithers, the services hub of Northwest B.C.’s robust exploration sector.
We’re pleased to announce that BMR, in addition to several junior exploration companies, is a major sponsor of the Vancouver Canucks’ Alumni Association’s upcoming 3-day celebration of the Canucks’ 50th anniversary season in the NHL.
This large fundraising event for local minor hockey in Smithers will be a spectacular show that garners considerable attention. It all begins Friday afternoon with an investor event (just ahead of PDAC) followed by a charity banquet that evening. Hockey fans will then be treated to a pair of games between the Canucks’ Alumni and a local oldtimers’ team known as the Smithers Flyers – an indoor game Saturday night, before what’s expected to be a full house, and a unique outdoor game “rematch” the following day on beautiful Tyhee Lake.
Quintessentially Canadian…
Hockey on Tyhee Lake near Smithers.
Former Canuck Stars Join FIN
And Country Music Star Aaron Pritchett
Led by FIN, the Canucks’ popular team mascot, and coached by Jack McIlhargey and Gino Odjick (Gino! Gino!), the Alumni team will include the likes of Dave Babych, Kirk McLean, Cliff Ronning, Jyrki Lumme, Geoff Courtnall, Kyle Wellwood, Dana Murzyn, Thomas Gradin, Chris Higgins and more.
Country music star Aaron Pritchett and Global News B.C. anchor Paul Haysom will also be playing for the Alumni team.
A small town of less than 10,000 people, Smithers has produced a number of former NHL players over the years including defenceman Dan Hamhuis who played 6 seasons with the Canucks. Now with the Nashville Predators, Hamhuis returns to Smithers each summer and recently built a home on Tyhee Lake. The outdoor game will take place near Dan’s new home. The local contractor who built Dan’s home, and also lives on the same lake, recently purchased an outdoor Zamboni just for this event.
The current weather forecast for next Sunday in Smithers, for the outdoor game, calls for a high temperature of –2 and a chance of 2 to 4 cm of snow – GAME ON!
Don’t miss any of our coverage at BMR as we celebrate both our national pastime and our resource sector which is essential to Canada’s economy and wealth creation.
Nice job BMR:)
Comment by Jeremy — February 23, 2020 @ 1:46 pm
Hello Jon
Are you gonna be at PDAC this year?
Comment by Sylvain — February 23, 2020 @ 3:12 pm
That is my plan, Sylvain, immediately after Smithers (unless I get into a problem with the “hereditary chiefs”)…
Comment by Jon - BMR — February 23, 2020 @ 3:58 pm
Yeah right on you guys, have fun!! Gold just a given er.. 1668 on bnn early…
Comment by Laddy — February 23, 2020 @ 4:03 pm
Jon, GGI is hosting a special investor event/news conference on February 28th in Smithers. Any thoughts on what might comprise the “news” portion. Is this the Lightfoot report or something more perhaps??
Comment by Foz1971 — February 23, 2020 @ 4:49 pm
What a great idea…
Comment by Silverhook — February 23, 2020 @ 5:03 pm
This is quite a big event in Smithers, Fox1971, so it looks like they have teed something up news-wise right in between Smithers and the start of PDAC…we’ll speculate on what that might be later this evening…
Comment by Jon - BMR — February 23, 2020 @ 5:11 pm
Thanks Jon. Great timing indeed.
Comment by Foz1971 — February 23, 2020 @ 5:20 pm
Jon,
I will be at PDAC from Sunday lunch time until Tuesday at the end of the afternoon. Hope to see you there! Enjoy your trip to Smithers!
Comment by Sylvain — February 23, 2020 @ 5:45 pm
News release from Teck Resources this evening, announcing it’s pulling out of Frontier Oil sands project.
This is a black mark against Canada and a damning indictment against the current federal government (Teck’s letter to the federal minister reads, in part, “Global capital markets are changing rapidly and investors and customers are increasingly looking for jurisdictions to have a framework in place that reconciles resource development and climate change, in order to produce the cleanest possible products. This does not yet exist here today and, unfortunately, the growing debate around this issue has placed Frontier and our company squarely at the nexus of much broader issues that need to be resolved…without clarity on this critical question, the situation that has faced Frontier will be faced by future projects and it will be very difficult to attract future investment, either domestic or foreign).
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) today announced it is withdrawing the Frontier Project from the regulatory review process.
Teck CEO and President Don Lindsay has written to the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change outlining the reasons for the withdrawal. The letter is available here and included below.
As a result of this decision Teck will write down the $1.13 billion carrying value of the Frontier Project.
About Teck
Teck is a diversified resource company committed to responsible mining and mineral development with major business units focused on copper, steelmaking coal, zinc and energy. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, its shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TECK.A and TECK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TECK. Learn more about Teck at http://www.teck.com or follow @TeckResources.
Media Contact:
Chris Stannell
Public Relations Manager
604.699.4368
[email protected]
Investor Contact:
Fraser Phillips
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis
604.699.4621
[email protected]
Letter to Minister Wilkinson
Dear Minister:
I am writing to advise that after careful consideration Teck has made the difficult decision to formally withdraw our regulatory application for the Frontier oil sands project from the federal environmental assessment process.
We are disappointed to have arrived at this point. Teck put forward a socially and environmentally responsible project that was industry leading and had the potential to create significant economic benefits for Canadians. Frontier has unprecedented support from Indigenous communities and was deemed to be in the public interest by a joint federal-provincial review panel following weeks of public hearings and a lengthy regulatory process. Since the original application in 2011 we have, as others in the industry have done, continued to optimize the project to further confirm it is commercially viable.
Teck is extremely proud of the work done on this project and the strong relationships that we have formed with local governments, labour organizations, scientists, researchers and many other stakeholders, as well as with affected Indigenous communities. We believe that our agreements with Indigenous communities on Frontier, and very recently the work undertaken by the Alberta government with Indigenous communities in the region, form an important foundation for the future, and we applaud them for this milestone achievement.
However, global capital markets are changing rapidly and investors and customers are increasingly looking for jurisdictions to have a framework in place that reconciles resource development and climate change, in order to produce the cleanest possible products. This does not yet exist here today and, unfortunately, the growing debate around this issue has placed Frontier and our company squarely at the nexus of much broader issues that need to be resolved. In that context, it is now evident that there is no constructive path forward for the project. Questions about the societal implications of energy development, climate change and Indigenous rights are critically important ones for Canada, its provinces and Indigenous governments to work through.
I want to make clear that we are not merely shying away from controversy. The nature of our business dictates that a vocal minority will almost inevitably oppose specific developments. We are prepared to face that sort of opposition. Frontier, however, has surfaced a broader debate over climate change and Canada’s role in addressing it. It is our hope that withdrawing from the process will allow Canadians to shift to a larger and more positive discussion about the path forward. Ultimately, that should take place without a looming regulatory deadline.
Resource development has been at the heart of the Canadian economy for generations. Resource sectors including the Alberta oil sands create jobs; build roads, schools and hospitals; and contribute to a better standard of living for all Canadians. At the same time, there is an urgent need to reduce global carbon emissions and support action on climate change.
As a proudly Canadian company for over 100 years, we know these two priorities do not have to be in conflict. Our nation is uniquely positioned with abundant natural resources coupled with strong environmental regulations and a deeply engrained culture of social responsibility. We can build on that foundation and be a global provider of sustainable, climate-smart resources to support the world’s transition to a low carbon future. And yes, that can include low-carbon energy produced from the Alberta oil sands from projects like Frontier, using best-in-class technology, which would displace less environmentally and ethically sound oil sources.
At Teck, we believe deeply in the need to address climate change and believe that Canada has an important role to play globally as a responsible supplier of natural resources. We support strong actions to enable the transition to a low carbon future. We are also strong supporters of Canada’s action on carbon pricing and other climate policies such as legislated caps for oil sands emissions.
The promise of Canada’s potential will not be realized until governments can reach agreement around how climate policy considerations will be addressed in the context of future responsible energy sector development. Without clarity on this critical question, the situation that has faced Frontier will be faced by future projects and it will be very difficult to attract future investment, either domestic or foreign.
Teck has not taken this decision lightly. It is our hope that the decision to withdraw will help to create both the space and impetus needed for this critical discussion to take place for the benefit of all Canadians.
Sincerely,
Don Lindsay
President and Chief Executive Officer
Teck Resources Limited
Comment by Jon - BMR — February 23, 2020 @ 6:58 pm
They just let that little pr… off the hook. Very very sad!!
Comment by Laddy — February 23, 2020 @ 8:02 pm
Laddy, they let Trudeau off the hook only in the sense he doesn’t have to reject an Alberta project that we all know he would have turned down by the end of this month; however, it’s a damning indictment against a govt. when a company like Teck makes the comment, “The situation that has faced Frontier will be faced by future projects and it will be very difficult to attract future investment, either domestic or foreign.”
A huge domestic resource company has just stated that Ottawa has “failed” to create a framework that reconciles resource development and climate change – and as a result, future investment (domestic or foreign) will be very difficult to attract.
Comment by Jon - BMR — February 23, 2020 @ 8:27 pm
Jon
Great job getting in getting involved and promoting this event! Wish I could be there. Have fun!
Comment by Gregh — February 23, 2020 @ 8:28 pm
We will have a Sizzler Report Part 1 early in the AM, likely including some video.
Comment by Jon - BMR — February 23, 2020 @ 8:36 pm
I just hope that there is a lot of backlash on this one, he just doesn’t get it, he’s a failure on policy and he needs to go, now! Non confidence is in order.
Comment by Laddy — February 23, 2020 @ 9:04 pm
It’ll be interesting to see what Jason Kenney has to say – I’m sure he’ll he heaping a lot of pressure on Trudeau. This is a federal govt. failure – the Teck news release actually praised the govt. of Alberta.
Incompetent “progressive” Laurentian elites (professional politicians, not business people) trying to run a country, and running it into the ground…
Comment by Jon - BMR — February 23, 2020 @ 9:15 pm
Jan 29.20. Andrew Willis made a case for why frontier wasn’t needed and Teck wouldn’t want to proceed. Worth a read.
Comment by david — February 24, 2020 @ 5:29 am