Monday, October 6, 2014

Squabbling land grabbing CPR 2014. 1893 Telegrams ... Arbutus .... was the secrecy of the Crown and others compromised?


Page 1 of 2
February 26, 1893 to April 18, 1893

We started to read this 1893 Census Telegram document in July and with the weather being so hot we put it aside for a rainy day.

It's not raining today but we took another look at the 'Telegram' because last week Vancouver City announced that it was going back to Court to settle the CPR Arbutus Corridor fiasco once and for all.

From our perspective of reading the 'Telegram' there appears to be an association, a link to be made that conversations between Government officials and insiders and corporations who were supposedly 'building' Canada from the ground up, were being 'overheard' by a third party, the railway, using 50 year old technology created in 1836, whereby every telegram that was sent or received, came across the counters of the CPR ... holding onto the juiciest parts???? for future references.


The volumes of telegrams must have been boring stuff to keep track of, not just the Census details, but also mining, fishing, staking property claims, mineral reports, HBC forays into the wilds of BC, Vancouver Three Greenhorns activities, acres of land purchased for a song (Arbutus Corridor) and all done with the magical sound of  'Dot Dash Dash Dot Dot Dash .....'

Morse Code Translator, complete with sound, converts the written words of the Hon. J. H. Turner to J. Lowe, Deputy Minister Agriculture, Ottawa: February 26th, 1893:
 
 Please Wire Total Indians on Mainland, B.C.  Also total Indians on Vancouver Island

 .--. .-.. . .- ... . / .-- .. .-. . / - --- - .- .-.. / .. -. -.. .. .- -. ... / --- -. / -- .- .. -. .-.. .- -. -.. --..-- / -... .-.-.- -.-. .-.-.- / .- .-.. ... --- / - --- - .- .-.. / .. -. -.. .. .- -. ... / --- -. / ...- .- -. -.-. --- ..- ...- . .-. / .. ... .-.. .- -. -..

Reply:

Total Indians on Mainland, 29,460.  On Vancouver Island, 5,742.

 - --- - .- .-.. / .. -. -.. .. .- -. ... / --- -. / -- .- .. -. .-.. .- -. -.. --..-- / ..--- ----. --..-- ....- -.... ----- .-.-.- / --- -. / ...- .- -. -.-. --- ..- ...- . .-. / .. ... .-.. .- -. -.. --..-- / ..... --..-- --... ....- ..--- .-.-.-  

Wikipedia on Morse Code

 Timeline of historical events in British Columbia while Telegrams were making the rounds within :
 18xx
1832 A.C. Anderson of the HBC arrives at the Columbia River
1833 Fort McLoughlin established in 1833 in Lama Passage, it was later abandoned in 1843
1834 James Douglas becomes Chief Trader of the HBC
1835 Coal deposit at Fort Rupert publicized

1836 HBC Chaplain and missionary Reverend Herbert Beaven arrives at Fort Vancouver
1836 Small pox epidemic in northern BC and southern Alaskan coast (to 1838)
18xx

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Backgrounder to the first time that Vancouver City approached the bench....
The Chief Justice —   Introduction  Arbutus Corridor

Over a century ago, in 1886, the provincial Crown granted the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (“CPR”) a corridor of land for the construction of a railway line from False Creek, in the City of Vancouver (“City”), south to Steveston, on Lulu Island (named after Miss Lulu Sweet, a young actress in the first theatrical company to visit British Columbia).  It is this corridor of land, now known as the “Arbutus Corridor”, that lies at the heart of this appeal.

In 1902, a railway line was built on the corridor.  As the century advanced, traffic declined.  From time to time, there was talk of using the corridor for an urban transit line, but nothing came of it and, ultimately, the line was placed elsewhere.  In 1999, CPR formally began the process of discontinuing rail operations on the corridor under the Canada Transportation Act, S.C. 1996, c. 10 . SNIP

Were there Privacy regulations that prevented CPR from 'listening in' on the contents of telegrams between governments and companies?  Did CPR shred the information as soon as it was sent/received; or did the CPR keep the scraps of paper for audit purposes, making sure that the right charges for service was done;  or did they hang on to the important tidbits when it came to 'negotiating' for the Arbutus Corridor in 1886?

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Must be pretty tough on CPR having all their discarded 'heritage' property, waiting for development, with no means to tweak their uses for public use.

Like their Telegraphists Field Office, situated within Yoho National Park, west of the double Spiral Tunnels, staging grounds for the rail yards, is just waiting for a cycling/cross country outfitting camp to be developed....

Heritage!!!! FOR SALE by CPR, the catch is they want it moved off their Right of Way property

Yoho Telegraphists Workshop






Cycling aspirations? Yoho Pass, Spiral Tunnels, Emerald Lake, Lake O'Hara all within a day's ride, Return


Rolling Stock Cycling????????????

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Kinder Morgan Security agents Flip loaded coins in decision of Grandmother's guilt, or guilty.

Just Askin,    Lesslie ...... but your tanks are camouflaged desert sand and ... this next image is signed, and forest green


We Spy with our beady little eyes ....
Part I

We can almost understand Kinder Morgan's Westridge Marine Terminal attitude on security concerns towards terrorists, overseas, but when it comes to attacking a non-raging grandmother, a Burnaby citizen preparing for a presentation from the National Energy Board on a pipeline/tank farmer/shipper, does ..... her "drive-by" photography shooting, complete with her visible licensed motor vehicle ..... constitutes the corporation's right to target Grandmother with their security agents?

One word comes to mind:
 Idiots!

Did these highly trained security agents skip the first section in their training manuals: 'The Lost Art of Diplomacy'?

It's being reported that these agents were playing a game .... seriously.....  "I SPY with our little beady eyes  ..... in broad daylight, a parked car, grey haired intruder, holding a camera, just beyond the razor topped chain link fence ....  on public land".

In response to the 'threat', the agents flipped their loaded corporate issued coins into the air, to decide on the guilt or innocence of the intruder, and amazingly, the two coins landed: "GUILTY" side up.

Call the cops!


It was a moment wasted by Kinder Morgan officials, an opportunity lost to show diplomacy.  The officials could have stopped the security agent supervisors from taking the next step after the appearance of the 'terrorist'.  Call in the RCMP et al????, and they did, by screaming:
     
We are under attack!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With their former corporate name being Enron (much distrusted by the public already), there should be more emphasis by those who run their gong show now, learn to turn their cheek, not ass cheeky, to be seen as a more understanding corp, a  'Kind    -   er Morgan' not the old Kinder Morgan/Enron.

Grandmother questioned after photographing (Kinder Morgan) oil tanks  - Vancouver Sun

..... The News Westminster citizen, who is doing research for an upcoming National Energy Board hearing into the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project, took the photos in early August.  The $5.4-billion pipeline would double the storage need for incoming Alberta bitumen oil.
Company security guards spotted her activity, and ten days later she got a visit from two RCMP officers at her home. .....
Those involved:

Grandmother
Kinder Morgan tank farm security forces
Kinder Morgan Supervisors
National Energy Board (NEB)
Integrated National Security Enforcement Team
CSIS
Canada Border Services Agency
TWO  RCMP  Officers
Burnaby-Douglas MP Kennedy Stewart
(Questioning the Conservatives for Targeting Opponents to the Kinder Morgan Pipeline)
House of Commons drawn into the debate
Hapless Harper ... no comment
Grandmother's children and their children

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Part II 

We can almost understand Kinder Morgan's Eastern division facility's concern about Askin's photographs because it could lead to a surprise ruling by the Government of Canada's Transportation department.  Cover up!!!!   Not in the sense you're thinking, but there was until August 2013 an open-hopper-top mentality for Kinder Morgan'ss Western division facility at Vancouver Wharves which accepts among others resources, Sulphur, which has a history, documented, of catching on fire.
August 30, 2013  Fair Incendiary Comment?

The hopper carloads are now COVERED!!

The thing is, that as much as Hoppers full of sulphur has been covered ... up ..... why hasn't the same been done for hoppers full of Coal?


Part III

CNR and CPR prefer to use Dust Glue, or other such products to stop the coal dust from being blown onto areas near their railines.

 The method they use, TWICE, once at the Coal pits and then again at say Tappen, near Kamloops is autmoatically done:

At the 40 second mark ......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx0semsQW_k 

and CP has their theory on what is clean....

Keeping it clean

After it has been mined and processed, the coal is loaded on CP rail cars at Fording River, Elkview, Line Creek and Greenhills, and departs for its destination from there.

“All the mines are equipped with what we refer to as railway loop track where the coal is loaded directly onto the rail cars of a coal train,” explained Hrysak. “All rail cars loaded with coal are sprayed at each mine and then again en route to the Coast at our Tappen re-spray facility, which is the midpoint between the mines and the port.”

The chemical sprayed on the coal is a glue-like polymer and Hrysak said that it acts as a crusting agent to keep the coal pack firm while in transport; it limits any potential of coal dust escaping as well.

As to the "crusting agent", residents of Delta beg to differ, eh:

At the begining there's just a hint of something coming off the Coal train, but at the One MINUTE position it's clear that something is amiss for the whole length of the train.


Sprayed coal doesn’t shed coal dust? How about this video of a coal train through Delta to prove that WRONG



Divide and conquer we say.  If the Kinder Morgans of this world don't approve of one person photographing their facilities, what would they say about more photos being posted online my many?

It could turn out worse than kicking a loaner dog in an elevator which is monitored by a camera, eh.

Friday, September 19, 2014

BC Hydro should know to Never, NEVER, mix electricity with water AND Children (or the children in us)

BC Municipalities practice due diligence when it comes to the safety of their communities, but why is it that Crown Corporation BC Hydro can run amuck like it's a Kinder Morgan / Enbridge corporation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buried beneath busy  West Vancouver's Marine Drive, between 17th and 18th, there's Larson Creek salmon habitat complete with a mural-on-the-pavement camouflage to the north.


and this:

Grating covers reveal a free to flow Larson Creek below

and this:


Further downstream, between 17th and 18th, between Bellevue and waterfront, BC Hydro has their Cypress Transmission substation with it's own generating plant waiting for the moment when Rich Colman's Billion Dollar Smart Meter program is called upon because of the ever inevitable windstorm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BC Hydro has it's way of cordoning of their dangerous components like:

Barb wire topping a chain link fence:
A chain link fence separating Mother and Child from ..... in West Vancouver ..

Isn't there a required setback between pedestrians, motor vehicles (metal)?
that should look like this one in South Vancouver?
Vancouver: north-west of Knight and East 49th
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.... Plastic to keep the heavy oil from leaking out of the 45 gallon barrel drums, and onto, into, the gravel beneath. 

And then seeping into the ground water, to Larson Creek Salmon run. Why store it here at all?

A River Runs through Cypress Substation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Serene green setting?????  Guard rail separating sidewalk from .... Larson Creek
Looking to the South East
Looking South-ish
BC Hydro Cypress Substation to either side
There's a readily available pedestrian bridge, no guard rails, just north of the BCRail Right-Of-Way.    No guard rail either side of Larson Creek to stop children from falling in, not climbing out.  And what about those pesky trees ?????? ...... within a BC Hydro Facility?

According to BC Hydro's Pest Management Plan     report:



Page 7 of 61

Putting aside the missing razor topped chain link fence around the WHOLE facility, why is it still situated a half block away from a million dollar waterfront views, " blocked" by two privately held residences no more than two stories high, when it should be sitting in an industrial area or UP THERE near the Hillcrest Substation?

***************


Copy Names from the list and put it into Google Earth

Friday, September 12, 2014

As Rick Mercer would say: If you happen to be in Vernon on Sept 13 & 14; Take in Allan Brooks Nature Centre all weekend Garage Sale fundraiser

We had a bit of spare time on our hands two weeks ago while visiting Vernon, so we took in what turned out to be one non "event".  "Non" because the heritage Mackie House was not open to the public, but we got a 20 minute tour thanks to onsite Manager C.  There are many unique features about this house, but three caught our attention straight away:

DumbWaiter from Kitchen to the Basement through the hardwood flooring!!
 
This shelving arrangement is adjustable every 1 1/2"

Root Cellar could double as a bomb shelter with it's convex/barrel ceiling/roof


Mackie House Jnr. (R) contributes to Nature


       *******************

The main event though, to use the pun, to 'copp' a hilltop view of Allan Brooks Nature Centre, turned out that the ABNC volunteers were getting ready for their Garage Sale in two weeks time.  But now it's Now!!!!  Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.
Disorganized ......  Spic and Span for tomorrow
Where is the Allan Brooks Nature Centre?

Barracks and Highway below

 Have you ever noticed while approaching Vernon from Kelowna, or leaving Vernon for Kelowna, looking to the west, the White, squarish, building flying the Canadian flag atop the highest hill which is still part of the Army barracks and parade grounds (Department of National Defence Camp)?

After the Wars I, II, Korea, Cold, a Government (of Canada) built a Meteorological building up there and continued existing until 2000 when MP Sheila Copps, Liberal Heritage Minister downsized it and with a Photo Op shovelful of dirt awaiting, Allan Brooks Nature Centre was born.  Copps' embossed name, not like the once polished politician, is almost readable, at the bottom right hand corner.




The Allan Brooks Nature Centre hours: Open Monday to Saturdays from 9am - 4 pm, Closed Sundays.  
Allan Brooks Nature Centre
There are warning signs aplenty, majority reserved for Nature crossings and exorbitant prices.....








Major Allan Brooks bio

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There was one treat in store for us after we left the Tourism Office in Vernon, their Museum which is the depository for over 70 original paintings/sketches on display by Allan Brooks!

Like these http://thecanadasite.com/art/art55_brooks.html

Monday, September 8, 2014

No Swimming in False Creek, but Dipping Dragon Boat paddles are OK

Amazing, Vancouver Coastal Health Officials can draw a line on a map below Burrard Bridge and the False Creek E coli is stopped in it's tracks.

Is Vancouver Coastal Health the same as VANCOUVER city hall?

Million Dollar High rise living overlooking False Creek's Cesspool.

September 4, 2014
Vancouver Coastal Health Beach Water Quality


Index for all reports:  https://www.vch.ca/your_environment/water_quality/recreational-water/beach-water-quality-report/


And:  Washington Marine Group sponsors:
WaterKeeper Swim Guide


Symbolic???? Rio Tinto, a sponsor of the Dragon Boat Festival, sits upon two waterfronts in British Columbia.  False Creek's cesspool and Douglas Channel at Kitimat which will never become a cesspool, wasted by a spill, create respiratory problems in their continued production of Aluminum:
A $2.7 billion rebuild of Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum smelter in Kitimat would reduce much of the pollution the smelter currently produces, according to a new technical report obtained by Business in Vancouver.

The one exception is sulphur dioxide (SO2), which would increase from 27 tonnes per day to up to 42 tonnes per day – something that would aggravate pre-existing respiratory problems in people with asthma and bronchitis and increase acidity in soils and lakes in the area.

The report concludes the increased emissions could result in 150 to 200 additional incidents per year of restricted airways among people with asthma, bronchitis or emphysema. .... May 14, 2013
Google Search Criteria:  rio tinto kitimat aluminum pollution



Do you think that the test results from Mount Polley is .....

Sunday, September 7, 2014

If Deas Island Tunnel is Too Small, not Deep enough; what of CNR's Lift Rail Bridge at Second Narrows

There's been talk that Deas Island four lane Tunnel is neither wide enough, nor deep enough to allow Coal Tankers upstream.  The answer from Premier Christy Clark is that her government (taxpayers) will have a new super high bridge, ten lanes wide, built within nine years.

The word on the street for the Burrard Inlet, at the Second Narrows, is that the Greater Vancouver Water District pipeline from the North Shore to Vancouver and Burnaby needs to go deeper into the narrow channel.

Then there's CNR's Thorton Tunnel, which exits from the headland parallel to the southern end of the Second Narrows as to whether it has the capability of allowing Kinder Morgan's east bound empty Oil Tankers to sail under it because of it's limited raised height.

Second Narrows Railway Bridge in Action (YouTube)
Caboose Coffee source for Video
With all the recent news coverage of oil pipelines, the threat of an oil tanker disaster on British Columbia's coast, and discussions around the movement of oil by rail, I was wondering how I might tie all of the above together in a story that would have a 'railroad' flavour.  Then..., along came Claude Prutton who sent me an email with some of his photos attached that gave me an idea.

Claude is a long-time resident of the Greater Vancouver area and has been hanging around the railroad properties and catching rides with obliging railroaders for many years.  Fortunately for you and me, Claude has also been taking photographs of railway life, not so much from the familiar 3/4 frontal roster-shot view, but instead, he's looked for the unusual shots.  Claude, like Andy Cassidy, Ray Farand and others searches out the photos that tell a story, or in the case of Caboose Coffee..., help me tell a story.  ........
In 2013 CNR made the grand announcement that there would no longer be a need to have an operator on the Rail Bridge to Lift the Bridge when a large vessel need the extra height.... it's now operated remotely out of New Westminster Offices of CNR.
Train movements within the tunnel and over the bridge are controlled by the Second Narrows Operator who, by law had to favour marine traffic over rail traffic because of the narrow channel, fast currents and the inability to steer a ship once it has lost it "way", or speed over the ground below.  In effect, a ship, like a shark, must keep moving or it becomes helpless. -  Caboose Coffee

How many vessels will Kinder Morgan need to export their oil products from Westridge Marine Terminal, that same terminal that has been causing the Corporation of Burnaby to not mince words with Kinder Morgan over their tactic of "slash and burn" of a designated Conservation Area, with the blessing of Harper's National Energy Board (NEB)?

Kinder Morgan says it will have one vessel per day leaving their Marine Terminal, and keeping in mind than it takes more than one day to fill one of these elephants in the room. Does it then mean that there will be always be SEVEN awaiting tankers moored east of the Second Narrows?


Will CNR replace the bridge with a non lifting bridge, as high as the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge, or will they opt to dig a tunnel, side by side with the Greater Vancouver Water Line?

Hey, why not make it three tunnels, one for a Sky Train?

Thursday, August 7, 2014

"CPR shall thereafter operate and maintain the Arbutus Corridor...." Operate and Maintain? No Operation, No Maintenance either

Hmmmm.  We can understand the urgency that CPR has recently shown, weeding, therefore needing  Vancouver's Arbutus Corridor, but, ... what about the OPERATE portion?

When was the last CPR train?  Is there a time limit between trains that voids the Right of Way?

Proposed agreement between the Government of BC and CPR Co. 1885
The only weeding that the Arbutus Corridor needs is removal of the CPR?

P.S.  Page 1:
1. The said Company shall extend the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway to Coal Harbor and English Bay, and shall for ever thereafter maintain and equip such extension as part of the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and operate it accordingly. 
However CPR sold a portion of the Arbutus Corridor Right of Way, therefore its been impossible for CPR to maintain and equip such extension.... eh.
CP sold a chunk of a line at the entrance to Granville Island in 1995 to Starbucks, cutting off the connection between the Arbutus line and the track that ran east to Main Street. - Globe and Mail



Sunday, August 3, 2014

Vancouver Sun EXCLUSIVE: Cabin on Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park: For Sale

The Vancouver Sun has missed the point, once again.  Truth in Advertising.  On Page C1 of  Friday's edition they were being paid to be promote Blue Shore Financial credit union and Re/Max Realty expertise.  The Sun was supposed to use an example of a "family cabin", obtainable within their finances.   Deadlines being what they are in the News media, they never got back to Blue Shore to confirm the authenticity of the "family cabin" photo.  We asked.

The article is well written by Derrick Penner, but ruined by PostMedia News Files editors using an image that has absolutely nothing to do with a typical family cabin on recreational property.





This Cabin is NOT for sale, not even on the market to be sold independent of the other three cabins.  The privately held complex includes the LODGE and other amenities, could be sold, but consider the high price that would be required .....  because, its setting is UNIQUE. It's nowhere near Banff which has a proliferation of private operators within a National Park.    Lake O'Hara Lodge / Cabins are PRIVATELY owned and its inside Yoho National Park, west of the Continental Divide separating British Columbia from the rest of Canada!   The price tag for the "family cabin" would be well beyond the reach of those wishing to purchase it to be used sparingly throughout the year at the best of times seasonally.


..... While it might not be showing up in sales figures yet, North Vancouver-based BlueShore Financial credit union surveyed a group of its members and found that not much more than one-third of those who own recreational property expect to pass that real estate on to their children.

And among respondents who are children of recreational property owners, 61 per cent reported that they did not expect to inherit the family's cabin, cottage or ski condo. ..... - Derrick Penner - Vancouver Sun
Maybe someone will inherit Lake O'Hara, but when it has shifted onto someone else's shoulders in the past it hasn't been kept within the family.  eg.


Bruce Millar: Owner of Lake O'Hara, has a few suggestions about his Lodge and its amenities:

Can I bring my cell phone?
Sure, bring it - unfortunately, it won't work as there is no coverage in our remote mountain location. You'll most likely be using it as a camera! Our guests appreciate truly being unplugged for a short period of time. There is a pay phone at the lodge that you are welcome to use should you really need to get in touch with someone.
Satellite phones?????

Sunday, July 27, 2014

To The Gazetteer: Imagine the BC Liberals (BC Socreds) owning the Vancouver Sun: Keith Baldrey 1982 Ubyssey

"There is a club" - RossK's latest Post
Keith Baldrey: Why do idiot bloggers, who have zero established credibility, take personal pot shots at reporters?  Low self-esteem I guess.  
******************
 Just because subscribers and advertisers pay the piper - the press - to represent "our" interests, it doesn't mean that governments will not want to control the press .... and our thoughts.   Or as Keith Baldrey wrote, in 1982:
Someone, almost famous, once said, "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one."

Next week, students at UBC will be given a chance to own one.  Although students currently fund The Ubyssey, it is by no means a free press.  The paper's budget is controlled by student council.

The situation invites a few comparisons.  Imagine the Social Credit (BC Liberals) government owning the Vancouver Sun.  Or the federal government determining the Toronto Globe and Mail's budget. ....

.... there is no guarantee that something like that could not happen again.  There is no guarantee the student's newspaper on this campus could not turn into a mouthpiece for student council. - Ubyssey March 19 1982  - Page 13 of 16
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looks like the Press was shackled in 1982, too


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I told you not to vote Socred - Keith Baldrey

Chris Wong
Sarah Cox
Patti Flather
Tom Hawthorn
Brian Jones
Joan Woodward
Jagdeep Dhami
Keith Baldrey

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 Trivia

There was a competitor to the Ubyssey: Then

Wednesday, May 19, 1982


 Publisher/Editors

The Conventioner

Page 4 of 8



*****

Coincidentally: Now



Monday, July 21, 2014

"Dikes" coming to the Metro Vancouver aka Lower Mainland: Sea Level Rise and Climate Change

Once upon a time, while working in the shipbuilding industry of Metro Vancouver, I noticed by chance a secretary filling the morning coffee machine with water.  She was being careful to fill the corners of the tank .....   I couldn't keep myself from suggesting that "Water won't find it's own level ...... eh. "

For those who are considering purchasing property, insurance too to cover your flood plain occupancy in Metro Vancouver, one should keep in mind that not only Richmond and other communities currently protected by dikes will be at risk.  Waterfront property adjacent to Burrard Inlet, Coal Harbour, English Bay, False Creek, Wreck Beach, Spanish Banks, Mud Bay, Howe Sound, Long Beach, ...... are not currently protected by dikes....

Money for BC School Seismic Upgrades playing second fiddle to Dike design guidelines - BBC


Last week the the Press  dished out "their" story without giving "their" source a fair bounce, especially when it was a Publicly funded report.  They could have included a small portion of the Introduction (Page 7 of 202):
.... A re-examination of flood levels on the Lower Fraser River is now necessary because of sea level rise, potential climate change impacts on flood flows, and the need to update flood protection standards.  However, the intent of this project is not to develop a new Fraser River dike design profile, but to provide a series of flood level profiles that can be used as a planning tool.   Based on analyses of the best available scientific information, it is expected that the results of this project will help the province, local governments, diking authorities and others understand the relative significance of climate change impacts on Fraser River flooding and the implications of setting higher design standards.


 Simulating the Effects of Sea Level Rise and Climate Change on Fraser River Flood Scenarios
 the link  ........