"First Nations groups have vowed to fight the Canadian government’s approval of a planned pipeline with lawsuits and direct action. They say Tuesday’s decision violates their constitutional rights because the government failed to consult tribal bands, the basic units of government for First Nations in Canada."

"The federal Conservative government is refusing to join the rest of the developed world in declaring that there are no safe uses for asbestos, even though the material is the top workplace killer in Canada and deaths from exposure are expected to rise."

"OTTAWA -- Years of social disruptions by environmentalists and First Nations, lengthy court battles and a possible stand-off between Ottawa and British Columbia lie ahead after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s approval of the fiercely contested Northern Gateway pipeline."

"Canada’s embrace of the ‘miracle mineral’ has seeded an epidemic of cancers. Yet many Canadians are still exposed to asbestos every day"

"It might be that the U.S. environmentalists’ long campaign against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline is about to backfire. Canadian pipeline operators are poised to implement an all-Canadian Plan B network of pipelines in place of the ill-fated Keystone XL that was to run the length of the U.S. heartland to the Texas Gulf Coast."

"Up to 10 per cent of B.C. natural gas wells are leaking and some have become “super-emitters” of methane, which is an environmental and health concern, says a new report."

"Hundreds of scientists have signed a letter sent to Canada’s prime minister blasting a federal review recommending the approval of the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline as biased, Canadian media reported."

"A new University of Waterloo report warns that natural gas seeping from 500,000 wellbores represent 'a threat to environment and public safety' due to groundwater contamination, greenhouse gas emissions and explosion risks wherever methane collects in unvented buildings and spaces."

"TransCanada shut down the southern leg of the Keystone XL (now called the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project) on June 2 for 'routine work,' according to Reuters. "

"Photographer and pilot Alex MacLean wanted to learn more about the Keystone XL pipeline, which if approved will carry oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, so he decided to take pictures from above of the tar sands that will supply oil to the project. What he found shocked him."