All eyes are now on the public hearing process for the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline that would bring tar sands crude across the salmon bearing rivers and pristine wilderness of northern British Columbia.
Opposition from the general public and from the region’s First Nations is very strong, as shown by the more than 130 First Nations chiefs who have now signed on to the Fraser Declaration, which calls for the banning of crude oil exports through their traditional territories.
Meanwhile, under the radar, the U.S.-based company Kinder Morgan, run by two former Enron executives, is being allowed to turn Vancouver Harbour into a tar sands shipping port.
The National Energy Board (NEB) recently allowed Kinder Morgan to expand the amount of crude oil they are exporting from their terminal on Burrard Inlet in north Burnaby. Kinder Morgan is quietly preparing plans to twin their pipeline, and to dredge the Second Narrows to allow larger oil tankers to access the terminal.
These dangerous plans for Vancouver Harbour are unacceptable. It will increase the risk of a catastrophic oil spill in Burrard Inlet, and it will facilitate an expansion of the tar sands which will greatly accelerate the dangerous climate change that is already underway.
The local First Nation was not consulted at all. In fact, the National Energy Board has allowed Kinder Morgan's expanded crude oil exports with no public hearings in BC and no meaningful opportunity for public engagement in this decision. Local mayors have expressed their outrage at this democratic deficit.
Late last year, an NEB spokesperson stated that they are not holding public hearings in BC about increased crude oil tanker export traffic through the Vancouver harbour because "there is insufficient public interest".
That statement is just plain false. There is overwhelming public interest, but the process itself is insufficient. The people of BC were never asked if they would accept Kinder Morgan or Enbridge or anyone else converting the west coast of Canada into the tar sands shipping port. This needs to change. It’s time to send a clear reminder, to the NEB and all our elected officials, about just how much public concern there is about crude oil exports.
If they think the people of BC will sit idly by and let these big oil companies profit from causing global warming and risking life on our coasts, then they have another thing coming.
Please go to our letter writing tool to have your voice heard on this urgent matter.
Ben West | Healthy Communities Campaigner
Wilderness Committee
Coming from Germany on a Biology Internship, I spent three months in the Wilderness Committee office mapping critical habitat for the endangered seabird, the Marbled Murrelet. My work involved data and statistical analysis, quantifying habitat variables, assessing habitat quality and conducting road density calculations. I also spent some great time in the wilderness doing research.