Kitsilano Town Hall Meeting to Oppose Pipeline and Tanker Proposal

Monday, July 23, 2012

News Release - July 23, 2012

VANCOUVER – Concerned residents from across the Lower Mainland are coming together in opposition to the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion and resulting tanker traffic, with a series of town hall meetings rolling out in various communities around Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

The Wilderness Committee, in association with Tanker Free BC and the Point Grey Foreshore Protection Society, will be hosting a town hall meeting on Tuesday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m. at St. James Hall in Kitsilano to discuss the potential impacts of an oil spill on the neighbourhood.

This will provide a well-timed opportunity for citizens in Premier Christy Clark’s riding to discuss her government’s announcement today that would set terms for the province’s support of heavy oil pipeline projects like the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline and the Enbridge pipeline.

The event is the second town hall meeting to be held on the topic this month, following the release of a report and a successful public forum on July 12 regarding the possible effects of an oil spill on Stanley Park. Additional town hall meetings will be held in other communities surrounding Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and tanker route, with events this August in Abbotsford and Chilliwack and further meetings in Burnaby and North Vancouver in September.

“As we travel to the communities on the front lines of this proposed development, we’re hoping to educate and empower people to build this grassroots effort from the ground up. Our goal is to provide the tools for people in different areas, so that they’re equipped to start their own initiatives, spread the word and educate their friends and neighbours about these dangerous plans,” said Ben West, Healthy Communities Campaigner with the Wilderness Committee.

“There are two types of power—money and people. We’re never going to have the money that these big oil companies do, but together we can stop them from turning our coast into an export hub for dirty tar sands oil,” he said.

New grassroots organizations have been forming recently in response to the pipeline and tanker proposal, including an ad-hoc group attempting to engage citizens in Vancouver’s West End that took root at the last town hall meeting. Organizations like the Point Grey Foreshore Protection Society—formed to help preserve the area's shorelines—are increasingly shifting their focus to raise awareness about the risks associated with Kinder Morgan's planned expansion.

The Point Grey Foreshore Protection Society was formed by a small group of residents in the Jericho and Kitsilano neighbourhoods, including Harry Cullis (father of noted author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, Dr. Tara Cullis-Suzuki). Cullis-Suzuki is now active with the group as a leading voice against oil tanker traffic in the Burrard Inlet.

“Our mandate is to protect the foreshore, and one of the biggest threats to the natural beach right now is a potential oil spill,” said Mel Lehan, a Kitsilano resident and member of the Point Grey Foreshore Protection Society.

“I just can’t bear the thought of our beautiful Point Grey foreshore and our neighbourhood of Kitsilano being overwhelmed by a major oil spill. It’s one of the last natural beaches left in Vancouver,” he said.

Mel Lehan will be the MC at tomorrow’s town hall meeting. Other speakers include: