Just an hour ago, the Prime Minister of Canada approved the building of a twin pipeline from the tar sands around Fort McMurray, Alberta to Kitimat. British columbia. The approval is to a specific company, Enbridge.
The plan is to build the pipeline to carry bitumen, aka dilbit, to a coastal city in BC, Kitimat, where it will be loaded onto immense tankers and shipped off to Asia (mostly China). Pretty straightforward it seems. Except for a few problems:
First, the route that the pipeline takes is over an important and immense wilderness. It will cross hundreds of fish-bearing streams, rivers and lakes, fragmenting the habitats of the Northern Mountain caribou, wolves and bears including the grizzly bear.
Along that route lie 130 First Nations communities and other small communities all of whom depend on the available fish, moose, caribou, deer and other wildlife and vegetation to supply their food.
In Kitimat, 220 new oil tankers will be filled and every year and sent down one of the most hazardous and treacherous inlets in BC. In fact, in the world. In some places the shallowness means the tankers would clear the bottom of the inlet by only a few meters. The inlet harbours many small islets and isn't exactly straight. The tankers will be towed through the inlet, but that doesn't guarantee complete safety.
Once through the inlet, the tankers face the Hecate Strait; a very treacherous piece of ocean. In winter, storms frequently mean dense fog and high seas with waves reaching as high as 10 meters or more as well as high winds.
https://en.wikipedia.org/...
After that, it's the open ocean where the route will intersect with the feeding and breeding areas of the humpback whale and orcas, who have just recovered from the depredations of last century's whaling.
What do British Columbians think of all this? Follow me over the orange wavelets
British Columbians are mad as hell!!
2/3rds of BCrs are against the pipeline,8 out of 11 small communities along the pipeline route are also against it, as are 130 First Nations groups along the route and in Kitimat.
First Nations have already started court proceedings against Enbridge and the federal government. They don't trust them and they have reason not to. All along this process, Enbridge has lied, and tried coercion tactics with individuals and bands. They have been shut out of the consultation hearings, as were many individual Canadians who wanted a say.
Christy Clark, the Premier of BC, has promised a Citizen's Initiative vote. Such a vote was used a couple of years ago to stop the federal government's Harmonized Tax. All BCrs are asked to vote on a single issue. The consensus must be over 50% for the Initiative to pass, but few people hold out much hope that the Initiative will come through.
Jessica Clogg, West Coast Environmental Law's executive director is not confident Clark will stop the project. " We are already beginning to hear disturbing news of investigative use permits and other approvals...being granted that could facilitate the eventual construction of this project." said Clogg
http://www.vancouverobserver.com/...
This project is not a done deal yet, but Harper's approval is a giant step on its way to becoming a reality and those of us who live here, especially those who live on the route or on the coast know what the real cost of this pipeline will be if there is even one tiny leak. Not only are we mad as hell, we are terrified of losing our incredible, beautiful diverse home and all the creatures we share it with.