British Columbia’s municipal leaders take a stand against Enbridge pipeline
RICHARD GILBERT
B.C.’s municipal leaders have voted to block plans for the construction of Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline and expanded tanker traffic along the north coast of the province.
“We made a presentation on the crude oil tanker traffic and said we understand that some communities stand to prosper and there would be an economic stimulus that could result from the Enbridge project,” said Carol Kulesha, Mayor of the Village of Queen Charlotte.
“But, I also know the economy on the northwest coast is one that would be threatened by tanker traffic. We need to be protecting the $2.6 billion seafood, recreation and tourism economy in B.C., that currently employs about 45,000 people province wide.”
At the recent Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) annual convention in Whistler, delegates voted against the proposed pipeline and the associated tanker traffic.
The Village of Queen Charlotte put forward two resolutions.
The first opposed any expansion of bulk crude oil tanker traffic and urged the federal government to ban bulk crude oil tanker traffic through northern B.C. coastal waters.
The second resolution is opposed to the transport of oilsands crude oil by pipeline through B.C.
Both resolutions were passed by a significant majority of the 600 UBCM delegates in the auditorium at the time of the vote.
“One of the things to note about the Union of British Columbia Municipalities is that this is as close as you get to people in the province because this is the grassroots local government,” Kulesha said.
“When you get as strong a majority, as we did, this is a true gauge of how people are feeling. These are not environmental groups or lobbyists. These are local government representatives and they are not comfortable.”
The resolutions passed by a show of hands, so the exact number of votes isn’t known.
However, bystanders estimated that about 70 per cent of the delegates voted in favour of the resolutions.
There are about 180 municipalities in the province.
The vote has no binding power, but it is designed it put pressure on the provincial government to recommend that the federal government scrap the pipeline project.
The Gateway Pipeline Project is a proposal that involves the construction of an oil export pipeline that will run about 1150 kilometres from Strathcona County, Alberta to a new marine tank terminal at Kitimat, B.C.
The oil would be shipped by tanker to China and other Asia-Pacific markets.
The federal Joint Review Panel held its first public meeting about the project on Aug. 31 at the Riverlodge Recreation Centre in Kitimat.
Hundreds of people from various communities, First Nations representatives, fishermen and environmental groups expressed concern about the risks of oil spills.
The pipeline would bring about 225 supertankers to B.C.’s north coast annually.
Added to this problem, much of the pipeline route crosses through unceded First Nations territories and would impinge on inherent Aboriginal rights and title.
Enbridge argues that the regulatory process, to determine if the project is in the public interest, is impartial and rigorous.
The company said the project will bring significant and lasting benefits to the economies and the people of northern B.C. in an environmentally safe and sustainable way.
The construction of the project would take three years and could create more than 4,000 construction jobs. The estimated cost of construction in 2005 was pegged at about $5 billion.
Enbridge was contacted, but didn’t return calls by the Journal of Commerce press deadline.