Enbridge’s extension request outrageous given lack of support across NW BC & pending tanker ban
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2016 (Smithers, BC) – Friends of Wild Salmon is calling on the National Energy Board to deny Enbridge’s request for a three-year extension to their Northern Gateway project. Enbridge filed the request today, claiming they need that time to consult with communities and First Nations.
“It is ludicrous this company thinks that more time will mean people will change their minds about this project” said Gerald Amos, Chair of Friends of Wild Salmon. “For the past several years the people of northwest BC have spoken loud and clear – we don’t want your pipeline now, and we won’t want it three years from now either.”
On top of the lack of any social license for northern gateway, the federal government is in the process of putting a tanker ban in place for the north coast, which will definitively end Enbridge’s pipeline dreams.
“Even if the NEB does approve the extension request, it will be in vain. Prime Minister Trudeau promised British Columbians that this project would never go ahead, and that his government would place a ban on tankers on the north coast.,” said Amos. “The government is in the process of drafting the language right now, and so Enbridge’s application for an extension is a big waste of time.”
“Just like you can’t make little islands disappear on maps, you also can’t navigate oil tankers through waters that don’t allow them there. Enbridge thinks it can wave a magic wand and change reality, but we all know it doesn’t work like that,” said Amos. “The islands are still out there in Douglas Channel, and the government’s tanker ban will make their project impossible.”
Contact: Gerald Amos, (250) 632-1521