Enbridge Says Education Is Key To Turning Tide Of Opposition To Pipeline Project
Prince George, B.C. – A spokesperson for Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project says he believes much of the opposition in BC, particularly northwestern BC, is the result of "no depth of experience in that area in dealing with pipelines."
Speaking on the Meisner program on 93.1 CFIS fm earlier this week, NGP Director of Communications, Paul Stanway, said there is always the rhetoric of a ‘devastating environmental disaster’ that raises concern.
"One of the phrases our opponents use is that ‘it’s inevitable, there’s just no way to avoid it’," said Stanway. "And, in fact, the practise within the pipeline suggests that’s just not true." He said the liquids pipeline system at Enbridge, alone, is about 24-thousand kilometres around North America and has a safety rate of 99.99-percent. He said there are occasionally small incidents, but most happen on Enbridge property – such as a small failure on a piece of equipment – and they’re cleaned up on-site, within a matter of hours with no "inconvenience" to the public or the environment.
The Enbridge spokesperson said, "The issue, I think, is more related (sic) to the fact that the industry is not well-known, particularly west of Prince George."
"One of the things I’ve noticed is the difference in the tone of questioning – in the attitude of the public and the media this last week or so in Edmonton – compared to even Prince George and most certainly Terrace, Smithers, Kitimat," said Stanway. "The knowledge is greater (in Alberta), you know, people have been dealing with the pipeline systems in Alberta now for 60, 70-years and they understand the pipeline system very well. They understand the history and the track record and so their level of concern is not so high."
With Enbridge proposing the first pipeline into northwestern BC, Stanway said residents living along the right-of-way just don’t have the same ‘comfort zones’ yet, as many in Alberta do. He used the example of an Alberta resident who had six pipelines within 20-kilometres of his property and having never experienced any incidents.
"People west of Prince George are not in that position to make that judgement from personal experience, so it’s an educational process," said Stanway. "We have to recognize that their concerns are real and we have to deal with it."
Comments
Maybe if all those uneducated BCr’s go huff some gas fumes they can become smart like those Albertans.
Yes we’re just a stupid bunch of westerners and you are going to stuff this pipeline down our throats. As stupid as we are we still know we are taking the risk with very little financial incentive. Christie will get election backing, the natives are being offered 10 percent, but the average citizen is being offered nothing. Our local politicians aren’t allowed to express their personal opinions. Go Enbridge!!
Put a tax on the volume the pipeline carries, and use the proceeds to reduce the price at the pump of petroleum products sold in BC. If we don’t do something like that we’ll be the ones paying for the pipeline’s construction through the rise in prices of all consumer goods that will happen once it gets under way. Once those prices rise, wages and costs will follow, and they’ll establish a new plateau from which they won’t decline after the construction is finished and the jobs and spin-off benefits have disappeared.
BC has had the luxurty of exploiting resoruces from other parts of the world to support the lifestyle with no consequnece. Now the world comes knocking looking for their slice of the pie and the NIMBY’s come out of the wood work.
This pipleline also has the oppertunity to sheild Canada from the possible fiat currency crisis that is poking its head out of the shadows.
socredible one quick way to reduce the price of gas is dump the 5.5 cent per litre carbon tax add on at the pump. Isn’t it ironic that there is a carbon tax on fuel and natural gas but we export oil, coal and natural gas. Hey Christy put a carbon tax on the exports? What a scam, this whole carbon BS.
There are people on this site that actually support these clowns.
If the Enbridge consortium had any sense at all, they would keep their gaping yaps shut. Every time they try to sell the benefits of this project to the citizenry of British Columbia, they pull the ignorance card. You can’t sell something to people by telling them they’re too stupid to understand the benefits that will accrue to them! Fools. All you do is strengthen the resolve of their resistence.
I’m glad the opponents of this project are now starting to attack the financial merits of it. Unfortunately, a lot of people are so anesthetized from being hit over the head with the green stick, that they sometimes go to sleep when someone raises environmental concerns now. The money flowing to people’s pockets though is something that all people tend to pay attention to. This project doesn’t make financial sense for B.C.. That paired with the enormous risk to a very sensitive ecological corridor should put a stop to this project.
Let the moratorium on west coast tanker traffic stand. British Columbia has lots of pipelines snaked through it already. Ones that actually benefit the people of British Columbia. It’s enough.
Hey Seamutt….gas in Victoria is 0.10 a litre lower than in PG…don’t they pay a carbon tax down there anymore???
I’m glad the opponents of this project are now starting to attack the financial merits of it.
That paired with the enormous risk to a very sensitive ecological corridor should put a stop to this project.
You have got it exactly right Sine Nomine and Socredible and once it’s built, bye, bye middle man. The jobs and spin-offs will disappear. We Will still be paying exorbitant prices for food and fuel.
It’s not about jobs or for the good of B.C.’s citizens It’s for the benefit of the Big Oil Man, Big Business! Make them pay as we will have to pay. Put the money upfront as collateral in case of spill! Make them rent the land they want to lay the pipe on. Make the President of En bridge legally responsible in case of spill.
This is our Beautiful British Columbia!
En bridge, President shouldn’t have a problem with that IF the deal is so good.
Hey Jim13135 if Victoria didn’t pay the fools carbon tax then their price would would still be .10 cents lower than ours. Your point is?
“The knowledge is greater (in Alberta), you know, people have been dealing with the pipeline systems in Alberta now for 60, 70-years and they understand the pipeline system very well. They understand the history and the track record and so their level of concern is not so high”
Perhaps, but the people of Alberta have absolutely no clue what it means to have a pipeline traversing one of the Earth’s largest salmon and steelhead ecosystems.
Endbrige could start the education project by answering questions on the proposed route.
Why Kitamat and not Prince Rupert?
Frank
OK Everyone. I support the pipeline if they buy the entire Wild Salmon, Halibut and Groundfish fleet from Bella Coola to the Alaskan border, and send it to Allens Scrap and salvage, thereby permanently eliminating ALL commercial fishing outside of herring, shellfish and salmon farming on the mid to northern BC coast.
This is going to go ahead anyhow. Why not get something out of it that can be shared with bears, First Nations, and second nations…
Seamutt:-“Isn’t it ironic that there is a carbon tax on fuel and natural gas but we export oil, coal and natural gas. Hey Christy put a carbon tax on the exports? What a scam, this whole carbon BS.”
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I agree, Seamutt. Aside from the whole world-wide carbon scam, (because that’s exactly what it is), BC’s Carbon Tax applies only on what WE consume in fuels. Which is miniscule in terms of what we export, without any Carbon Tax being charged to foreign buyers whatsoever.
You would think any group so environmentally concerned as the BC Liberals would have at least been consistant, and applied their Carbon Tax to any exports that release carbon, too. But no, they won’t do that. It might interfere with their supposed necessity for our all working harder and longer to get to the same bottom we could have got to just doing nothing.
I suppose it’s something we should expect from a group like the BC Liberals, who seem to feel we should be increasingly penalised by higher prices for having the natural advantages we do. The ones we’re to increasingly send off to the world at lower prices while WE’RE forced to pay higher prices for the very same things here at home. Voodoo economics.
The HST is in a similar category as the Carbon Tax. It removes what had to be collected by exporters as a component of price, (the PST they paid on their equipment’s Capital Costs, plus any charged on their operating costs), and transfers it onto the backs of British Columbians instead.
So are the ongoing increases in Hydro rates. The Liberals seem to almost regard it as shameful that we have had comparatively low power costs compared to other jurisdictions, and that we must pay a penalty for our good fortune. But how many times have we paid for the hydro we’ve developed already? Just the inflation alone that was created here when the dams were built more than took back in prices whatever was distributed as incomes (costs). And then there was the interest on the bonds issued to fund those dams and transmission facilities. That’s twice, and we’re to pay still MORE?
For now they tell us that Hydro needs the money for improvements to aging infrastructure. No doubt their infrastructure IS aging. But ask yourself this, what other business gets to jack up its prices because it needs new and improved infrastructure?
If those of us in the lumber, and other businesses could only be so lucky! We have to pay for any needed new infrastructure from what often amounts to lower prices received for our products, not higher ones. And we don’t get to fund improvements in advance, they’re paid for out of future earnings that are enabled to do so by increased efficiency.
socredible yes there will be price increases in hydro costs because of aging infrastructure resulting from this and previous governments lack of priorities. But do not forget the huge costs of the contracts forced on Hydro by the fiberals to IPP’s. This is the the majority reason for cost increases, and Christy wants to build more.
News stories; 200 foot cargo vessel loses containers in violent storm off of the BC coast. 5.9 earthquake felt off of the northwest tip of Van Island. When will people understand that forces of nature can’t be predicted or controlled. And I am sure there are clauses in insurance policies that do not cover “Acts of God”. Pipelines and tankers on the coast of BC are accidents waiting to happen.A persons time here on earth is unmeasurable when you consider how old this planet is but yet one person has the ability to destroy hundreds if not thousands of years of an ecosystem…I can only describe this as selfish.
“But ask yourself this, what other business gets to jack up its prices because it needs new and improved infrastructure?”
Airlines, cruise ship lines, railroads, grocery stores, hotel and motel chains, banks…
Can’t include any governments. They regularly jack up prices (called taxes) but they are of course not run like businesses and don’t have to worry about competition or about losing customers.
It may that we have been convinced that these are things we really need when actually it is just the wants of one individual.
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