British Columbians will not allow Northern Gateway to be imposed on their province
By Peter Ewart
British Columbians, from all walks of life and political affiliations, have made it very clear – they do not want the Enbridge pipeline nor will they accept it being imposed on them by the federal government.
Opinion polls show that 2/3 of British Columbians are either against the project or are for delaying it, and this strong opposition has been expressed in hundreds of rallies, meetings, petitions and other activities organized across the province over the last several years.
Despite all sorts of pressure from the Harper government, over 130 First Nations organizations across BC remain steadfastly opposed to the pipeline crossing their traditional lands and waters. In addition, the Union of BC Municipalities has overwhelmingly voted against the bitumen pipeline and resulting tanker traffic.
In a referendum earlier this year, Kitimat, the town which supposedly would receive the most economic benefits from the pipeline, voted not to support it, and the councils of Terrace, Prince Rupert, Smithers, Regional District of Queen Charlotte, and other municipalities have also passed resolutions opposed.
In the oral submissions to the Joint Review Panel, BC citizens from all walks of life delivered 1,159 statements, of which only 2 were in support of the pipeline. For written submissions, 9,159 were in opposition and 239 in support.
Indeed, the BC provincial government itself has indicated that it is not on side with the project as presently constituted.
It is clear that British Columbians, both First Nations and non-First Nations, are declaring that they must be the decision-makers as to whether this bitumen pipeline goes ahead. And their answer is a resounding No!
On the other hand, the Harper government believes that the private interests of a multinational oil company, with a poor safety record and backed by foreign financiers, should trump those of the people of this province.
However, the Harper government has made a huge mistake in underestimating the opposition and thinking that this controversial pipeline project can be rammed through.
As Harper will be finding out, British Columbians will not submit to his dictate on this issue. Period.
Peter Ewart is a columnist and writer based in Prince George, British Columbia. He can be reached at: peter.ewart@shaw.ca
Comments
This is nothing but hypocrisy in action. Some people don’t want the pipeline yet they want all the benefits it will bring; cheap Chinese goods topping that list.
I am a British Columbian and I support the pipeline. But I’m just a nobody. Victoria keeps taking my taxes and flushing it’s sewer in to the ocean but chides us about the environment. I have no voice. I am the new minority.
Anyone who actually wants this PL either hasn’t done their research or are incredibly thick headed.
Posted by: phje on June 18 2014 6:44 AM
Anyone who actually wants this PL either hasn’t done their research or are incredibly thick headed.
—————
Ah yes, insults. The forte of someone who didn’t get their way.
Where did all that plastic you have around your house come from phje? The plastic fairy? Where did the asphalt come from that you drive on? The asphalt ferry?
All the luxuries you take for granted have a cost; they don’t magically appear. If we in the west want to keep living high on the hog the environment will continue to suffer. If you really want to stop the pipeline you have lessen the demand for oil based products. But you’re not going to do that are you? It’s so much easier to spout off the rhetoric and wave your fists in anger then it is to make any sacrifices to the way you live.
So Peter you are happy with unelected super rich foreign NGO’s running running this country. Are you Canadian? Do you get funding from a NGO like a lot of the protest groups? Is that why you ignore looking into protest group funding?
I am Canadian and find it offensive the influense of foreign NGO’s behind these so called protest groups..
Canadian railways are currently transporting 300,000 barrels of oil per day. By 2016 this is projected to nearly triple and be well over 1 million barrels per day. The oil sands are also planning on expanding production by over 2 million barrels per day in the next 8 years.
The oil is going to be moved. Do you want it going by rail or pipeline?
At the rate that the Northern Gateway is proceeding, it looks like Houston will turn into Lac-Megantic….
http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocId=242427&DT=NTV
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Editorial+move+rail+pipelines/9819875/story.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-06/cn-rail-cp-rail-surging-with-crude-oil-moving-by-trains.html
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=4b02fa05-4d2a-4f6b-b66c-730f0249e943
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/northern-gateway-is-not-alone-5-more-pipelines-to-watch-1.2678406
“Opinion polls show that 2/3 of British Columbians are either against the project or are for delaying it”
Are these the same polls that predicted an NDP landslide last Provincial election? I’ve kind of lost all my faith in what opinion polls have to say, and how easily they are manipulated.
I have to turn off autocorrect.
Haha well the polls never reached me! I’m all for it. I get things will change, stuff could be destroyed but what isn’t already? The protesters for this are going to annoy the hell out of me! Don’t come knocking on my door cause I won’t answer it.
Nobody has asked me yet,so am I included in the 2/3 opposed?. Just wondering where the stats come from.
Posted by: pookerjams on June 18 2014 9:26 AM
Haha well the polls never reached me! I’m all for it.
——–
You were probably at work when they conducted the poll. :)
2/3 of the hipsters hanging out in downtown Victoria are opposed to the pipeline.
Seamut writes:
“I am Canadian and find it offensive the influense of foreign NGO’s behind these so called protest groups..” and then “I have to turn off autocorrect”
_____________________________________________
It ism not autocorrect that is mispelling words, it is your poorly educated and gullible self, who actually believes the mythology promulgated by Joe Oliver of the wealthy foreigners bankrolling the environmental movement.
I and others have spent countless 1,000s of dollars of our own money as a registered intervenor. None of us has ever received a scintilla of financial support from foreign or domestic NGOs but are willing to donate if it helps stop this demented project.
The only people in favour of this project are those that will benefit financially from it. Those of sound mind will never allow it to be built.
The cons are history in BC.
Comment Posted by: axman on June 18 2014 5:32 AM
This is nothing but hypocrisy in action. Some people don’t want the pipeline yet they want all the benefits it will bring; cheap Chinese goods topping that list.
—————
Simply ridiculous, who wants cheap Chinese goods? Cheap Chinese goods are a product of corporate greed, nothing else.
Comment Posted by: seamut on June 18 2014 7:44 AM
So Peter you are happy with unelected super rich foreign NGO’s running running this country. Are you Canadian? Do you get funding from a NGO like a lot of the protest groups? Is that why you ignore looking into protest group funding?
I am Canadian and find it offensive the influense of foreign NGO’s behind these so called protest groups..
———————
I am Canadian and find it offensive the influence of foreign corporations over our gov’t.
Who exactly do you think are the top dogs in all of this? Not Canada I assure you.
Posted by: Dragonmaster on June 18 2014 10:02 AM
Comment Posted by: axman on June 18 2014 5:32 AM
This is nothing but hypocrisy in action. Some people don’t want the pipeline yet they want all the benefits it will bring; cheap Chinese goods topping that list.
—————
Simply ridiculous, who wants cheap Chinese goods? Cheap Chinese goods are a product of corporate greed, nothing else.
————–
Ordinary people like you are clamoring for cheap Chinese crap daily. You and everyone else who has made WalMart and it’s ilk the richest companies in the West.
It’s not the corporations who are buying the crap; they’re the ones selling it. But, it’s so much easier to blame the big bad corporations for the way we chose to live.
Dragon: “Simply ridiculous, who wants cheap Chinese goods?”
Lots of people, based on the crowds observed at the big box stores.
Dragon: “Cheap Chinese goods are a product of corporate greed, nothing else.”
Maybe we’re all greedy in that we want to pay the lowest price for things and keep more money in our own pockets. Hmm…
Dragon: “The cons are history in BC.”
They’ve been saying that for a long time.
I am not for this pipeline and I consider myself pro development. In my opinion, there is too much risk for not enough gain. A multi billion dollar oil spill for, what, 500 jobs, most of which will be in Alberta?
I would possibly support this pipeline if a refinery was built to ensure that the oil shipped is not black sludge, but refined. Somewhat less of an environmental issue, and BC would get more jobs and more value added.
Canada needs to be more than hewers of wood and drawers of water in order to thrive in the 21st century.
If the bitumen is going to transported by train across BC, then delivering it through a pipeline is the lesser evil. We should conduct a poll and see whether the people would rather have them delivered across BC by train or by pipeline (instead of yes or no for pipeline).
Dragonmaster so foreign NGO’s are okay by you?
I don’t use oil. I take the bus.
If this project was approved based on the number of permanent jobs after construction, this project is done. The real prize is capturing world oil prices and diversifying beyond the US market. Royalties are a function of price and the revenue to government coffers is huge. Currently its the resource provinces paying the freight for our equalization formula. It’s far from hyperbole that this is in the national interst.
This pipeline will be the most scrutinized pipeline on the planet, as it should be. This is not Kalamazoo, a 50 year old line with operators punching the clock.
Duhragon wrote:
“Who exactly do you think are the top dogs in all of this? Not Canada I assure you.”
Duhragon:
Canada is by far the biggest benificiary of this project. You couldn’t assure the sun rises in the east with any credibility.
You and Peter can keep spewing leftard crap. Your predictable BS will be challanged.
I wish the NDP would stop speaking for me, because I’m all for the pipeline.
Comments for this article are closed.