Review Panel Met by Protest in Kitimat

Tuesday, August 31, 2010 02:48 PM

Kitimat, B.C. - Hundreds of northern B.C. residents rallied outside the Riverlodge Recreation Centre in Kitimat today, where the federal panel reviewing the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline conducted its first public meeting.

Rally participants say Enbridge's plan to transport tar sands oil through B.C. by pipeline and oil tanker is the wrong choice and should not be allowed to proceed.

“The opposition to this project is massive and growing every day,” the event's MC Gerald Amos from Kitamaat Village told the crowd. “We have drawn a line in the sand. There will be no Enbridge Pipeline and there will be no crude oil tankers in our waters. This is not a battle we intend to lose.”

In a show of support with the people in Kitimat, over 200 people gathered outside Enbridge's Vancouver headquarters and marched to a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Speakers at the event, including MPs Ujjal Dosanjh and Finn Donnelly pledged to work to put in place a legislated crude oil tanker ban for B.C.'s northern waters.

Community members at the event carried banners and placards. Several dressed as oil spill cleanup workers to remind the crowd of Enbridge's recent pipeline oil spill in Michigan.

“Due to the uncertainty associated with the transport of crude oil along our unpredictable northwest coast, the Village of Queen Charlotte has resolved that this project should not proceed,” said Kris Olsen, a municipal councillor with the Village of Queen Charlotte. “All Haida Gwaii municipalities stand together in opposition to Enbridge because the tradeoffs and risks involved are unacceptable.”

Joy Thorkelson with the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union expressed concern that an oil spill would harm important sectors of northern B.C.'s existing economy.

“For hundreds of years, the fisheries have been vital to our communities' economies and our way of life as coastal people, and we're not willing to put that at risk. The commercial fishing industry is the largest private sector employer on the central and north coast and a handful of oil jobs won't replace the importance of the fishery.”

The review panel will hold a similar session in Prince George on September 8th.

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Posted on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 02:48 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: alvin74 on August 31 2010 8:13 PM

No question I would buy all this crap if this bunch would run nude and throw thier cars, trucks and airline tickits into the dump.This is just to much BS,Ujjal Dosanjh and Joy Thorkelson fighters for workers rights and support for working familys,spare me the rope to hang myself. Not in my back yard won't cut it people. This no,no,no crap is boring and based on those with a preconceived opinion with no consideration of the facts or questions people would like answered from all sides of the issue not just Enbridge or those proposing other majior projects in the north.

Posted by: seamutt on August 31 2010 8:36 PM

Lets refine the oil here, then sell it to who ever. Sending raw oil is no different than raw logs. They need the fuel we need the jobs, same goes for the U.S.

Posted by: chrislivingdowntown on August 31 2010 8:46 PM

Go a head not like anyone cares about the Earth. Money, Money and more money is what it's all about right.

Posted by: Green on August 31 2010 9:10 PM

Alvin seems like you have some pretty firm preconceived notions yourself

Posted by: gus on August 31 2010 10:22 PM

"no consideration of the facts" ..

So, if you could spare a moment from your emotional tirade, Alvin, what do you consider to be the top 3 facts and why do they point to support of the project.

Posted by: Eagleone on September 1 2010 12:33 AM

As soon as people say the opponents to the project should give up anything related to oil... I know we are going into pointless tirade territory of the willfully uninformed trying to preach to the ignorant. It shows they have little understanding of the issue and are easily persuaded by any rhetoric that says 'profits'... people like that I'm sure regret their rhetoric at a later date when they become educated.

If we were to stick to the facts we would know that number one we have plenty of oil in Canada and we won't be running out anytime soon because we refuse a pipeline to sell more to China... think global markets and our cost could very well go up if this pipeline goes ahead.

Number two is the fact that even with a refinery in PG some companies can still save 25% on their fuel buying it from Chevron in Edmonton, rather than from Huskey in PG. By that measure even if the local refinery closed we could see our fuel cost drop by 25% in a real free market (as opposed to the current managed one where they tell us the cost is the cost of refining and taxes). A pipeline will do nothing for those that think local refinery is required for us to use oil in our daily lives in Central and Northern BC.

Number two point of ignorance is that

Posted by: Eagleone on September 1 2010 12:34 AM

opps... obvious I decided to edit and didn't do a very good job... lol.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on September 1 2010 7:44 AM

Just like airplanes sometimes crash and burn (check the statistics) pipelines sometimes rupture and explode and spill oil (check the statistics).

Ships keep colliding, spilling their cargo at sea, on lakes and on rivers.

That it happens inspite of all the modern technology and science is a fact.

Those who object to taking the risk (for the sake of profits for foreign corporations and for the sake of putting tens of millions more cars on the roads in China) of impacting our rivers, lakes and land negatively do not have to resort to jumping around in the nude. The sorry facts speak for themselves.

Let's say NO!

Posted by: alvin74 on September 2 2010 9:11 AM

ha, just say no that works whats the point of crying the hearings are unfair when the main objective is to kill the project,even more laughable is the Carrier Sekani get $9 million of tax payers money to train 600 first nations people to work on pipelines then fight to stop them. Pipe line is a pipeline whether oil or gas must more more to this story for sure.

Posted by: parlimentarian on September 2 2010 9:12 AM

Instead of stopping this opportunity for the people of BC and the nortghern communities, why not put your negative efforts that are evident by many into positive efforts to ensure that this endeavour can proceed saftly. do your home work it can be done. what I am hearing is lets go back to the war canoes , , burn ollican oil in the lamps, I challenge all the folks that are negative to park their vehicles, put moccasins on , footwear uses oil products, disconnect your electrical power. Hey folks get a reality check. Along with this endeavour , comes employment that puts cash into the economy, helps provide the cash for all the social programs that are used. most folks that work earn their cash for living, very few have money coming from constant revenue income streams or such. Open your eyes folks.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on September 2 2010 12:54 PM

Parlimentarian, in case you did not notice: This pipeline is not for OUR energy needs, it is for energy that people need in China! If the pipeline is NOT constructed WE do not have to disconnect our electrical power or walk barefoot!

WE won't use a drop of that oil, it is not for OUR use! Why should WE take the risks?

No need to get hysterical - let them double up on the pipelines that already traverse Alberta from the tarsands to the US border and export the oil from Seattle or Port Angeles to China!

Open your eyes, folks!

Posted by: parlimentarian on September 2 2010 1:34 PM

Prince george yes i did notice , lets shut down husky oil refinery in PG then , as well all other deemed risks, and only use and produce what we use ourselves, hmmmm world economics 101 anyone? lets shut down further kemano , The commodity markets influence every loaf of bread and jug of milk that is consumed, the picture is not just a small one, it is world wide. I agree that enviromental concern must be addressed and it can be very effectivly, and no we should not give our resources away, however if not pipeline then rail cars, what is safer ? ask yourself that. the railcars must transfer their loads at port which has a higher degree of spillage issues, Realize that China and others will find a way to procure their needs, so lets have another potential of a massive spill eleswhere in our small world , stick our heads up our proverbal oil sands and not in our back yard syndrome, hate to tell anyone this , the world is our back yard

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on September 2 2010 2:43 PM

O.k., today's bits from the news:

Another oil drilling platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, a fuel tanker runs aground in the NW Passage, the Athabaska River is polluted with heavy metals and mercury from the tarsands industry....need more?

Let China worry about where it gets its crude oil from. It is NOT our worry! The Chinese are building nuclear power plants by the dozens and they are heavily into solar and wind power energy. Let them drive electric cars - the kind they are already exporting to Europe! We shouldn't be making it cheap and easy for them to put additional tens of millions of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles on their already totally clogged up highways! They have traffic jams which take days to get untangled.

Why spoil our environment so they can keep doing what they believe is the easiest way out?

How come we are not refining the crude over here if we are really hell bent on exporting it? That at least would provide jobs and benefits for US Canadians!

To export the raw crude is just as stupid as exporting raw logs - only on a much larger scale!

You stated:"...Realize that China and others will find a way to procure their needs..."

Well, I fully agree because that statement supports my contention that the pipeline is a very bad idea for British Columbia's pristine wilderness rivers, creeks and lakes.

Let China and others procure elsewhere.