5 Years After Queen of the North Sinking, Hartley Bay Residents Still Feel Effects
By 250 News
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 03:57 AM
Hartley Bay, B.C. – It’s been five years since the ferry Queen of the North sank south of Prince Rupert.
Two lives were lost and the rest of the 99 passengers and crew ended up in lifeboats to be rescued and taken in by the residents of Hartley Bay. While the members of the tiny First Nations community were hailed as heroes, the village government says the toxic legacy of the sunken ship affects its residents to this day.
Cam Hill, Village Councillor-Elect and lifelong resident of Hartley Bay says BC Ferries initially pledged to elders and youth that the corporation would not stop until the ferry was either raised or the contaminants were off of the sunken vessel, but he says that still hasn’t happened.
Hill says a community member is monitoring the fuel and other contaminants being released in conjunction with the village council and BC Ferries, but he says the village is not happy.
“We’ve also been doing monitoring of our shellfish in and around the areas...but there are still people in this community that will not harvest from the immediate area that the ferry is sitting in. I don’t think BC Ferries fully understands just how bad of a situation this is. When you’ve got people who’ve lived here all their lives and don’t know any other way of food gathering within our territory and to have a chunk of that taken away is a blow to them.”
He says if the same catastrophe happened anywhere near Vancouver or another large population, it wouldn’t take five years to get the situation figured out.
Hall says he can’t comment on the legal action launched by the Gitga’at Nation in 2009 against BC Ferries over concerns about contaminants and fuel from the Queen of the North but he says he remains hopeful that Hartley Bay’s needs are going to be met.
Previous Story - Next Story
Email
Print
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Del.icio.usReturn to Home
Posted by: Old Hippy on March 23 2011 11:22 AM