March 29, 2010
No coastal tankers
Prince George Citizen
B.C. NDP MP Finn Donnelly, who twice swam the entire length Fraser River to raise awareness of the threats to the watershed, plans to table a private members’ bill this week calling for a moratorium on oil tanker traffic in the inland waters off of B.C.‘s northwest coast.
The moratorium is being called for because Enbridge’s proposed $4.5-billion pipeline would carry crude from the Alberta oil sands to Kitimat for export to overseas markets including China. If the project, which faces a lengthy federal review, receives the go-ahead, an estimated 225 tankers would traverse the coast.
Donnelly’s private members’ bill, also being supported by Northern B.C. NDP MP Nathan Cullen, calls for a change to the Canada’s 2001 Shipping Act which would putt a moratorium on oil tankers in the Dixon Entrance, the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, which represents Interior B.C. bands, said they oppose the proposed pipeline project and tanker traffic.
Some of the First Nations in northern B.C. also signed on to a full-page ad in the Globe and Mail this week stating their opposition to the pipeline and tanker traffic. Prince George city councillor Debora Munoz and Fraser-Fort George Regional District director Lara Beckett also signed on to the protest ad.
