May 27, 2010

Preventing disaster requires new thinking

Gulf Coast disaster a warning for oil-tanker traffic in B.C. waters

Guest Editorial, Nathan Cullen
Times Colonist

Days after the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig blew up off the coast of Louisiana killing 11 workers, British Petroleum assured the public it would contain the leak quickly. It was wrong.

The lesson for the Canadian government should be obvious. But even as the world watches the Gulf of Mexico with growing horror, the Canadian government is pursuing a major oil pipeline/supertanker project that puts us at risk of our own made-in-B.C. disaster.

The Enbridge pipeline proposal would transport 525,000 barrels of oil a day more than 1,100 kilometres across two mountain ranges and hundreds of streams and rivers from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat, where it would be loaded on to supertankers. More than 200 tankers would navigate the rugged Douglas Channel and Hecate Strait every year.

The pipeline would cross crucial salmon habitat on land and then tankers would take the oil into a vital spawning area for salmon, halibut and other fish species. The channel is an important migratory route for whales and dolphins. It is a fragile environment where more than a million seabirds breed.

We are assured by the company, of course, that modern technology makes it all very safe. In a promotional video, Enbridge says the Douglas Channel is “ideally suited to ship traffic.”

But First Nations, business groups, environmental organizations and citizens all along the pipeline route and on the coast have raised serious concerns about the plan. They point to recent events as evidence of the risks. Last September, the freighter Petersfield crashed into a rock in the Douglas Channel after losing steering. And no one forgets the tragic sinking of the Queen of the North in 2006.

Enbridge — in a scary echo of the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico — dismisses criticism as “fearmongering.” And just like we heard from the Gulf oil industry, Enbridge insists that state-of-the-art equipment will prevent a disaster.

But the spreading oil slick in the Gulf is a brutal testimony against these comforting assurances. The Deepwater rig was state-of-the-art. BP is using all of the modern tools available and throwing all of its considerable resources at the leak, but just can’t make it stop.

Most British Columbians find it unfathomable that our government could witness events in the Gulf and continue on a course that puts our own shores at risk. But the Enbridge proposal continues to move forward and, worse, many people are concerned that the project could be a gateway to oil drilling off our coast. Once we open the door to oil tankers, is lifting the moratorium on coastal drilling far behind?

Opposition to the Enbridge plan is growing as more people learn about it. But if we are to succeed at protecting our coast, we need new thinking about energy and jobs. In an energy-dependent society like ours, it’s not enough to just say “no oil in our backyard.” And in communities where the economy is struggling, we must generate new jobs.

That’s why I’m launching an “oil and water” tour in B.C. Over the coming months I will travel to communities across the province to build and unite opposition to the Enbridge pipeline, but also to engage British Columbians in a dialogue about developing alternative energy sources and promoting long-term sustainable jobs.

The first stop of this tour will be on the south Island, with a town hall meeting in the Douglas Fir room of Saanich Commonwealth Place. It’s a chance for people to learn more about the Enbridge pipeline, but equally it’s a chance to talk about future directions.

I believe we can create jobs without exposing our environment and way of life to enormous risks. There is more economic and employment potential in tourism, revitalized fisheries and clean-energy development than there is in drilling and transporting fossil fuels.

For the sake of our coast, our economy, and future generations, we must heed the terrible warning issued from the Gulf of Mexico. It’s time to enshrine a permanent moratorium on oil tanker traffic on the B.C. coast, stop the Enbridge proposal and start building viable alternatives for energy and jobs.

MP Nathan Cullen (Skeena-Bulkley Valley) is the New Democrat critic for natural resources and energy. He is launching his “oil and water” tour with a town hall meeting tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Saanich Commonwealth Place.