Petition to Ban Oil Tankers on the North Coast

Just yesterday, Parliament debated a New Democrat motion demanding that the government immediately legislate a ban on oil supertankers from plying the hazardous waters off British Columbia’s sensitive northern coast.

Next Tuesday, December 7, MPs will vote on it – and we need your help to make sure they vote to protect some of the most ecologically significant coastline in the world.

Want to really send a message to the government that we need a law to permanently protect the West Coast from tanker traffic?
Sign a petition demanding that the government immediately legislate a ban on oil supertankers: gopetition.com/petition/41188/sign.html

Click here ( nathancullen.com/images/uplo … tition.pdf ) to print paper copies of the petition and distribute to friends, family, and colleagues. Once filled out, mail them for free back to New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen, who will present them in the House of Commons to send a clear message that oil tankers aren’t worth the risk.

Only two days until the vote to save our coast – every signature matters!

Some of the reasons why we need our MPs to take action on Tuesday to permanently protect the West Coast from oil tanker traffic:

•The British Columbia North Coast is one of the most magnificent and ecologically diverse coastlines in the world.

•The coastal waters of British Columbia are home to over 20 species of marine mammals, over 120 species of marine birds, and many species of fish.

•According to Environment Canada, 100 small, 10 moderate and 1 major spill is predicted every year based on current levels of tanker traffic in Canada. A catastrophic spill is predicted once every 15 years.

•If the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proceeds, oil tanker traffic on the BC coast will increase from only a few to as many as 220 tankers a year. Each tanker is longer than the Eiffel Tower and holds hundreds of millions of litres of oil.

•The proposed area of tanker traffic is adjacent to the Great Bear Rainforest, a globally-significant ecosystem that is recognized as a model for land conservation. The rainforest is heavily dependent on the health of the water that surrounds and runs through it.

[quote=“guitargrrl”]Some of the reasons why we need our MPs to take action on Tuesday to permanently protect the West Coast from oil tanker traffic:

•The British Columbia North Coast is one of the most magnificent and ecologically diverse coastlines in the world.

•The coastal waters of British Columbia are home to over 20 species of marine mammals, over 120 species of marine birds, and many species of fish.

•According to Environment Canada, 100 small, 10 moderate and 1 major spill is predicted every year based on current levels of tanker traffic in Canada. A catastrophic spill is predicted once every 15 years.

•If the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline proceeds, oil tanker traffic on the BC coast will increase from only a few to as many as 220 tankers a year. Each tanker is longer than the Eiffel Tower and holds hundreds of millions of litres of oil.

•The proposed area of tanker traffic is adjacent to the Great Bear Rainforest, a globally-significant ecosystem that is recognized as a model for land conservation. The rainforest is heavily dependent on the health of the water that surrounds and runs through it.[/quote]

Straight out of the pamphlet, prepaired by the evniro’s, nothing wrong with this, but I am pretty sure that Enbridge has some interesting mitigating programs and counter points to these bits of info.

The proof is in the pudding though and the record of Enbridge is that they can produce some very pretty brochures but their record on actual pipeline safety is pretty pathetic. No doubt Enbridge has a very well funded PR firm and lobbyists plying the back rooms of our parliament and legislative assembly.

Yeah, I am not advocating for Enbridge here, just advocating for people to search out information for themselves, make decisions about this based on weighing the pros and cons and making informed desicions.

There have been a couple of speakers from Michigan and Wisconsin touring the north this week; one woman works for an environmental NGO in Wisconsin and she spoke about that state’s experiences with Enbridge during construction of a pipeline in 2007, similar to the one they’re proposing for the north, and the other woman works for the National Wildlife Federation and she spoke about Enbridge’s response to the spill of 1 million gallons of oil from one of their pipelines this summer.

I went to the talk in Rupert last night, and listening to their experiences and looking at the documentation they presented was the reason I posted this petition here, cutting and pasting from the website, to be sure, my apologies.

It was extremely powerful comparing the promises Enbridge made about the construction of the pipeline and potential spill response, and then comparing it to what actually took place in these two instances. In addition, extrapolating that data into a northern context was equally disturbing: if their spill response was so poor in a populated, flat, easily accessible region, what kind of response time would we be looking at for a remote mountainous area? It took them two weeks to locate the source of the leak in the Michigan case; how long would it take and how much damage would be done to salmon-bearing streams and rivers, wildlife and vegetation?

If the oil tanker ban goes into effect, it will severely curtail Enbridge’s plans for this pipeline. That’s why I support this initiative and that’s why I posted it. I hope that’s a little more personal for ya. :smile:

I am sure Enbridge has plenty of money, surely, enough to alleviate any concerns about the environment.

The vote in the House of Commons is tomorrow. If you haven’t signed the petition already, please consider doing so. Another helpful thing to do would be to contact your Member of Parliament and let him or her know how you feel about oil tankers plying the North Coast. Find how to contact your MP here: www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compila … lCode.aspx?

The vote is today! If you haven’t already signed the petition or contacted your MP, please consider doing so. Thanks!

Hahah, spoken like a true chief!!!