By Shaun Thomas, The Northern View (Prince Rupert), August 31, 2010
Hundreds of people gathered outside of Riverlodge in Kitimat today to protest plans for the Enbridge Northern Gateway while a hearing hosted by the Joint Review Panel took place inside.
People from around the northwest gathered at Riverlodge in Kitimat today to protest the Enbridge Northern Gateway. |
“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.”
At the same time, some 200 people gathered outside of the Enbridge office in Vancouver to lend their voice to opposing the project, something that people on Haida Gwaii have also done.
“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…All Haida Gwaii municipalities stand together in opposition to Enbridge because the tradeoffs and risks involved are unacceptable,” said Kris Olsen, a municipal councillor with the Village of Queen Charlotte.
“Haida Gwaii is creating a sustainable economy that takes into consideration all environmental services when determining the value of a project. The Enbridge project threatens our economy and opportunities for future generations.”
Along with First Nations groups that include the Haida, Metlakatla, Heiltsuk, Gitga'at, Kitasoo and Wuikinuxv Nations, North Coast MLA Gary Coons and Skeena MLA Robin Austin, who both sailed the proposed route last fall, offered their opposition to the project. In an interview from Kitimat Tuesday, Austin said he sailed the proposed oil tanker route a few months ago, and Douglas Channel into Kitimat is wide and straight enough to present little hazard. But he joins coastal aboriginal groups in opposing the rest of the route out to open, near where the B.C. Ferries Queen of the North went off course and sank in the Inside Passage.
"You look at the size of the tankers, and you see the narrowness of the turns, and you think, how in hell is this ever going to happen without an accident at some point?" Austin said.
"I think it's amazing that they even want to consider it.”
~With files from Tom Fletcher
