News

Critics blast B.C. premier’s letter to Harper to sink tanker bill

Feb 24, 2011, Montreal Gazette (Read article on originating site site)

A last-minute manoeuvre by outgoing B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to defeat a bill to ban oil tanker traffic in northern B.C. waters, has shocked environmental and community groups.

A last-minute manoeuvre by outgoing B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to defeat a bill to ban oil tanker traffic in northern B.C. waters, has shocked environmental and community groups.
Photograph by: Debra Brash, Timescolonist.com

VICTORIA — A last-minute manoeuvre by outgoing B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to defeat a bill to ban oil tanker traffic in northern B.C. waters, has shocked environmental and community groups.

However, Campbell’s most likely successors support his position and say a ban on tanker traffic could hurt the economy.

A letter saying the private member’s bill would restrict western growth, signed by Campbell, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office Tuesday.

“We are concerned that initiatives such as this bill are aimed squarely at limiting Western Canada’s opportunities to grow our economies. We would therefore urge you to act in the national interest and defeat this bill,” says the letter.

A federal joint review panel is looking at environmental impacts of the planned Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline and the panel should be given time to complete its assessment, says the letter.

The pipeline would bring bitumen from the Alberta oilsands to Kitimat, B.C. where it would be shipped to countries such as China.

Polls show a majority of British Columbians favour a ban on tankers in waters north of Vancouver Island. Coastal First Nations and the Union of B.C. Municipalities also want a ban.

Campbell was not available Thursday, but a statement from his office said tankers have worked the coast for 100 years and are an integral part of the economy.

“It is important to remember that our province and our country have adopted some of the most stringent regulatory policies available to protect our waters from environmental accidents,” it said.

Liberal leadership hopeful Christy Clark said it is premature to think about a ban.

“We’ve got tankers going up and down the St. Lawrence for heaven’s sake. I don’t know why we’d ban them necessarily off the West Coast. I think that’s a step too far, way too soon,” she said. “Let’s not foreclose our options here before we even decide whether or not the Enbridge pipeline is going to be built.”

Leadership candidate George Abbott said, based on facts he has seen so far, he would not favour a ban.

“I like my position on things to be informed by evidence and argument and fact and, in this case, I have not seen a body of evidence which would lead me to shut down economic opportunities on the West Coast,” he said.

Neither Clark nor Abbott had concerns about Campbell signing the letter shortly before stepping down, saying he has the power to make decisions until a new premier is installed.

Fishermen and tourism organizations are among those who reacted with anger to the premiers’ letter.

“When I heard (Campbell) signed that letter I was furious. It is absolutely a betrayal of the people of B.C.,” said Arnie Nagy of the United Fisherman and Allied Workers’ Union.

Joy Thorkelson, UFAWU northern representative, said tankers would put thousands of fishing and fish processing jobs in peril.

“This simply is not an economic development option for B.C.,” she said.

Many opponents say Campbell is ignoring the wishes of British Columbians.

“Mr. Campbell has been forced out because he didn’t listen and now he’s ignoring more than 80 per cent of B.C. as he heads out the door,” said Jennifer Rice of Friends of Wild Salmon.

NDP environment critic Rob Fleming said Campbell’s stance ignores the fact that B.C. would be on the hook for billions of dollars in cleanup costs were there a spill.

“He has less than 48 hours to go in his job and he’s still out there stumping for big oil and the Alberta tarsands,” he said.

Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray introduced the bill, supported by all opposition parties, calling for a ban on oil tankers in Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound.

“If disaster was to strike in our northern coastal waters, B.C. — and Canada as a whole — would never be the same,” Murray said.

Murray said she is surprised Campbell signed the letter and added that figures used in the letter on potential government revenues and employment are “wildly inflated.”

“They came straight out of a powerpoint Enbridge has been circulating,” she said.