Enbridge Pipeline
Enbridge Inc. plans to pipe crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands to B.C.’s Port of Kitimat, and ship it in supertankers to Asian markets. More than 200 tankers a year would weave a hazardous path through an obstacle course of narrow, reef-studded channels and inlets of B.C.’s north coast. The vast majority of British Columbians are opposed to oil tanker traffic through the Great Bear Rainforest.
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Enbridge Pipeline
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Enbridge Inc. plans to pipe crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands to B.C.’s Port of Kitimat, and ship it in supertankers to Asian markets. More than 200 tankers a year would weave a hazardous path through an obstacle course of narrow, reef-studded channels and inlets of B.C.’s north coast. The vast majority of British Columbians are opposed to oil tanker traffic through the Great Bear Rainforest.
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From the Tar Sands to the Great Bear Rainforest
Enbridge Inc. plans to pipe crude oil from Alberta’s tar sands to B.C.’s Port of Kitimat, and ship it in supertankers to Asian markets. More than 200 tankers a year – two to three per week – would weave a hazardous path through an obstacle course of narrow, reef-studded channels and inlets of B.C.’s north coast that have already claimed ships like the B.C. ferry Queen of the North. The vast majority of British Columbians are opposed to oil tanker traffic through the Great Bear Rainforest, the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest on the planet. Learn more.
Accidents Happen
A spill from just one of these supertankers could release up to one-half of the oil spilled in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. Spills would be devastating for coastal communities and First Nations that rely on tourism and fishing, as well as for marine and shore creatures like salmon and the rare spirit bear. An accident, triggered by weather, mechanical malfunction or human error, would be only a matter of time.
A Line in the Sand
A diverse alliance of First Nations, environmental groups and municipal governments has drawn a line in the sand: no oil tankers along B.C.’s north coast! In December 2010, Canada’s House of Commons passed a motion calling for a legislated ban on tanker traffic. While not binding, the motion expresses the majority will of Parliament and introduces a moral obligation for the Canadian government to ban oil tanker traffic on B.C.’s north coast.
Who is opposed?
- Coastal First Nations (Declaration March 2010)
- Many environmental groups including Sierra Club BC
- Haida Gwaii Municipalities (June 2010)
- Union of BC Municipalities (October 2010)
- 61 First Nations from the Fraser River Watershed (December 2010)
- Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois MPs from across Canada who voted for a legislated tanker ban
- Countless grassroots and local citizens’ groups
Take Action
Unless we stop them, hundreds of tankers a year will soon travel through grey whale migratory routes, along Great Bear Rainforest shorelines where foraging spirit bears provide ecotourism opportunities, and among salmon gathering to spawn. Together we can stop them. Please take action now.
