Tag Archives: Enbridge

BC Oil Tanker Ban Motion Passes in Commons

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The House of Commons has adopted an NDP motion calling for a ban on crude-oil tanker traffic off British Columbia’s north coast.

But the motion, which was passed 143-138, is non-binding and is likely to be ignored by the Conservative government.

Canada has had an unofficial moratorium on tankers off B.C.’s north coast for decades. But New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen, the B.C. MP who put forward the opposition motion, said it is vital to enshrine the unwritten moratorium in legislation.

It comes as Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has proposed sending up to 225 oil tankers every year out of the port of Kitimat to carry crude oil to new markets such as Asia and the western United States as part of its Northern Gateway project, which also includes a proposed pipeline from Alberta to the port.

A coalition of First Nations, commercial fisheries and environmental groups from the Pacific Northwest Coast has called for a ban on oil tankers in the region, claiming the local economy is in jeopardy because of increased traffic.

Read full CBC article here 

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/story/2010/12/07/oil-tanker-motion.html#ixzz17X62NeLr

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Kitimat Councillor Steps Down From Enbridge Community Advisory Board

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Tuesday, December 07, 2010 03:53 AM

Kitimat, B.C. – A Kitimat councillor has stepped down from the Enbridge Community Advisory Board, calling the process a “sham”. 
 
Randy Halyk says he originally joined the board because he felt that Kitimat should have a voice, that it was a good way to find out about the positives and negatives of the Northern Gateway Pipeline, and open a dialogue with Enbridge. However, he says the CAB has morphed since its early days and has degenerated into and Enbridge vehicle to stifle community participation.
 
“Throughout this time the group was changing, the vacant chairs where being filled, new faces appeared around the table but not one citizen of Kitimat only companies set to make a profit. The CAB is now ostensibly made up of project supporters from the Lower Mainland, from Terrace with a few from Kitimat including our EDO, with the remaining being Enbridge Staff.
 
Furthermore, I don’t know how you can call what remains, “a Community Advisory Board” when most members are from out of town and the region. “
Read full Opinion250 article here

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Tanker Ban: The Vote to Protect BC’s Fragile North Coast

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Nathan Cullen is the member of Parliament for the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley

 
BY NATHAN CULLEN, VANCOUVER SUN

Last week the House of Commons spent some hours debating an issue uniquely West Coast but also critical to Canada: whether or not we need a legislated ban on supertanker traffic plying the waters of BC’s north and central coast. The vote will be cast Tuesday.

It’s not often that Canada’s Parliament looks across the Rockies to cast an opinion on a debate that is familiar and passionate to those of us fortunate to live in this stunningly beautiful province.

New Democrats have long suggested that the vagueness of the Federal government’s policy towards tankers on the coast creates an environment of damaging uncertainty not just for business but more importantly for the people of the coast.

Read full op-ed by Nathan Cullen in the Vancouver Sun here

 
 Last week the House of Commons spent some hours debating an issue uniquely West Coast but alcritical to Canada: whether or not we need a legislated ban on supertanker traffic plying the waters of BC’s north and central coast. The vote will be cast TuesdayIt’s not often that Canada’s Parliament looks across the 

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