Image by: Rick Colville, edmontonjournal.com
Recently, Enbridge Inc. has proposed to build an oil pipeline from the Canadian oil sands in northern Alberta to the west coast of British Columbia in order to capitalize on the emerging Asian market for oil. The project will be one of the largest industrial projects ever attempted in Western Canada and is intended to inject investment and create jobs in an area of British Columbia that has been particularly hard hit by a declining industrial sector and the recent economic recession. The proposed pipeline would carry thousands of barrels of unprocessed bitumen, the raw substance mined from the oil sands, across the diverse and harsh ecosystems of Northern British Columbia to the port city of Kitimat. Kitimat has long been a hub of industry in that part of the province, and the city would greatly benefit from the introduction of this pipeline.
Image by: CTV News
Local, regional and national levels of government have all touted the job creation and economic benefits of this project, believing that it will also generate a tremendous amount of tax dollars for all governments involved. It would also give Canada an alternate market for its oil sands bitumen, as the recent doubt cast on such projects as Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Louisiana has made it so that Canada cannot rely solely on the United States as a market for bitumen. Furthermore, European countries that once would have jumped at the chance to import bitumen have recently become wary of its negative environmental impacts and have taken steps towards barring its import. Thus, this project has the possibility to be an engine for economic growth and the source of great revenue for Enbridge and all levels of government.
However, it is my opinion that the building of this pipeline is not good for British Columbia. First and foremost is the environmental threat this project poses. Enbridge has built many pipelines in recent years, many of which have ruptured, spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into pristine environments. As well, the transport of bitumen requires the use of super tankers that would be sailing in the treacherous waters outside of Kitimat. The crash of a supertanker would be even more disastrous, as it would contaminate the beautiful waters of the Hecate Strait, which thousands of people rely on for survival and economic well being.
The survival of numerous native groups that depend on the beautiful rivers that the proposed pipeline will traverse would be threatened. As well, these rivers, such as the Skeena and its numerous tributaries, are some of the last wild Salmon and Steelhead rivers in the world, and a spill of any magnitude would destroy these fisheries and jeopardize entire ecosystems that depend on them. The cost of cleanup as well as the collateral damage felt by indigenous and rural communities alone should deter this government from making such an unwise policy move. It is not a case of if this environmental disaster will occur, but when. And when it does, British Columbia’s legacy as a place of untold natural beauty and pristine wilderness will be jeopardized.
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