In the dispute between B.C. and Alberta re: the Kinder Morgan pipeline, I believe B.C.’s side isn’t getting fair press coverage.
It’s not all about the pipeline; it’s also about the seven-fold increase in tankers in Burrard Inlet, the Salish Sea and Juan de Fuca Strait. It’s about the extreme toxicity of diluted bitumen and the fumes broadcast when it’s being loaded on those tankers.
The mayors of Vancouver and Burnaby are solidly opposed to this project because they don’t want accidents in a very busy waterway that borders their citizens’ dwellings. Victoria and Vancouver Island populations are opposed because we see increased tanker traffic and, at worst, a spill as potentially causing extreme damage to an already stressed environment.
Don’t we have any say in what travels on our lands and waters? Are we to jeopardize coastal jobs and industry so an American oil baron can get richer? What does B.C. have to gain from this transport of dilbit on our land and waters?
Rachel Notley’s response has been almost hysterical; too many of these irritants will make Kinder Morgan pack up and go away. My response: why aren’t you refining your tar sands in Alberta? Why are we always exporting our raw materials for others to add value to?
Arlene Feke
Nanaimo