An interesting vote happened in Kitimat B.C. this past weekend as residents of the municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia went to the polls on April 12 and said “no” to the Northern Gateway Pipeline.
A total of 58 per cent of the approximately 3,071 residents voted against the proposed $7.9 billion pipeline that would start northeast of Edmonton and run through Alberta and B.C. eventually ending at a loading terminal in Kitimat.
The result is another blow during a lengthy campaign in the small community between Enbridge and local community groups. The two sides have presented what they purport as the truth through www.pipeupagainstenbridge.ca and Enbridge's www.gatewayfacts.ca.
Does this vote even mean anything? What sort of effect does the opinion of just over 3,000 people in a small B.C. community have on such a massive project?
As many are aware, Canada benefits and in some ways relies on the revenue generated from the oil and gas producing western provinces.
Regarding the pipeline proposal, the federal government already did its “due diligence” using a review panel to visit 17 communities along the proposed route, consider oral and written testimony surrounding the project and issue a decision approving the pipeline with 209 conditions.
I would like to think that the collective voice of the general public could actually have a say in whether or not a project like this goes forward, but I'm not quite sure it does.
The 1,200-kilometer Gateway would transport up to 525,000 barrels per day from Alberta to a tanker port in Kitimat, which would then ship it east to anyone looking to buy. Enbridge has already spent millions of dollars on the process and plans to spend billions on the construction of this pipeline, which means the expected profits would have to be in the hundreds to thousands of billions.
As sad as it sounds, the amount of money to be made on this will likely outweigh the opinions of the general public and the conservation of the environment.
It really doesn't matter what has to be done or what has to be destroyed in the process, this pipeline is going to happen. After all, Enbridge started the “project feasibility study and needs analysis” way back in 1998. Do you really think the company is going to spend over 16 years on a project for it to be turned down? I don't.
The decision has already been made. We are simply taking part in a process that makes it look like we had a say.
