Take Action

E-mail the Prime Minister and urge him to permanently ban super tankers so that B.C.'s North and Central Coast is not the site of the world’s next disastrous oil spill.
Join in our opposition to the proposed Enbridge oil pipeline/tanker terminal project that will carry more than half a million barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta’s tar sands to Kitimat where it will be loaded onto supertankers bound for Asia. That’s 200 supertankers each year, loaded with crude oil, sailing through important fishing grounds, critical whale habitat and the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Unfortunately, despite the longstanding moratoriums on offshore oil and gas and tanker traffic, the project has the support of the federal government.

Widespread opposition and action have stopped oil tankers and pipeline projects in the past and if necessary, it will again. In 2003 Living Oceans brought our expertise and other expert witnesses to a federal review on the moratorium on offshore oil and gas when we participated in both the Royal Society of Canada’s scientific review and the public review. Since then the risks from oil tankers and the consequences of spills haven’t changed and neither has public concern.

Before the pipeline/terminal project can proceed however, it must be approved by the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. Enbridge is expected to file its application in the near future with the Joint Review Panel (JRP) acting for the two federal agencies. To ensure that the government is aware of the need to stop the pipeline and tankers, Living Oceans Society and our conservation partners will be at the JRP to contribute evidence about the project’s risks to the environment for the panel to consider.
 Fill out this form to send an email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper with the message below (follow the orange arrows).

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YOUR MESSAGE:

Dear Mr. Harper:

I am writing to ask you to place a permanent ban on oil tanker traffic on the coast of British Columbia so that B.C. is not the site of the world’s next disastrous oil spill. I am concerned about Enbridge's current plans to build pipelines across northern B.C. to transport oil from the tar sands to port terminals in Kitimat. If this mega-project proposal is permitted to proceed, over 200 tankers would travel through B.C.’s coastal waters every year. The only way to protect our coast from the next massive oil spill is by enforcing and strengthening the long standing moratorium on oil tankers.

B.C. marine waters are ecologically important. From the whales that migrate along the coast to the rockfish that dwell in the kelp forests, the marine ecosystem of B.C. is rich and diverse. As you are no doubt aware, the ocean produces approximately half of the planet’s oxygen, making ocean conservation one of the pillars of a good climate change policy.

The B.C. coastal economy relies on a clean and healthy ocean. Tourism, commercial and recreational fishing are the economic foundation of many communities. Allowing oil tankers to ply these waters would put at risk the livelihoods of the people who work and live on the coast. For motivation you need look no farther than the Gulf of Mexico which is shaping up to be one of the worst oil spill disasters in history.

Therefore, I urge your government to take immediate action by legislating a permanent ban on oil tankers on B.C.’s North and Central Coast.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,