Alberta oil sands advocate, author and media personality Ezra Levant hit a home run with B.C. Chamber of Commerce, but his comments have First Nations and environmental groups crying foul.
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council vice-chief Terry Teegee said Levant's dismissal of aboriginal concerns about the Northern Gateway Pipeline as "a few, paid spokespeople," who "advocate against the interests of their own people," is wrong and highly offensive. Teegee, and the rest of the tribal council, have been outspoken opponents of the proposed pipeline.
"Clearly he needs to know that these are the words and direction I'm getting from the youth and elders. What I'm getting is a clear indication from my community that they don't want it," Teegee said. "Another clear indication is all the people who come out to our rallies."
The last anti-Enbridge rally had approximately 500 people, he said, and more would have come if they could.
"We are mandated to represent our people," he said. "No, we've never been paid. There is no funding for this."
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council has aligned itself with like-minded groups on the issue, he said, but tribal councillors and staff have never received any funding to advocate against the pipeline.
LET INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSTS IN: SUZUKI FOUNDATION
David Suzuki Foundation energy policy analyst Tyler Bryant said if the Alberta oil sands producers are ethical and environmentally responsible, oil companies and the government should allow outside agencies to conduct independent environmental analysis of their operations.
There is no independent, scientifically-reviewed data on the impact of oil sands extraction on the local environment, he said.
Bryant also challenged Levant's data on oil sands greenhouse gas footprint.
"It's generally-accepted amount energy policy analysts that from well to wheels... oil-sands oil is about 15 to 30 per cent more carbon intensive," he said. "And they are getting more emission intensive. The easy-to-extract areas are already being exploited."
Although strip mining the surface oil sands has a major impact on the local land and water, mining subsurface oil sands requires burning more natural gas - resulting in a higher carbon footprint per litre of fuel, he said.
"The oil sands are going to become more emissions-intensive over time," he said.
As for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline, residents of North-Central B.C. will have to decide for themselves if it is worth the risks, Bryant said.
"There will be some one-off jobs during construction. But I don't see how this will be a boon for your area," he said. "The main economic benefits are in mining and processing the oil. It makes sense for Albertans... but I don't think it makes sense for B.C."
An oil spill could threaten existing jobs in fishing, tourism and other sectors, he added.
Although tankers do ply the St. Lawrence Sea Way and Port of Vancouver, that doesn't mean they should be introduced into the relatively pristine coast of northern B.C., he added.
"If they build nuclear reactors in Japan, we should build them here -that's the same kind of logic," he said. "The people of the interior and northern coast have the agency to make their own decisions on whether to allow this."
