On Monday, the United Fisherman and Allied Workers Union, representing about 3,000 people called on all MPs to support a legislated tanker ban on B.C.'s coast, a ban which the opposition parties are pushing for in parliament.
A vote is set for today in the House of Commons.
A tanker ban would halt Enbridge's proposed $5.5-billion oil pipeline project, which would pass just north of Prince George.
The fisherman's union said a legislated ban would enshrine in law the de facto tanker moratorium for the British Columbia inside waters of Dixon Entrance, Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait which has been respected by every prime minister for the past 38 years.
The Conservative government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, has maintained that there is no formal ban on oil tanker traffic off B.C.'s coast, and therefore oil tankers can, and do, travel the province's inside waters.
"Our coastal communities depend on a healthy environment, and an oil spill in the north coast could devastate coastal economies and communities that depend on the ocean's resources," said Shoreworkers local 31 president Arnold Nagy.
Nagy said the union also has concerns about an inland pipeline spill that would harm river habitat and young salmon fry, as well as mature salmon during migration. He pointed to the Enbridge oil spill in Michigan on the Kalamzoo River this past summer as an example.
The union said the fishing industry contributes more than $135 million to the central and north coast regions, the single largest private employer in the area, which includes many remote First Nation communities.
The motion on the tanker ban was introduced by northern B.C. NDP MP Nathan Cullen, a direct response to Enbridge's proposal to export about 500,000 barrels of crude from Alberta's oilsands via a 1,170-kilometre pipeline to the port of Kitimat. (The motion is backed by all the opposition parties, including the Liberals.)
The oil would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to new markets in Asia. Condensate, used as an oil thinner, will be shipped in smaller tankers to Kitimat from places like Russia, the Middle East and Asia.
The condensate will be transported on a smaller pipeline - with a capacity of 193,000 barrels a day - back to the Alberta oilsands.
If Enbridge gets the go-ahead for its project, approximately 225 tankers will traverse the 100-kilometre Douglas Channel to Kitimat each year.
Enbridge has said the pipeline will be built to the highest safety standards, using the most modern technology. World-class safety measures will also be taken in Douglas channel, says the company.
The Calgary-based company has also touted the economic benefits of the project, adding recently, it is having discussions with First Nations on taking an ownership stake in the pipeline.
However, the pipeline project is facing growing opposition from First Nations, environmental groups and municipalities.
