Riki Ott wants to encourage opponents of the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to learn, share and organize when her province-wide speaking tour stops in Prince George on Aug. 25.
Ott, an expert in marine toxicology, will talk about her experience with the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 and other oil spills as well as how communities can band together to form sustainable local economies.
"It's much more powerful to say, 'No we don't want this, but we would like that,'" she said. "It's not about stopping progress, it's shaping progress to what is compatible with people's values. People live in these remote areas for reasons that extend well beyond money."
Calgary-based pipeline giant Enbridge has proposed to build a pipeline to connect Alberta's oilsands with the port of Kitimat. An environmental assessment of the $6 billion project is currently underway by the National Energy Board, with a report due by the end of 2013.
Ott's Prince George event is being put on by the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance, a local group opposed to the pipeline.
"We want to really raise awareness of some of the issues that we have been focussing on in our efforts in regards to oil spills and corporate practices," said local organizer Josh DeLeenher, addding the event is an opportunity for like-minded people to get together and have some discussions.
Ott said some of the people she's spoken to so far have felt disenfranchised by the pipeline approval process, but she's still encouraging people to get involved. Ott said even if people think the Joint Review Panel may ignore their opinions, they should still submit letters stating their views before the Aug. 31 deadline.
"I tell people you are writing a letter to your grandchildren that aren't born yet or your children who are born but are young," Ott said. "This letter can be all the things that you hope and dream for children and grandchildren, what you want this place to be like. Just do it under a deadline of Aug. 31 and make a copy of it for the Joint Review Panel."
The genesis for the tour, titled Think Tankers, was a visit Ott made to Haida Gwaii in February for hearings the federal Joint Review Panel was holding into the pipeline. She was invited back by the community and decided to make a big trip out of it. In addition to sharing her message, Ott also wants to tell people what's happening in other communities along the proposed route and how groups from different regions can work together.
She began her journey on Aug. 2 in Nanaimo, the first of 11 stops. The tour concludes with the Prince George event, which will be held at Art Space. It begins with a potluck at 5 p.m. and the presentation at 7 p.m.
Other stops on the mainland include Terrace (Aug. 21), Kitimat (Aug. 23), Smithers (Aug. 24) and an afternoon event in Burns Lake on Aug. 25, prior to the Prince George stop.
Ott's two-hour presentation will include an hour-long slide show followed by an hour of questions and discussion.
She said response has been good at the first few events, with hundreds of people packing halls in Nanaimo and Courtenay.
DeLeeneer said capacity for the Prince George event is about 100 people and the group may institute an advance registration system to ensure everyone will be able to get in.
