Environmental activists have not stopped the construction of the Northern Gateway project (yet). However, they have exposed Enbridge's initial assurances that their project would be a state-of-the-art safe pipeline as nothing more than duplicitous propaganda.
Enbridge recently announced they would spend an additional $500 million to improve the safety of their project. Why? Because Enbridge executives are running scared. They are grudgingly willing to spend more on their design, not because they have been listening to the concerns of the environmentalists and the First Nations, but because they are afraid their proposed multi-billion dollar profit-generating scheme might not get approved because of growing public opposition.
If Enbridge succeeds in constructing an operational pipeline through the remote pristine river valleys of northern British Columbia, then expect the maximization of profits to take precedence over environmental concerns. In corporate boardrooms, promotions and bonuses are not handed out to responsible principled do-gooders; rewards are handed out to risk-taking money-makers. The irresponsible economic and environmental disasters caused by Wall Street bankers and British Petroleum executives, respectively, are two glaring examples of greedy corporate risk-takers running amok.
The report on that dreadful oil spill in the Kalamazoo River revealed the ingrained profit-driven culture at Enbridge. British Columbians need to be wary of any new public-relation-motivated promises about long-term pipeline safety, especially when Enbridge Inc. has reportedly taken legal steps to limit its own financial liability in the event of a catastrophic accident.
Lloyd Atkins
Vernon, B.C.
