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It's all about money

I just wish to commend you on your great front page article 'Enbridge Stained By Michigan Spill' in the July 28 edition of The Prince George Citizen. It's high time the truth was told publicly about the big oil conglomerates.

I just wish to commend you on your great front page article 'Enbridge Stained By Michigan Spill' in the July 28 edition of The Prince George Citizen. It's high time the truth was told publicly about the big oil conglomerates. Their quest in vast profiteering is a threat to all people.

The British Petroleum spill was bad enough, but now Enbridge joins the fray too, adding it's own contribution with their three-million-litre spillage in Michigan.

We keep hearing the constant bleat of Enbridge officials, Enbridge spokesperson Gina Jordan, Kathie Scouten, Colin Kinsley, Mayor Dan Rogers, plus all the other parties, and the Northern Gateway Alliance's full-page ads, trying to persuade us all to jump on board. They keep on pushing the safety, economic, and also the employment benefits for this region. How about putting a few billion dollars up front, as BP has done, to show you would be ready to cover the costs of a spill?

How can you honestly talk about safety of that magnitude. Can you guarantee your claims? Come on, it's Murphy's Law, folks. The whole scenario reminds me of J. Bruce Ismay, Cunard Line marine shipbuilder and designer, and his claim that the Titanic was unsinkable, mainly due to its watertight bulkhead doors.

Part of Enbridge's regulatory application states an oil spill of more than one million litres in a 400 km stretch, that would encompass the Prince George area, would take place once every 275 years. Wow! How do you come up with your figures? Remember, the Titanic sank on it's maiden-voyage, not months or years down the road after completion.

Enbridge spokesperson Alan Roth conjures up some strange statements, such as "incidents of major spills are very very rare," and "the likelihood of a spill is very, very slight on the Northern Gateway Alliance. It's been designed to the highest and modern standards."

Yes, Mr. Roth, and so was the Titanic in its early 19th century "knowledge-of-the-day." Roth then goes on to say, "It's a core competency for Enbridge ... it's really all about safety in the end."

No, Mr. Roth, it's all about money in the end.

Any jobs in this area, except maybe a few full-time monitoring positions, would become redundant as soon as the pipeline was up and working. This is a double whammy, as there would be oil travelling in one direction to Kitimat, and condensate travelling the opposite way to Edmonton. Twice the pipes equals twice the risk.

You have to ask yourself, truthfully, is this what I want for my environment?

Stan Hughes

Prince George