MP Dick Harris has come out in favour of the Gateway project proposed by Enbridge. At this time I cannot support this project for the following reasons:
-- the pipeline as it nears the Pacific Ocean must cross some very sensitive terrain. About 450 years ago, approximately 100 km north of Terrace, a volcanic eruption buried a First Nation village and the volcanic rock is still very visible even today. I do not have the knowledge if the mountain is considered dormant or dead.
-- between Terrace and Kitimat there is a hot spring, which indicate hot vents. This indicates to me that the molten earth core is close to the surface there.
-- the Kitimat is one of the most prolific salmon and steelhead rivers in B.C. Any angler will salivate just thinking about fishing there.
-- this valley is subject to large snowfalls and if a break were to occur the result cannot be imagined since they may not get to the break quickly.
-- which is easier to clean up -- a spill of bitumen or refined Oil? The information I have heard is refined oil products are the easiest. I have tried to e-mail the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers with no success.
-- even before the Omanis Bill that the Conservatives brought before Parliament , our Prime Minister announced that the Gateway Project was in Canada's best interest. Could the environmental assessment be watered down enough by a majority government to be nothing more than a rubber stamp? Under our system of government its happened on royal commissions before so I'm of the opinion it could happen here.
-- the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers have not done themselves any favours here in the North. Their discrimination by continually overcharging residents who reside and live in the North by 12-15 cents a litre for fuel shows their disdain for us and they want what? MP Dick Harris has not served us well on this file.
-- I am of the opinion that if the refinery capacity at Prince George should be increased and this bitumen refined here prior to it going to the coast.
-- Pipeline or train, what is the best way of transporting this product? I prefer trains as it provides more opportunities for full time employment for people living here in the North.
-- Canada cannot afford to continually export high paying jobs off shore. We of the North have become accustomed to seeing sawmills closed for good and the wood these sawmills used being put into containers and shipped in log form off shore to be processed with cheaper labour.
Stan New
Prince George
