I am writing in response to the July 12 column by Bruce Strachan, 'Fair questions about pipeline.'
We were disappointed to read Strachan's recent column because the inaccuracies it contains appear to be recirculated, stale arguments made in the blogosphere. We believe that the citizens of Prince George deserve to know the truth.
Strachan claims "Krause calculates $56 million has gone to 236 B.C. organizations, all opposed to Northern Gateway." The truth is that funding from Tides Canada has gone to many different organizations and communities working on diverse social justice and environmental issues, and most of this funding had absolutely nothing to do with the Northern Gateway project. The $28 million Strachan claims went to First Nations in opposition to the proposed pipeline was actually a joint project with the Harper government and the Province of BC to support conservation management and sustainable economic development on the BC coast.
In 2011, we spent about $600,000 on issues related to the oil sands and pipelines across the country. That's just three percent of our total grants and project expenditures in 2011. A portion of this funding went to charities working to raise awareness about the proposed Enbridge pipeline and some of the project's potential social and environmental impacts. We believe that environmental and social factors are often overlooked in decision-making processes due to an over-emphasis on corporate profits. That's why we fund conservation organizations, community and social justice groups. We're proud of this work.
With respect to some of the other unfounded accusations made by Strachan, Tides Canada is not a part of the US-based tar sands campaign, and we have never, directly or indirectly, through any means, funded political parties or campaigns.
We believe that your readers should know the truth, and hope that you will set the record straight.
Ross McMillan
CEO & President, Tides Canada
