The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 19

xporting oil is bad politics

and bad for environment

By JIM CULP

THE DAY of reckoning has

arrived.

Enbridge last week made '

the official announcement
that it has chosen Kitimat as
the terminus for its Gateway

’ Pipeline Project.

And it wants to now pro-
ceed, subject to approval by
the National Energy ‘Board,
First Nations, local govern-
ments, and various. federal
and provincial government
agencies, 5

There appears to be wide
Spread support for the ‘oil
pipeline and port by from
the federal government and
the provincial governments

’ of Alberta and British Co-

lumbia, as well as from local
governments located along
the proposed pipeline route,

Where does this leave
people who believe that for
a variety of reasons this is an
unacceptable’ project? Who

. do we turn too or appeal too

to look at all the far reach-
ing ramifications and conse-

"quences of this controversial

project before it becomes

unstoppable?,
It is hard to believe that
our, federal government, -

along with Alberta and Brit-

ish Columbia support the ex-_
_ port of oil, a declining non-

renewable natural resource

to China, the country with |

the largest population in the

world, who are just just be- -

ginning to adapt to the use of
the automobile.

,There is not enough oil
to sustain the existing world
demand let alone creating a
whole new massive culture
who will become dependent
upon it.

Analysis from one side
of the scientific community
says that the production of

conventional crude oil is

now on a downhill slide.
They say that the amount

of conventional crude oil

remaining in the ground,

including factoring in all

known, untapped potential
sources, will not be able to
sustain the current world de-
mand beyond 2010.

The contrasting or a more
positive scientific view is
that the peak of production
could be fifty years from
now.

My bet is that we are al-
ready on the downhill slide.
The instability in much of
the oil producing regions of
the world, even with the tar
sands production coming on
full speed will only maintain
the status quo for the short
term,

There is much uncertainty

- and anxiety amongst nations

of the world over the: future
of oil because of the dispro-
portionate reliance upon it
as an energy source.

Current events, are show-
ing us. how even a minor
short term decline, such as
brought on by the Katrina
hurricane is going to have a
profound effect on our coun-

~ try and our lives.

WORKERS LAY welded pipe near Hardisty, Alberta. The prospect of an Enbridge pipeline through northwestern .
B.C. has political, economic and environmental implications, says a local.angler.and fishing guide.

We.can’t afford to con-.

tribute to China expanding ©

its use of of the internal com-
bustion engine and creating
a more complex, speeding -
up consumption of oil, Once
they are dependent upon our
oil there will be no turning
offofthetap; > »

In addition China does
not recognize the Kyoto Ac-

cord and the huge negative .
“implications of the global °

warming. China’s. largest
cities — Shanghai and Bei-

_ jing — have some of the mist

polluted air in the world. It’s
hard to believe, but residents
of those cities apparently
never see the stars because
of the pollution.

More oil availability and
more automobiles will in-
crease air*pollution, mak-
ing air quality even worse’
for Chinese cities. Any ad-
ditional major output of
carbon dioxide will likely
give China the distinction of
being the greatest contribu-
tor to climate change in the
world,

Canada needs to concen-
trate its efforts upon the ex-
port of fuel cells and other
alternative energy technolo-
gies that will wean China off

_the use of fossil fuels, rather

than assisting it to increase
its usage of a polluting and
declining resource, which in
turn will add more carbon
dioxide, to the atmosphere.
and speed up the greenhouse
effect.

I am appalled that politi-
cians can’t see the dangers

of exporting oil to China -

and for that matter unlim-
ited amounts to the United
States.

Jim Culp

_ Are politicians in denial,

unwilling to pay attention to
the consequences or do they
truly not. know, understand
or believe that there will be
dramatic negative changes
to the world’s climate and
indeed our lifestyles.

Oh yes, I know that there
are many who believe that
technological innovation

will bail us out. I will con-—

cede that it may be. possible
if governments were seri-
ously planning for a period
of development and transi-
tion from oil to alternative
energy sources. =

The way I see it, all that .

appears to really matter is
to do everything possible
to attract investment, create
jobs, increase the tax base,
improve the corporate bot-

‘tom line and the return to in-

vestors. In other words, stay
with the status quo.

All of our
have a moral and ethical
responsibility to consider
when acting on behalf of the
public. Environmental _ is-

politicians

_ sues ‘and how they are dealt
with are as important as cre- |

ating jobs.

I am sick and tired of the

worn out phrase’ so often
spouted: by politicians that
“we care about the environ-
ment.” The fact is that few
politicians really do care,

even at a time when our .

world is under immense

stress ‘and facing a very un-_

certain future, They contin-
ue to disagree with scientific
facts and ignore the chang-

ing natural world around us. -

On the construction of the

-. oll pipeline and port facility,
it will take another piece of

writing to examine the nega-
tive environmental aspects
of the oil pipeline proposal

and the shipment of oil by

tanker from Kitimat.
However, a few key
points need to be said. The
proposed pipeline will have
to be constructed through
very mountainous terrain,
steep valleys, across streams,
along side, streams, marshy
areas and through unstable
slide prone areas. It is all
influenced by a wet, high
snow fall climate, along with

freezing than thawing condi-.

tions, all of which makes for
incredibly difficult and un-
stable conditions.

The threat to fish and
wildlife habitats are enor-
mous. To have a better un-
derstanding of how difficult
it is to build and maintain
a pipeline one only has to
look at what has happened
to the Pacific Northern Gas
pipeline through the Telkwa
Pass and on to Prince Rupert
over the past 30 years.

The line has been washed

out by floods, slides and land
convulsions and fractures.
_As recently as two years
ago the PNG line between —
the Kasiks River and the.
Khyex River was broken
by a slide for a second time,
leaving Prince Rupert with-
out gas for many days.“
Imagine if that was an
oil pipeline and the envi-
ronmental damage it would

“have caused. To try and

clean up a major oil spill in

_such a.remote and steep lo-

cation would have been near
impossible.

What about the debate on
oil tanker movement through ©
Grenville Channel .and all
the other tight channels and |
turns before a tanker reaches
the’ open otcan.’

During the last: ‘ proposal"

for ‘an oil ‘offloading termi-.

nal in. Kitimat by Kitimat
Pipelines Ltd. during the late
1970s, the federal govern-
ment put a moratorium into
place on the transport of oil
by tanker, that moratorium
is still in existence.

Much public debate and
discussion has to happen be-
fore the Enbridge Gateway
project proposal can be seri-

_ously considered.

The current. discussion
implies that the future of the
project has been decided and
that we the public must ac-
cept it as being in the best
interest of our communities
in the northwestern British °
Columbia and for our coun-
try as a whole. The future
implications are huge. What _

* do you think?

Jim Culp is a long time

_ resident of Terrace, an avid

angler and a fishing guide.

Use Alcan. power here, crowd told

By Malcolm Baxter

MORE THAN 500 people turned up in-Kitimat .

Oct. 7 at a town hall meeting for those opposed to
the idea of Alcan selling power.

_ Speakers included former Social Credit pre-
mier Bill Vander Zalm, NDP MLA Corky Evans
and former NDP cabinet minister Paul Ramsey

and they all said Alcan should be using its hydro--

electricity to provide jobs in the area, not make it
available for.sale elsewhere.
Ramsey spoke from the perspective of the NDP

minister who had for eight years (1993-2001) car-
ried the Alcan portfolio and whose signature ap-.
the document.

peared on the 1997 Agreement —
often referred to as the Kemano Completion
Cancellation Settlement and the one that ended
Alcan’s court case against the province for that

cancellation.
Ramsey told the capacity crowd that he had ac-

cepted Save the Northwest’s invitation to speak

because he felt recent actions by Alcan - curtailing

aluminum production and increasing power sales.

- were “a betrayal of the work British Columbia

- governments had sought to do for 50 years...and

a betrayal really of the people of Kitimat and the

northwest.”
The original 1950 agreement that led to ‘Al-
can locate here had been a business decision that

brought advantages to both the company and BC”

government, he said.

Alcan got water resources and land to produce
cheap electricity which in turn enabled it to make
“a very good profit” smelting aluminum.

The government got industrial development in
a remote and largely undeveloped corner of the
province, jobs for its citizens, tax revenues and
the building of communities.

Emphasizing, the agreement was based: on Al-

- electricity utility.” '

can using the elec-
tricity to produce
aluminum, Ramsey
added, “The prov-
ince was not in-
terested in attract-
ing Alcan to the §
province because \.,
it would be a good

And all govern-
ments since had
held to that same
basic __ principle,
“smelting before
any other purpose.” -

Turning to the
1997 agreement, he
said the intent was to restore a “cordial” business

Paul Ramsey

relationship between Alcan and the province - “to

get out of court.”

And, most important to him, to enable Alcan to
pursue the goal it had continually stated since the
1950s, that it wanted not only to sustain its exist-
ing smelter but also to double its size.

‘Through that agreement, Ramsey said Alcan
had committed to construction of 250,000 tonnes
of new smelting capacity “in Kitimat or the vicin-
ity.” It had also committed to cease all power sales
once that new capacity was on line.

For its part, the province had committed to pro-

viding Alcan with'the power needed to run the ex-

panded smelter. “I thought it was a good deal for
the people of the province, particularly the people
of the northwest,” he added.

Ramsey then moved on to 2001 when AIl-
can, pointing to low water levels in the Nechako
Reservoir, said it had to cut production in order

to meet its contractual obligations to supply BC «

Hydro with power under the long term electricity
purchase agreement it had with the utility.

‘He noted that a reading of documents attached
to the agreement would reveal “Alcan is permit-
ted, indeed encouraged that ‘if it had insufficient
electricity from its own sources to satisfy power

~ sales, that'it-buy them from somebody else...rath-

er than cutting smelter capacity.”

Saying the current Liberal government didn’t
appear to have read the history of the BC govern-
ments’ relations with Alcan, Ramsey charged, “I
think it just made some serious, serious mistakes

in allowing Alcan to ‘pursue the course it seems

bent on.”
‘Emphasizing he was. not criticizing Alcan,

Ramsey said he accepted the primary purpose of
. private corporations was to make a return for its

shareholders. ;
However, the BC government’ s responsibility
was “to make sure (the agreement is) enforced.”
- After the applause subsided, Ramsey added,
“With all respect, I think they have failed.”

During question period he was asked by Em- |

manuel Cenitagoya whether a court battle was
worthwhile or should the city negotiate instead.

Ramsey admitted that courts sometimes “make
decisions for reasons only lawyers can understand
and it’s a risk.”

That said, he thought the city was wise to
launch legal action not just because he thought
they had a chance of winning, but also because
being in court “would help focus the minds of
those who run Alcan in Montreal and those who
are shirking their duty to administer the contract
with Alcan in Victoria.”

Malcolm Baxter is the editor of The Northern
Sentinel in Kitimat.

, 2005 - A5
CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

To the barricades

Dear Sir:
One wants to rant, to call for a Jeremiah. The B.C.

teachers’ strike is illegal, but who questions the bad law-

the teachers despair over? Too few, too few.’ ;

The teachers plead for sensible class limits, then ask
for 15 per cent —
sisters hasten to add. The public scoffs, but who among
it remembers that the Liberals’ treatment, of labour war-
ranted UN censure? We became third world. Shame, my
people, shame.

The dysfunctional politics of this province are a na-
tional joke. Now China comes, the Asian leviathan, and

everyone kowtows. Jonahs, Seigneur Martin, King Ralph, .

_ Laird Campbell — you are Jonahs in the belly of sheol, and
we shall have Tiananmens on Granville, on Whyte, and on
Parliament Hill. Many shall be shat upon by history.

Where is our representation? In the north, some say

- that we have none, if ever we'did, that local control —

unions to wealth transfer — has been lost. They talk of a
better province, of a new state. They talk of secession.

Let the revolution begin. Viva la revolucion.
Dr. David Heinimann, Terrace, B.C.

Hats off to teachers

Dear Sir:
I find it difficult to get moved by the Campbell govern-

“An opening figure,” the brothers and.

ay

‘from:

ment vilifying teachers for not obeying the court and not ; .

being appropriate role models for young people. :

Jt would be’ easier to sympathize with the government -

was I not aware that these self righteous defenders of the
law and democracy have themselves disregarded tribu-.
nals and courts both provincially and internationally three
times in three years after ripping ‘up a collective agree-
ment negotiated in good fairth with the teachers.

As well.as to renege on promises and disregard agree-
-ments made is just as unacceptable as the Premier disre-
‘garding the law ehile vacationing in Hawaii .... some role
model. ;

The government’s latest attack on teachers suggesting
that the 90 per cent strike vote is not legitimate, since not
all members voted, is interesting.

Using this logic, the Campbell government also does -
, hot have a mandate.
If you have, as I have, studied the history « of workers, :

unions, the poor or minorities you will soon note that of-
ten when bad laws were imposed, they were ignored. In
fact, most major gains were accomplished by people not
giving in to bad laws.

To the teachers who obviously are putting the quality

of the education system and the integrity of their profes- ,

sioin first, my congratulations. Thank you for caring for’ -

our future, the children of today.

We live in a very complex world that is changing daily. -
Our only way of coping with the future is to have highly .

- educated, caring and informed citizens — our children.
Remember, it takes a community to raise a child.
Larisa Tarwick, Terrace, B.C.

‘Teacher gives reasons

re tt

‘DearSir: °° MOP LIFES &
The. public deserves to know why teachers across. BC

a Puyo -

. are willing to give up approximately $10 million a day in”

lost wages and benefits on a protest work stoppage. .

fi

1. Teachers have watched conditions deteriorate in pub- . ©

lic schools for nearly two decades. This deterioration has

accelerated dramatically since the Liberal Party formed —

our government. Although teachers can understand, and
often support, fiscal restraint in difficult economic times,
they cannot condone government actions which system-
‘atically degrade teacher working conditions and student
learning conditions. This is especially true in times dur-

ing which, the public is told, B.C.’s economic picture has.

never been better. ©
Class sizes and composition problems due to inadequate
support for special needs children are at a point of critical

imbalance. Locally we have difficulties though we have -

adopted a four-day week. While this cost-saving arrange-
ment alleviates some of the worst of the learning condi-
tions problems, it robs children and their parents.

2. Teachers, like any organized employees, have the
right to fair collective bargaining. This has been arbitrarily
removed by the government, a breach of labour relations

, principles that have been accepted as desirable by nearly
all governments in the First World.

. A contract is an agreement between two parties that
is defensible at law. Teachers have acquiesced, but never
agreed to imposed contracts. In particular, they do not
‘agree to Bill 12, which precipitated the current protest. -

The imposed “contract” held up for defence by the gov-
ernment is one that could as easily have been imposed by
a Mafiosi don, an offer teachers “‘couldn’t refuse.” Teach-

ers recognize bullying for what it is, and they will not be

bullied in this fashion.

The combination of the above two factors creates a
disturbing precedent for the social development of our
province. The first promotes the evolution of a stronger
two-tier education system in our province. Those who can
afford it abandon a decaying public school system to place
their children in private schools, one of whose commonest
advertising features is “small class sizes.” This may, in

fact, be a specific goal of a government whose ideology
loudly and clearly promotes private interest over public.

good.
The second factor encourages governments to become
even more high-handed in their treatment of any inconve-

nient citizen groups. Government by intimidation rather _

than by consultation and compromise, is morally indefen-
sible in what is meant to be a democracy.

3. Do teachers want a salary increase? Of course. Every
working person has self-interest as a major component of
his motivation. It is naturally tempting for the most cyni-
cal among us, especially those who value money over any
other social concern, to believe that an improved salary is
teachers’ only true motive.

It is to be hoped that need for all the posturing and face-
saving will soon give way to open, free and fair negotia-
tion (between admittedly antagonistic parties), ultimately
leading to true agreement rather than agreement under
duress.. Until such time it is likely that the teachers will

continue their protest. .
Al Lehmann, Terrace, B.C.

About the Mail Bag

The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our
address is 3210 Clinton St, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2.
You can fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at
newsroom @terracestandard.com. Noattachments, please.
Name, address and phone number required for verification:

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