Politicians need to look at environmental consequences

By Letter to the Editor on December 31, 2019.

It seems to me that Alberta MPs and MLAs – and others – have such a strong sense of free-flow dilbit-oil revenue entitlement that they cannot see or really care about its serious environmental consequences.

They, including PM Justin Trudeau, appear recklessly blind to the significantly increased risk caused by the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project to B.C.’s far-more valuable (at least to us) tourism, food and sports fishing industries – not to mention pristine natural environments and ecosystems themselves – in the case of a major oil spill, which many academics believe is inevitable.

How much more does Kenney actually believe Trudeau’s Liberal government can realistically do to more hastily complete the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project; that is, without the police state and/or armed forces getting brutally involved?

What more could he realistically do, considering the fact aboriginal title rights must be observed, along with general populace constitutional and charter rights?

Would the large number of project protesters – including those of many aboriginal nations – actually be expected to drop their undoubtedly strong moral and ethical convictions simply because some government tells them so?

Indeed, the federal government used the very same National Energy Board as did the Harper Conservatives to now twice approve (many call it rubber stamping) the pipeline project, while failing to consider the threats the greatly increased oil tanker traffic will pose to B.C.’s tourist-attracting waters and the life within it, including the endangered Southern Resident Orca whale.

Also, let’s not forget that the governing Liberals early this year gave the increasingly outdated dirty-energy fossil fuel sector 12 times the subsidization allocated to clean renewable energy innovative technologies.

Frank Sterle Jr.

White Rock, B.C.

10
-9