The Comox Valley Record reports, “Barb Biley would have been pleasantly surprised had the National Energy Board Joint Review Panel not backed the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline.”
But that didn’t happen.
“‘These things are becoming far too predictable’, said Biley, a member of the Council of Canadians who organized a rally against pipelines and oil tankers last year in Comox. She questions if panel members listened to the hundreds of submissions during 18 months of headings.”
“Despite the panel’s recommendation and despite Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s support, Biley believes the pipeline can be stopped. …’My own opinion is that this is the start of the next phase of the fight to defend the Coast and to defend the right of Canadians to make decisions that affect their lives.'”
“In particular, she feels northern First Nations who have taken a strong stance are not likely to give up the fight. ‘I think it’s telling too that there were 2,200 people at a rally in Comox when we are ‘not affected’ by the pipeline or the tankers’, Biley said. ‘There’s a very deep feeling amongst British Columbians that these decisions are not in our interest.'”
The article adds, “The federal cabinet has 180 days to make a final decision on the project, which proposes twin pipelines carrying 525,000 barrels of diluted bitumen and 193,000 barrels of condensate per day between Bruderheim, Alta., and Kitimat. The oil would be loaded onto 220 tankers per year.”
Further reading
2,200 rally in Comox against the Northern Gateway pipeline
Comox Valley chapter comments on Northern Gateway pipeline
Barlow to celebrate Save the Fraser Declaration and opposition to Northern Gateway pipeline
