Financial Post reported that a line of yellow buoys marking the boundaries of a scallop farm outside Prince Rupert, British Columbia presents the biggest challenge Enbridge Inc may face in its bid to connect Canada’s oil sands to Asia.
Art Sterritt executive director of Coastal First Nations said that the aboriginal communities on British Columbia’s northern coast, already a port for ships to load grain and coal sent by rail from Canada’s interior, are expanding shellfish farming and ecotourism. The native group seeks to develop an economy based on renewable resources and has attracted investment from former Prime Minister Paul Martin and Chinese companies.
Sterritt said that Coastal First Nations plans to fight any attempt by Enbridge to bring oil tankers to the area. He said that “The real foundation of who we are on the coast is shellfish. That’s really what created wealth on the coast.”
Wildlife conservationists and native groups like Coastal First Nations are already preparing legal action to stop Calgary based Enbridge’s CAD 6 billion (USD 6.1 billion) Northern Gateway pipeline, potentially delaying it should Enbridge win approval to begin construction. Hearings to determine the environmental impact of the proposed pipeline began this week in Prince Rupert, where regulators will be told for the first time about marine concerns. The regulator has until next December to make a recommendation.
The debate pits local groups against one of Canada’s largest companies and what Enbridge said that is an effort to help Canada earn more money for its oil, the nation’s most valuable export. Oil trades at a discount of USD 34 to the benchmark US crude. That makes Northern Gateway a decision about Canada’s economic prosperity, said executive vice president Ms Janet Holder, in an interview in Prince Rupert.
She said that “This isn’t about Enbridge. This is really about Canada and improving the value of our number one export oil.”
