West Coast asks that Enbridge Pipeline Review Include Climate Change Impacts and the Effects of Lifting Coastal Oil Tanker Ban

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The federal government is embarking on the process of assessing the damaging environmental effects of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline. However, the scope of the factors that the “joint review panel” is required to consider does not explicitly include the questions of whether oil tankers should be allowed at all in BC’s northern waters (in spite of a 38 year old moratorium on oil tanker traffic), the upstream impacts of increased oil sands development (including land and water impacts), and greenhouse gas emissions associated with tar sands oil that will be transported through the pipeline.

West Coast has joined 16 other environmental groups in asking the federal government to expand the terms of reference to explicitly include consideration of these issues. In the face of climate change, and of the severe risks of oil tankers for BC’s coastal ecosystems, it would be negligent to leave them out of the scope of the project being reviewed. West Coast also has serious concerns that the federal government’s process to review the Enbridge pipelines fails to respect the constitutionally-protected Rights and Title of First Nations. See our letters to the federal government below:

Click here or on the link at the bottom of the page to view the letter from West Coast and 16 environmental groups on the scope of the federal assessment of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Click here or on the link at the bottom of the page to view the letter from West Coast Environmental Law setting out legal concerns with the federal government’s process for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline

File Download: 

Letter on the Scope of the Federal Assessment of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.pdf

Letter Regarding Legal Concerns with the Federal Government’s Process for the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.pdf