Canada is considering approval of a new oil pipeline, one of the few First Nations to do so, fearing another ‘worst case scenario’.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering lifting a tanker ban that has protected Canadian coastal communities for 53 consecutive years since 1972.
This development comes in the backdrop of a distress call that was received by the Canadian Coast Guard station just after midnight two months ago, on an October night. An American-flagged tugboat named The Nathan E Stewart, which had been grounded on a reef when moving through light winds & rain off the central British Columbia (BC) coastline.
The captain had initially attempted to reverse the vessel whilst attempting to move the boat’s rudder from hard over port to starboard. In response, the boat pivoted but did not move; instead, it repeatedly struck the seabed.
4 hours later, the boat began to take in water besides leaking fuel into the sea. That same evening, a coast guard helicopter observing the slick had confirmed the worst-case scenario’: a larger sheen of fuel floating on the water, which had been visible outside the containment boom. As such, a total of 110,000 litres are near the entrance to the Seaforth Channel.
Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Nation, Marilynn Slett, shared that she remembers being in her office later that same day, receiving voice calls from the community. Some were, in fact, crying, whilst others were very upset. They spoke to Slett as though they had lost someone from the community. She added that her community, Bella, was a mere 10 nautical miles from the site of this grounding. Slett went on to share that the spill contaminated primary harvesting sites. Damage was long-term, causing immediate economic loss that has yet to be sustained to date. A Canadian minister resigned due to Carney’s controversial oil pipeline deal.
