FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES/VANCOUVER – Today’s announcement of a southern pipeline comes with mixed emotions. The decision to uphold the North Coast Tanker Ban and not proceed with a northern pipeline is a huge victory for the many coastal First Nations, businesses and concerned residents who have spent years fighting to protect it.

However, Alberta and Ottawa’s pivot to greenlight a pipeline to British Columbia’s southern coast is a repeat of a dangerous and economically misguided decision: the infamously over-priced TMX pipeline.

A new pipeline to the South Coast would force Canadians to pay the price of more pollution that drives extreme heat, fires and floods.

“Five years after the 2021 heat dome killed 619 people in British Columbia, and one day after extreme weather forced Ottawa to cancel its Canada Day celebrations, the federal government is asking Canadians to support another major oil pipeline,” said Sierra Club BC Lead Organizer Flossie Baker. “This dirty oil project will condemn our families to even worse heat waves and fires.”

“Today’s announcement leaves unanswered questions about who will take on the majority of the cost, but clearly indicates that taxpayer funding is on the table. It seems the federal government learned no lessons from the Trans Mountain Expansion project, which began with an estimated cost of $5.4 billion and ballooned to more than $34 billion that taxpayers were forced to pay. Canada must not make the same mistake again,” added Baker.

This project will also bring B.C.’s iconic Southern Resident orcas closer to the brink of extinction by increasing tanker traffic in their habitat. Underwater noise, ship strikes, declining salmon populations and the ever-present risk of a catastrophic oil spill remain huge concerns. While Carney announced more funding to help protect Southern Resident orcas in today’s Prosperity Agreement, we know that ultimately there can be no safeguards strong enough if increased tanker traffic is allowed through their habitat.

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