Dear sir,
Re: Ethical Oil ads: Enbridge has been misleading from the beginning of the Gateway Project and now Ethical Oil is helping out.
Item 1 in their ads: “Foreign Special Interest attacked our forestry jobs.”
Well, the provincial government took the forestry licences that had been granted to pulp and sawmills and handed many to foreign corporations. This resulted in mill closures and ever more raw log exports.
Little more than a year ago then-Forestry minister Pat Bell said that we would increase raw log exports 4 to 5 fold.
Since Christy Clark took office he reversed his position; he said so when in Terrace with Ms. Clark. But can he be trusted?
Item 2 “attacking Northern Gateway pipeline and the B.C. jobs that come with it.”
There will be very, very few permanent jobs that come with this project. Even during construction, which requires specialized workers, a lot of those - if not most - will be imported.
Our governments have not seen fit to force profitable companies to train skilled workers like they have always done in Europe.
But ten of thousands of jobs are in jeopardy not if, but when there is a spill, be it along the pipeline or the tanker route.
It was recently reported that we have lost already nearly 700,000 jobs in manufacturing due to accelerated tar sands projects expansion.
The pressure in a DilBit (diluted bitumen) pipeline is several times as high as in a conventional pipe line.
If there was a relatively small hole and you stand in front of it, it would blow DilBit right through you.
Item 3: “took $2.2 million in foreign money …”
Early in the game Enbridge boasted that they received $100 million from 10 oil companies but they could not say which ones. We now know about some of them - China, Esso, France, etc.
Is this not foreign money? Or does it not count if you are multinational?
But as to ethical oil, are these not the same companies that exploited the people in many oil producing countries, indeed with the help of certain government agencies, disposed of governments and put those in place who paved the way for exploitation?
Item 4: “Say No to foreign special interest…”
Canada once had a national oil company. Prime minister Trudeau bought Petro Fina and turned it into Petro Canada. I believe he was also instrumental in Suncor.
But that is all gone. Sold off to multinationals like Royal Dutch Shell, etc. by the right wing and centre line parties.
P.S. I am with Douglas Channel Watch, group of mostly retired people, no big funding other than some small donations from local people.
Dieter Wagner.