The prospect of 400 bitumen-laden supertankers a year travelling through the Gulf Islands and Strait of Juan de Fuca should alarm Victoria residents, says Sierra Club B.C.’s interim executive director.
The group is hosting a town hall meeting Thursday at the Vic Theatre, 808 Douglas St., on the proposed doubling of the Kinder Morgan pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby.
“That means potentially disastrous consequences for Victoria and vicinity should there be a spill,” Sarah Cox said.
Speakers will include Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, Esquimalt First Nation Chief Andy Thomas, Sierra Club coastal campaigner and author Caitlyn Vernon and, via Skype, climate-change activist Bill McKibben, co-founder of the climate campaign 350.org.
Much public attention is focused on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, but Vancouver Island residents should also think about potential consequences from the Kinder Morgan proposal, Vernon said.
“It puts the community, jobs and ecosystems at risk.
“We know accidents happen when tankers are coming through such a densely populated region.
Kinder Morgan wants to expand the 1,150-kilometre pipeline from a 300,000-barrel daily capacity to 890,000 barrels of oil a day.
Last month, the federal government announced improved oil-tanker safety measures to boost support for both the proposed Kinder Morgan and Enbridge Northern Gateway pipelines.
The town hall meeting will start at 7 p.m.
