Re: “After spill, B.C. ramps up polluter-pay rules,” Oct. 14.
I spent more than 30 years plying the B.C. coast on fisheries, coast guard and tug boats as a marine engineer. I am very familiar with Seaforth Narrows where last year’s oil spill occurred.
This is (was) a pristine area. I witnessed that channel filled with millions of dolphins. Imagine that in one oil spill, all is ruined.
The large photo with its headline makes one think the oil-transport people will be held accountable. Wrong. Upon reading the article, I find the marine industry is exempt. I was amazed and enraged. I spent all those years protecting this beautiful coast by making sure we monitored everything that went overboard, only to be insulted by this article.
Please use your journalistic skills to control the care of the environment. If large tankers are allowed access to our inner coast, we are doomed.
As an aside, I attended a Sooke council meeting in December 2016 when the Western Canadian Marine Oil Spill Response CEO was talking about spill cleanup in our area. I was shocked to learn that they consider a spill cleanup of 10 to 12 per cent is successful.
This is just not good enough for us. The maritime industry has to be held accountable for their pollution.
Norman Slater
Sooke
