For
Immediate Release
Oct.
17, 2016
Statement from B.C. New
Democrat Leader John Horgan
Clark government fails to
demand and deliver “world-class” oil spill response for B.C. coast
VICTORIA—
New Democrat leader John Horgan issued the
following statement on the grounding of the Nathan E. Stewart and associated
fuel spill:
“The Nathan E. Stewart tugboat disaster proves that our
oil-spill response capacity is woefully inadequate. B.C. needs better spill
response capacity, whether the federal government tries to push new pipelines
through B.C. or not.
"Christy Clark could have demanded better spill response on
our coast from Ottawa years ago. She could have run a B.C.-led environmental
review on Enbridge and Kinder Morgan, but instead she accepted the flawed
Harper government process, refusing to use the leverage she had to protect
our coast until she was ordered to do an environmental review by the courts.
"It was bad enough that Christy Clark refused to use
her power to protect our coast until ordered to by the courts. What makes
it worse, Christy Clark is accepting the Harper government verdict in
its entirety and refusing to correct the flawed National Energy board assessment
of oil spill risk now that the court-ordered environmental assessment
of the Kinder Morgan expansion is underway.
"Diesel is leaking into the water near Bella Bella. My
heart goes out to members of the Heiltsuk First Nation, who must be feeling
devastated by the contamination. I hope above all odds that the local clam beds
aren't affected in the long term.
"This spill underlines the fact that five years after
issuing her call for “world-class” oil-spill response on the B.C. coast,
Christy Clark has failed to achieve anything close to that from the federal
government.
"By using protection of our coast as a bargaining
chip in pipeline negotiations, the Christy
Clark government ignored the very real risks from existing
traffic. The
grounding of the Nathan E. Stewart amply demonstrates that neither the federal
government nor the Christy Clark government are doing enough to protect our
coast.
"B.C.'s coastal and First Nations communities are often the
first to respond to marine disasters, and in the absence of federal leadership,
the province should have been working with coastal communities to ensure
they have the resources and equipment they need.
"The Heiltsuk are doing an admirable job in the immediate
aftermath of this spill. They shouldn't have had to do the job alone, without
support from either our provincial or federal government.
"British Columbians expect their government to be a strong
voice for British Columbia. The Christy Clark government has failed to stand up
for British Columbia where it matters."
Reprinted from http://bit.ly/2eh4Olu
