A Few Questions for Canada's NIMBY Crowd
By: Mark Scholz - President of CAODC Published: The Hitch - Summer 2017 President's Message L ocals and globally-funded environmental groups who oppose the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion project object to any infrastructure that might result in a proliferation of tankers that would disturb the beautiful Saelish Sea ecosystem. This position, while seemingly well-intentioned, is not rooted in fact; and it has presented one of the most compelling threats to Canadian federalism since the Quebec referendum of 1995. Let’s look at a few facts. To date, there have been no major tanker incidents off of the coast of British Columbia, largely due to developments in double-hulled tanker technology and thoughtful marine planning and cooperation on the part of companies and municipal governments. About 250 large commercial vessels enter the Port of Vancouver every year, five of which are tankers destined for the Westridge Marine Terminal. 1 The Trans Mountain expansion is...