Their widely advertised reputation for being environmentally balanced and aware is not borne out in how the Canadian government handled the Transmountain Pipeline project, the proposed dredging of Burrard Inlet, or the dramatic increase in tankers carrying toxic tar sands oil out into the Salish Sea.
Time and again, and despite detailed and ample analysis to the contrary, Canada and its Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency decided to prioritize short-term economic interest over near, mid, and long-term--even irreversible--environmental harm. Their well-heeled public relations campaign does not change the fact that the pipeline and tanker traffic dishonors and endangers the rights and lifeways of First Nations on both sides of the border. It is also a kick in the teeth for those who are concerned about endangered species and accelerating climate change, and dramatically compromises Canada’s leadership role on the issue.
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, a federal organization, has issued a permit to dredge the Burrard Inlet to increase oil tanker capacity in the Salish Sea. This risks disturbing contaminated sediments and releasing toxins that threaten federally protected salmon, shellfish, and marine mammals. The Inlet connects directly to critical habitat for the endangered Southern Resident killer whale, which is a population struggling due to these impacts. The Inlet has already faced cumulative impacts from decades of industrialization, shoreline alteration, and sediment contamination. The project will change marine shipping patterns and worsen cumulative effects such as oil spill risk and shoreline erosion. An oil spill anywhere along the pipeline's pathway into the waters would have long-lasting, devastating ecological impacts.
The Canadian government is quiet about this information, and legally does not need to disclose which companies are invested into these works. Canada is a fossil-fuel entrenched country, and Canadians can step forward to prevent this from continuing.
Learn More
- History of the Trans Mountain Pipeline
- Read: The Government of Alberta’s west coast oil pipeline submission
- Read: Plain language summary of the submission
Take Action
If you live near the Burrard Inlet or based in Canada, you can send an email / letter to your MLA, MP, or city councillor to support Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s opposition to the dredging of Burrard Inlet
