Dogwood Initiative reacts to Keystone XL decision

In response to U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement today that he is rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline as proposed, Emma Gilchrist, Communications Director for Dogwood Initiative, said the following

“His decision to reject Keystone XL indicates Obama is listening to the citizens he represents and is taking environmental consequences seriously. It stands in stark contrast to the situation in Canada, where we have a prime minister who seems to view environmental consequences as an annoying diversion on the path to an approval and who refuses to listen to the thousands of British Columbians who are saying no to Enbridge’s tanker and pipeline proposal.

“Three-quarters of British Columbians consistently oppose introducing oil tankers to B.C.’s inside coastal waters, according to polling over the past five years. The Nebraska Sandhills were the showstopper for Keystone XL, and B.C.’s coast will be the showstopper for Enbridge’s tanker and pipeline proposal — the difference is you can’t reroute around B.C.’s coast.

“British Columbians bear the threat of a catastrophic oil spill and British Columbians are saying ‘no’ loud and clear. More than 20,000 people have signed Dogwood Initiative’s petition at notankers.ca since Minister Oliver’s comments 10 days ago — an unprecedented surge of opposition. The Conservative government’s attacks on democracy are clearly backfiring amongst British Columbians.

“Ramping up oilsands production to fill oil tankers larger than the Exxon Valdez bound for Asia is not in Canada’s best interests. As a country, we need to take a much broader look at how Canada’s non-renewable resources can be used in our nation’s best interests — not in the best interests of multinational oil companies and their political supporters.”

Emma Gilchrist
Communications Director
Dogwood Initiative
250-661-7277

Thanks to US Mission Canada on Flickr for the image. Used under a Creative Commons license.