It doesn't make sense to locate all economic development in large urban centres because increased population brings more pollution, Peter King, a resident of the nearby community of Kitimat, told a three-member panel on Wednesday at hearings in Kitamaat Village, a Haisla First Nation of 700 a short drive from the town where a tanker port is proposed to ship bitumen from the Alberta oilsands to refineries in Asia.
King was the only speaker - of 18 - who spoke in favour of the project during the opening of the hearings expected to run for 18 months.
King, 53, also questioned whether British Columbians had the right to deny access oil to countries like Japan, which is facing pressing energy needs following the tsunami that destroyed part of the country's nuclear energy capacity.
King also argued that oil can be transported safely from Kitimat through the Douglas Channel into the Pacific.
A pipefitter who worked for West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.'s pulp and paper mill for 34 years (the mill was closed in 2010), King now works at Rio Tinto Alcan's $2.7-billion aluminum smelter modernization.
As a pipefitter, he said he could work on the construction of the 1,172-kilometre pipeline or the tanker port at Kitimat.
In an interview, King said when he realized he was the lone supporter who would speak at the opening of the public hearings he considered staying home. He said, however, he decided it was important to offer support for the project.
He said he doesn't believe Northern Gateway supporters in the area are intimidated by vocal opponents. Rather, he said he believes they are silent because they would rather avoid the arguments they would get into in a small town.
"Nobody asks for a root canal. Why go through the pain, if you don't have to," he said of the silence of local supporters.
While he said he knows supporters of the project in Kitimat, he didn't know whether a majority of the people in the community of 9,200 supported Northern Gateway.
Recent polls have shown differing results depending on the phrasing of the question, but it is clear that people in the area are divided on the project.
King's support was in stark contrast to the hours of testimony over the opening two days from Haisla First Nation chiefs and elders, and representatives from two locally based environmental groups.
Meanwhile, one of the country's top experts on governance says Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government isn't overstepping its authority by aggressively promoting the pipeline and attacking its opponents while it is before a quasi-judicial tribunal.
Original Article
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment