Media Releases

SOINTULA, B.C.— If Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline is approved, Canadian taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars to cover the clean up and compensation costs in the event of a catastrophic oil tanker spill, claims Living Oceans Society in a report titled Financial Vulnerability Assessment: Who Would Pay for Oil Tanker Spills Associated with the Northern Gateway Pipeline written by the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Victoria.

Vancouver, B.C. - Environmental groups are once again applauding MPs who are taking the necessary steps to secure a permanent tanker ban on Canada’s Pacific North Coast. A Private Member’s Bill was tabled in the House of Commons today by Vancouver Quadra Liberal MP Joyce Murray, proposing a ban on crude oil tanker traffic in Hecate Strait, Dixon Entrance and Queen Charlotte Sound.

Vancouver, B.C. - Environmental groups are praising the vote today in the House of Commons in support of a legislated tanker ban for Canada’s Pacific North Coast. The motion was put forward by Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen whose riding includes the Great Bear Rainforest and thousands of coastal jobs that depend on a healthy marine environment.

OTTAWA -– An unprecedented delegation of First Nations, commercial fishing, tourism representatives and environmental groups from Canada’s Pacific North Coast is in Ottawa today, calling on the federal government to ban oil tankers from the region. The federal government is currently considering allowing over 200 oil tankers per year to travel through some of the most dangerous waters in the world, despite polls that show 80 percent of British Columbians support banning crude oil tankers.

VANCOUVER-- Fishing is allowed in all but one percent of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) on Canada’s Pacific coast, according to a study conducted by Living Oceans Society and published in Marine Policy this month. This is in spite of the fact thatover half of the MPAs are officially rated as “strictly protected” and are intended to prohibit all fishing.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Over 40 organizations from across Canada and the U.S. submitted a joint letter opposing the Canada General Standards Board (CGSB) proposed organic standards that allow antibiotic and chemical treatments of farmed fish. The signatories reflect a broad cross section of the scientific, conservation, consumer, and organic communities, and represent a collective membership of over one million people. The CGSB period for public comment closed yesterday and a revised draft of the standard will soon be released.

Vancouver, B.C. – Environmental groups are praising Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party of Canada for their commitment today to formalize the oil tanker ban in British Columbia. Such a ban would prevent crude oil tankers from traveling through B.C.’s Central and North Coast.

OTTAWA - Living Oceans Society welcomes today’s announcement by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans that the ancient glass sponge reefs on Canada’s Pacific coast are one step closer to receiving permanent protection. “Last summer I experienced the glass sponges first hand while exploring the deep sea in a submarine and I saw the crabs, fish, and shrimp that made these sponges their home,” says Jennifer Lash, Executive Director, Living Oceans Society. “There is no doubt in my mind that protecting these sponges is a critical step forward towards ensuring a healthy ocean.”

SOINTULA, B.C. -- On May 27 Enbridge escalated conflict on the coast when they took steps to break the First Nations ban on tanker traffic by applying to the federal government for approval of their Northern Gateway pipeline. “Enbridge poses a grave threat to the future of coastal First Nations’ way of life,” says Art Sterritt, Executive Director of the Coastal First Nations. “We will not allow Enbridge to do to us what BP has done to the people of Louisiana.”