New agreement drives southern resident killer whales closer to extinction

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh AND səlilwətaɬ TERRITORIES — The Wilderness Committee is condemning today’s announcement of a new Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement as an abandonment of both governments’ efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to make a second announcement with Alberta premier Danielle Smith later today, but this morning’s press conference all but confirms Alberta will pursue another pipeline to the Salish Sea.

“Premier David Eby said he will ensure British Columbians are compensated for the environmental damage of another pipeline, but there is no compensation for the extinction of the southern resident orcas,” said Conservation and Policy Campaigner Lucero González. “How do you compensate for the unimaginable pain of an endangered orca like Tahlequah who has shown us her dead calves throughout the Salish Sea while each new megaproject continues to destroy their habitat?” 

In the announcement Carney said up to $10 billion dollars could be provided for Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2), a superport on the mouth of the Fraser River, which is far above the projects’ current estimated cost. However, the project is still waiting for its final federal permit under the Species at Risk Act before construction can begin. For years the Wilderness Committee has worked with lawyers, labour leaders, First Nations and other environmental organizations to oppose RBT2 because of its impacts on the marine environment. It worries this agreement could mean the project will be the terminus for a new Alberta-owned pipeline, with Ottawa covering the cost of the terminal itself.

“Prime Minister Carney is showing us his enthusiastic willingness to accept and fund the extinction of endangered species and a future where oil and private profit are more valuable than the entire Salish Sea ecosystem,” - Lucero González,  Conservation and Policy Campaigner. 

The Wilderness Committee warns increased tanker traffic and oil spill risk would push the region’s southern resident killer whales closer than ever to extinction. The federal government’s proposed evisceration of the Species at Risk Act could erase the protections that prevent a project from proceeding if it would imperil the survival of a threatened or endangered species.

“Prime Minister Carney is showing us his enthusiastic willingness to accept and fund the extinction of endangered species and a future where oil and private profit are more valuable than the entire Salish Sea ecosystem,” González said.

“In the fight against climate change, Prime Minister Carney and Premier Eby are issuing their surrender, and resigning us to a future of ecological and economic decline," - Torrance Coste, Associate Director. 

Thursday’s announcement comes after Carney shared earlier in the week that he wants to increase Canadian oil production and is abandoning Canada’s climate commitments to make that possible.

“At a time when people across the country are suffering in extreme heat, wildfire evacuations and devastating floods, pursuing the expansion of Canada’s most polluting industry is utterly despicable,” said Associate Director Torrance Coste. “In the fight against climate change, Prime Minister Carney and Premier Eby are issuing their surrender, and resigning us to a future of ecological and economic decline.”

The new Canada-B.C. announcement also includes commitments to fund new fracked gas export infrastructure like LNG Canada Phase 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG, as well provide $3.9 billion towards construction of the Northwest Transmission Line, which Carney said would power these harmful megaprojects.

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Lucero González | Conservation and Policy Campaigner
lucero@wildernesscommittee.org 

Torrance Coste | Associate Director
torrance@wildernesscommittee.org