Save the Salish Sea orcas from extinction
For millennia, the Salish Sea has supported thousands of wild pacific salmon migrations, flourishing kelp forests, thriving pods of killer whales and hundreds of sovereign First Nations. Yet, it might not be able to survive the destructive legacy of Prime Minister Mark Carney: The Pacific Link Pipeline — his gift to Alberta’s oil industry — and the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project.
But what makes them so bad?
Both of these projects are proposed in the heart of the Fraser River estuary. Together, they would destroy hundreds of hectares of critical habitat for the endangered southern resident killer whales, increase the risk of oil spills, worsen underwater noise and fuel the climate crisis.
And it gets worse
Recent legislative changes make these impacts even more deadly. The Building Canada Act and proposed Bill C-39 allow the government to expedite projects of “national interest” by bypassing critical environmental assessment processes and the need for permits under the Species at Risk Act that prevent projects from driving endangered species to extinction.
What can you do
Write to your local member of parliament, the minister of internal trade and the prime minister. Ask them not to use the “national interest” designation to circumvent important environmental protections. Demand they protect the southern resident killer whales from these new megaprojects.
Points to consider
(Use these to add or edit to your letter).
- The Pacific Link Pipeline and the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project cannot go ahead while expediting critical environmental assessment processes and permissions. Importantly, these projects must not be allowed to bypass the jeopardy test under the Species At Risk Act under any circumstance, as the project will destroy critical habitat for the endangered southern resident killer whales.
- Following a resolution passed in June against the new pipeline and its associated tankers, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) wrote an open letter urging the provincial and federal government not to move ahead without free, prior and informed consent of the many First Nations whose territories they cross. We urge governments of all levels to listen and respect Indigenous rights.
- Under Bill C-39, the federal government would be allowed to amend or remove any conditions imposed on projects of national interest at any time if they are deemed “not feasible” — in other words if proponents claim they’re too expensive.
- Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C, is home to one of Canada's most biodiverse marine estuaries and critical habitat for the remaining 73 endangered southern resident killer whales. Building these two adjacent projects there would push this endangered species and 100 other at-risk species in the estuary closer than ever to extinction.
- The Washington state government — including Governor Bob Ferguson and Director of Ecology Casey Sixkiller — have expressed their disappointment over the designation and expressed deep concern with this project, pointing out that current resources in the region are insufficient to deal with a catastrophic oil spill.
- As wildfires have devastated our communities, countless families, friends and neighbours are losing their homes, communities and loved ones. Expanding fossil fuels with yet another oil pipeline that is driving and worsening these extreme weather events is unacceptable.
- The pipeline is estimated to cost up to nearly $44 billion of mostly taxpayer money with cost overruns likely given the history of infrastructure projects. At a time when many people continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, that money could go towards projects and programs that make life more affordable and bring down emissions, like expanding public transit, affordable housing and renewable energy.
- This pipeline and the Robert’s Bank expansion are not in anyone’s interest, and neither should proceed as Projects of National Interest, or in any form at all.
Points to consider
(Use these to add or edit to your letter).
- The Pacific Link Pipeline and the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project cannot go ahead while expediting critical environmental assessment processes and permissions. Importantly, these projects must not be allowed to bypass the jeopardy test under the Species At Risk Act under any circumstance, as the project will destroy critical habitat for the endangered southern resident killer whales.
- Following a resolution passed in June against the new pipeline and its associated tankers, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) wrote an open letter urging the provincial and federal government not to move ahead without free, prior and informed consent of the many First Nations whose territories they cross. We urge governments of all levels to listen and respect Indigenous rights.
- Under Bill C-39, the federal government would be allowed to amend or remove any conditions imposed on projects of national interest at any time if they are deemed “not feasible” — in other words if proponents claim they’re too expensive.
- Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C, is home to one of Canada's most biodiverse marine estuaries and critical habitat for the remaining 73 endangered southern resident killer whales. Building these two adjacent projects there would push this endangered species and 100 other at-risk species in the estuary closer than ever to extinction.
- The Washington state government — including Governor Bob Ferguson and Director of Ecology Casey Sixkiller — have expressed their disappointment over the designation and expressed deep concern with this project, pointing out that current resources in the region are insufficient to deal with a catastrophic oil spill.
- As wildfires have devastated our communities, countless families, friends and neighbours are losing their homes, communities and loved ones. Expanding fossil fuels with yet another oil pipeline that is driving and worsening these extreme weather events is unacceptable.
- The pipeline is estimated to cost up to nearly $44 billion of mostly taxpayer money with cost overruns likely given the history of infrastructure projects. At a time when many people continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, that money could go towards projects and programs that make life more affordable and bring down emissions, like expanding public transit, affordable housing and renewable energy.
- This pipeline and the Robert’s Bank expansion are not in anyone’s interest, and neither should proceed as Projects of National Interest, or in any form at all.