After 11 years of bringing you local reporting, the team behind the Vancouver Observer has moved on to Canada's National Observer. You can follow Vancouver culture reporting over there from now on. Thank you for all your support over the years!

BC still not sold on Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal: poll

Photo by: Chris Yakimov

A new poll by Justason Market Intelligence shows that nearly two-thirds of British Columbians (64 per cent) oppose Enbridge’s proposal to transport crude oil through B.C.'s northern inside coastal waters. 

The poll further reflects people's aversion to the proposal as 50 percent strongly oppose while only a paltry 12 percent strongly support the idea of the pipeline.

“When British Columbians actually get the facts about oil tanker and pipeline proposals, their opposition is overwhelming,” said Will Horter, executive director of Dogwood Initiative – one of four groups that commissioned the poll. -- in a press release “Other polls in the past few months have only talked about pipelines with no mention of the crude oil super-tankers that would inevitably come with them,” said Horter.

This is the first poll released about Enbridge’s oil tanker and pipeline proposal since the National Energy Board’s joint review panel (JRP) recommended conditional approval in December.

When British Columbians were asked about their trust in the review process 51 per cent expressed distrust, 32 per cent expressed trust and 17 percent remained unsure.

“These polling results bring home why the Enbridge tanker and pipeline proposal is going nowhere fast – despite the JRP recommendation,” said Jessica Clogg of the West Coast Environmental Law Association. “Residents of B.C. continue to withhold ‘social license’ for the project, while multiple First Nations lawsuits threaten to derail it and the government of B.C. formally opposed the Enbridge project.” 

According to the poll, only 13 per cent of British Columbians feel decisions about projects like Enbridge’s Northern Gateway proposal should be decided solely by government, while the vast majority (79 per cent) believes the public deserves to participate in decision-making.

In March 2012, Justason Market Intelligence found that 66 per cent of British Columbians opposed the proposal, with 50 per cent strongly opposed. 

Horter warns that given the lack of broad support for the pipeline in BC, any politicians daring to strike a back-channel deal would suffer a backlash at the polls.

More in News

Views from a refugee camp: Who gets into heaven?

I have just returned to Vancouver Island from Greek refugee camps where I met a Yazidi man named Jason who told me about his escape from ISIS in Iraq.   His story begins on a desert road where a...

Vancouver's bicycle sharing grows as 15 new stations installed

Mobi bicycle by Shaw Go in Vancouver. Photo by Christopher Porter from Flickr Creative Commons

International Women's Day Concert celebrates female musicians who turned tragedy into triumph

Every March 8, on International Women's Day, we hear about the achievements of brilliant, talented women around the world. But how often do we learn about the physical and mental disabilities or...
Speak up about this article on Facebook or Twitter. Do this by liking Vancouver Observer on Facebook or following us @Vanobserver on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you.