Haida lead the chorus against the exploration agenda

With Dan Miller’s call once again this week for a lifting of the moratorium on exploration on the North Coast, those that are against the idea are continuing to outline their opposition.

The Council of the Haida has reminded their old friend Dan Miller that once upon a time, he seemed to be more in line with their thoughts and beliefs, especially when it came to the contentious issue of oil and gas exploration on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

They took their concerns over the recent push to remove the moratorium to the front pages of the Daily News with the headline story in Thursday’s edition.

HAIDA POURS COLD WATER ON TALK OF OIL EXTRACTION
The Council of Haida makes it clear oil on its territory will remain in the ground
By George T. Baker
The Daily News
Thursday, October 23. 2008
Page one

On Monday, former NDP premier Dan Miller said he would like the coast of British Columbia to open up for offshore oil business. On Wednesday, Council of Haida Nation (CHN) vice president Arnie Bellis said no way.

Bellis was reacting to comments made by Miller, who said he would like to see the federal moratorium lifted on offshore oil drilling, or else the province would suffer economic peril.

Miller said that the economy was in serious danger because, for the past two years, provincial growth had been the result of strong residential construction, government and consumer spending, and oil and gas development in the Peace River region.

“Dan Miller is an old friend of mine and he clearly knows the Haida position – what was also his position earlier in life – and I don’t know what happened since on his own position,” said Bellis.

Bellis said Miller might have a whole host of concerns that might have brought him to advocate for a lifting of the 1972 federal moratorium such as jobs and the local economy. But Bellis made it clear that the Council of Haida Nation remains firmly against any offshore oil project near their traditional territory.

Miller was also a lobbyist for Enbridge Inc, a large oil distributor in B. C. and Bellis questioned whether that might be part of the reason he is so interested in lifting the moratorium.

“I’m not saying that is all his motivation but it probably factors in quite a bit,” said Bellis. “Dan Miller of all people should know what corporate philosophy has done on Haida Gwaii - you need to look no further than our forestry sector 0 and what the corporate philosophy has done for the people here,” said Bellis.

In 2002, the Haida Nation filed a legal claim to ‘Haida Gwaii’ the Haida’s traditional name for the Queen Charlotte Islands. This was partly done as a reaction to the threat posed to the 1972 moratorium.

The claim would include all land, water and sub-sea rights to Haida Gwaii, and all areas within a 360-km radius. Bellis believes Miller should respect the Haida’s right for self governance and representation.

Not so fast on that offshore option…

"They shouldn't be talking about things that we own, and that are in our backyard, in terms of recommendations," -- Arnie Bellis, Vice President of the Council of the Haida Nation, reacting to suggestions that it may be time to develop oil and gas reserves in the Queen Charlotte Basin.

While the price of oil continues to rise and supplies seem to be running low as the ever increasing demand goes upwards, the prospect of an oil rush on the North coast has once again popped up to the surface.

With the Geological Survey of Canada estimating that there could be close to 10 billion barrels of oil and 26 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Queen Charlotte Basin off the B.C. north coast, the covetous eyes of the oil industry are starting to shift to this direction once again.

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Especially when you consider the gold rush of money that the provincial government is collecting on oil and gas rights in the Northeast portion of the province, with such a vast reserve untapped under the Charlottes basin, dollar signs seem to be dancing in almost everyone's eyes these days.

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A recent article in the Vancouver Sun featured the prospects of drilling once again becoming a topical concern, as did an article yesterday in the Northern View which provided some feedback from locals not particularly impressed with the plan.

The only problem for those pushing the idea of development is that perhaps someone might wish to check with the Haida, who suggest that the prospect of any kind of drilling activity off of the Charlottes/Haida Gwaii just isn’t on and isn’t even up for discussion.

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The Daily News featured the thoughts of Arnie Bellis, Vice President of the Council of the Haida Nation, who makes it pretty clear that all this talk of oil and gas development is something that he and his people aren’t particularly inclined to welcome any time soon. Throwing a little cold water for that red hot ambition that seems to be starting to stoke up again.

Haida oil is not on the table: Islands' leader
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, July 17, 2008

Pages one and two

With the doubling of oil prices in the last year, the industry is anxious to find places for new oil and gas developments.

According to a leader from the Haida Nation, the Queen Charlotte Islands will not be one of those places.

Earlier this week Arnie Bellis, Vice President of the Council of the Haida Nation made it clear that the people of Haida Gwaii see the financial gains from oil and gas developments in their territory as unsubstantial when it comes at the cost that will come from degrading the North Coast environment.

One of three potential offshore drilling sites on British Columbia's coast, the Queen Charlotte Basin is a seismically active region with extreme weather for much of the year, as well as a vital coastal ecosystem that supports a culturally, economically, and environmentally important fishery and tourism industries.

According to government studies, B.C.'s offshore oil and gas resources have a total estimated value of approximately $250 billion when measured in current prices.

But Bellis said that government and industry speculation and conversation about developing those resources is something that shouldn't even be happening.

"They shouldn't be talking about things that we own, and that are in our backyard, in terms of recommendations," said Bellis in an interview with the Vancouver Sun.

"That's almost insulting, you know. I'd like to caution people on not getting rushed into these things."

Residents of Prince Rupert and the surrounding area have been extremely vocal in their opposition to coalbed methane developments in the Sacred Headwaters of the Skeena River.

Nearly 50 people protested outside Prince Rupert City Hall when Premier Gordon Campbell last visited highlighting their opposition to the proposed developments, and in late May some 400 people packed Gitanmaax Hall in Hazelton to let Shell Canada know how they felt about their project.

"Our coast is not for sale. Not for money, not for oil," said North Coast MLA Gary Coons.

"Vice President Arnie Bellis spoke not just for the Haida Nation, but for all of us on the North Coast when he rejected drilling in the Queen Charlotte Basin. We don't want it. We don't need it."

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Coons is dumbfounded that the government gave $327 million in subsidies and tax breaks to the oil and gas industry in the last budget, even though most companies have been raking in record profits for several years. More recently, Minister of Finance Colin Hansen made it clear the government is lobbying the federal government to open up oil and gas development on British Columbia's shores, something Coons and Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen have both been fighting for months.

"The hypocrisy of the Campbell government is appalling," said Coons.

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"With one hand they slap a gas tax on ordinary British Columbians, with the other they beckon to the oil and gas industry.

"The oil barons are saying we could use the money from oil and gas to pay for schools, and healthcare. The truth is, if we stopped sending our money to oil barons and industry we could easily pay for quality healthcare and education without wrecking our environment. We don't care who says it is safe, we don't care who says that the risk is worth the money."

Neufeld says it’s time to get on with it.

A trip to Norway where he seemingly found more than herring, has convinced BC’s energy minister that the time is here for development of off shore oil and gas resources.

Neufeld, who is on a tour of Europe looking at alternative and renewable energy, was particularly enthused about the safety record and monetary rewards that the Norwegian oil and gas industry has provided for that nation.

His comments were reported by the Canadian Press and posted to the Globe and Mail website.

Develop offshore resources, B.C. energy chief says
Canadian Press
November 21, 2007 at 10:48 PM EST

VICTORIA — After a visit to Norway, British Columbia's energy minister says the province must get on with developing its offshore oil and gas sooner rather than later.

Richard Neufeld is touring Europe examining alternative and renewable energy.
He says Norway has safely extracted oil and riches for more than 30 years and the country is debt free with a $200-billion cash reserve fund.

Mr. Neufeld says that's a direct result of taking oil and gas from the North Sea without the extremely dirty practice of flaring and by pioneering carbon-dioxide sequestration.

Mr. Neufeld also notes Norway has tougher climate targets than even B.C., which set in law Tuesday its greenhouse gas reduction target of 33 per cent within 12 years.

Mr. Neufeld said from Dusseldorf, Germany, that it may be time to begin promoting offshore development on the B.C. coast, unless someone comes up with another way to generate a lot of money.

NDP renews call for offshore moratorium

Both the provincial and federal wings of the NDP have called on the federal government to create a formal moratorium on oil tanker traffic in the waters of Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound.

The NDP would like to see the "unofficial" moratorium made into an effective piece of legislation to ensure that no Exxon Valdez like incidents occur in Canadian waters. Their call comes at the same time as the provincial government of Gordon Campbell has been trumpeting the potential econoimc activity that development of resources off shore could produce for the province.

The CBC website has the full details on the NDP proposal.


NDP calls for tanker moratorium on B.C.'s North Coast
Last Updated: Friday, June 22, 2007 2:08 PM PT
CBC News

Federal and provincial New Democrats are calling for a formal moratorium on oil tanker traffic in the waters of Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound on B.C.'s North Coast.

Victoria MP Denise Savoie has introduced a motion in the House of Commons to ban oil tankers from the province's northern waters.

On Friday, she said there has been an unofficial moratorium on tanker traffic in the area for 35 years.

"I don't know how many British Columbians know that tanker traffic is being allowed today in our coastal waters overriding a de facto policy moratorium we've had since 1972." She said the tankers are larger than the Exxon Valzez, and human error or a storm could cause "similar disastrous results." The Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989, spilling more than 41 million litres of crude oil, creating an environmental disaster.

No moratorium, says minister

But the federal minister of natural resources, Gary Lunn, said the moratorium never really existed.

He maintains there is simply a voluntary exclusion zone for tanker traffic from Alaska to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Savoie said she also wants to reaffirm the current moratorium on offshore drilling along the B.C. coast, in the face of pressure by theB.C. Liberal government to lift it.

Provincial NDP environment critic Shane Simpson said Premier Gordon Campbell is out of step with public opinion on that issue.

"It's this government that's calling for offshore oil and gas exploration, even though the rest of the West Coast understands the threat and the risk of this."

Is there a hidden agenda on seismic testing?

The NDP MP for Skeena is suggesting that planned seismic testing in the Hecate Strait may be the wedge that moves along the quest for off shore oil and gas exploration.

Nathan Cullen fears that the scientists involved in the Batholiths Proposal are being hoodwinked over their plans to explore an area in the Douglas Channel and Hecate Strait. Cullen believes if seismic testing is approved for parts of the area, it could open the door for exploration for offshore oil and gas.

Pushing forward a process that he suggests is being promoted by the Provincial Government without benefit of a serious debate over the pros and cons of offshore development.

The Daily News examined his concerns over the project in the Friday edition of the Daily News.

MP fears for future over oil and gas
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday December 22, 2006
Page one

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen says a project that will involve seismic testing on North Coast inlets to study the crust of the earth will be another step toward offshore oil and gas drilling in the Hecate Strait.

He made his comments despite the fact that the international research team says it will not be doing the testing anywhere near where petroleum resources are located.

“We talked to a bunch of the different groups involved, including the scientists, who I think are well-intentioned but being a bit hoodwinked on this,” said Cullen of the ‘Batholiths Proposal’.
“This is the wedge driving in ... it leads down the path of drilling in the Hecate Strait.”

A research team made up of U.S. and Canadian scientists is currently undergoing an environmental assessment to use marine seismic testing as part of their project, which will allow them to look down to depths of 50 kilometres.

The study will explore how batholiths — large bodies of rock — interact with the pre-existing crust of the continents, said Ron Clowes, professor of Geophysics with the University of British Columbia during a presentation in Prince Rupert last June.

The team wants to use seismic testing as one method to study the Coast Mountain range between Kitimat and Bella Coola to determine how continents are formed.
The research team is hoping to receive approval to run seismic tests on ‘north’ and ‘south’ routes — the former from the coast up the Douglas Channel and in the south from the coast into channels near Bella Coola.

The seismic testing, if it’s approved, would take place during three weeks next fall using the research vessel the R/V Langseth, towing 36 airguns and a three to five kilometre streamer behind it to capture the data.

“I know some of you will be concerned this has something to do with oil and gas exploration. It does not,” said Clowes.

In fact, there’s no oil and gas potential where the team will be doing its research, he said during his presentation.

However Cullen believes if seismic testing is approved for parts of the area, it could open the door for exploration for offshore oil and gas.

This is especially a concern given the provincial government’s interest in the area.
“These little things the province does to drive the issue forward, I think are quite feeble,” said Cullen.

He said Premier Gordon Campbell’s recent comments about drilling in the Hecate Strait while in Hong Kong were irresponsible.

Premier Gordon Campbell told investors in Hong Kong in late November that B.C.’s offshore oil and natural gas reserves might be open for development within two or three years, once the scientific case for exploration can be made.

“It doesn’t push a serious debate forward when the premier’s out there speculating and then denying his comments,” said Cullen.

“The batholiths are well-intentioned folks but I think they’re being used.”

The batholiths proposal is also being opposed by environmental groups who say the testing will have an impact on fish and wildlife.

“There are a large number of humpback whales feeding in this area in the fall – exactly the time when this blasting would take place,” says Chris Genovali of the Raincoast Conservation Society.
“The seismic testing would disrupt their feeding and could reduce the whales’ ability to have healthy offspring.”

The government’s public comment period on the draft environmental assessment report closes Dec. 31.

Premier’s timeline not exactly universally accepted

Premier Campbell currently touring the Far East has caused a bit of controversy over his comments that a moratorium on oil and gas exploration is but a few years away from being lifted.

Speaking in Hong Kong Campbell suggested that within two to three years the coast of BC could be opened up for exploration and development, comments which no doubt appealed to the money markets of China, but have been met with less than glowing reviews from the provincial and federal representatives in the electoral ridings.

Both NDP MP Nathan Cullen and NDP MLA Gary Coons took issue with the Premier’s timeline of development and suggested that he may wish to consult with the residents of the riding before getting ready to cash the royalty cheques.

The Daily news featured the debate on the front page of the Monday paper.

PREMIER ATTACKED FOR PLAN TO EXPLOIT B.C. OIL AND GAS
By James Vassallo
The Daily News
Pages one and three
Monday, November 27, 2006

The provincial and federal representatives for Prince Rupert have no kind words for B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell after his suggestion that offshore oil and gas exploration could be opened up in just a few years.

“I think he’s suffering from too much jet lag,” said Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.
“There’s no indication from the federal government of even opening up this conversation (and) if he spent some time in our region, he’d know that the opposition is as firm as ever to the project.”

Campbell told a group of business leaders in Hong Kong last week that the moratorium on offshore oil and gas exploration off the B.C. coast could be lifted in two to three years.

“The people in my riding will have to live with the consequences,” said North Coast MLA Gary Coons, adding that the premier needs to speak to the people of this region if he has any intention of exploring offshore development. “So, the premier’s enthusiasm is a little premature.”

Since the statement, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld has said that no decision will be made until after the necessary scientific research is done.

Both federal and provincial NDP believe there are far more than two to three years of scientific research needed before such a project could be considered.

“Maybe, the premier should check the facts with his minister before he tries to sell off shore drilling in Hong Kong,” said John Horgan, provincial NDP critic for energy and mines.
“Although it appears Neufeld thinks a majority federal government will somehow solve all of the environmental and technical issues off shore development will create.

“I have news for both the premier and the minister — British Columbians want to be assured that the B.C. Liberal lust for development will not trump solid science and full consultation with First Nations and coastal residents.”

Regardless of what the official position of the province is, Cullen added that he is yet to hear from a single company that has made a business case for going ahead with an offshore project in B.C.

“I’ve been meeting with oil and gas companies this year on other topics, but they remain completely mute on their enthusiasm or even interest in pursuing the offshore option in B.C.,” said the MP. “They have many other things they’d rather be doing and I’m confused as to why the premier would have almost a renegade position. I just don’t see any basis of reality in it at all, and it’s irresponsible actually to keep this pipe dream alive for a narrow interest.”

The combination of the $120 million-plus well that would have to be dug along with the necessary consultations with local First Nations and risks of a potential disaster add up to a project that just doesn’t make sense environmentally or economically, Cullen said.

“They keep floating this project as some sort of panacea to the problems, but we have a lot more progressive job solutions going on right now that are real and are good for our region.”

The Daily News is available on line at this link.