Keystone decision sets environmental bar for Canada

Precautionary principle would stop Enbridge pipeline, oil tankers in Great Bear Rainforest

Victoria, B.C. – Canada must follow the lead of U.S. President Barack Obama and reject the proposed Enbridge pipeline in favour of economic alternatives that protect communities and slow global warming, Sierra Club BC Executive Director George Heyman said today.

“The Keystone decision is a significant victory in international efforts to slow global warming,” said Heyman. “It underscores that continued expansion of Canada’s oil sands represents both economic folly and environmental disaster.”

According to NASA scientist James Hansen, the oil sands alone store enough carbon to catapult global warming beyond catastrophic thresholds. Global warming will cost the Canadian economy between $5 billion to $43 billion annually in the next 40 years, according to an October 2011 study from the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy.

“President Obama adopted the the precautionary principle and made the right choice,” said Heyman. “In contrast, Prime Minister Harper recently suggested that his government may approve the widely opposed Enbridge pipeline regardless of the recommendations of an environmental review panel. This blatant disregard for the public review process undermines Canadian democracy.”

Harper’s continual downplaying of the serious environmental concerns of First Nations and other British Columbians weakens public trust, said Heyman. “Most disturbing is the Conservative government’s ongoing failure to support community-sustaining economic alternatives over the carbon-intensive expansion of the oil sands which exports profit to Chinese, Korean, European and U.S. oil companies.”

“Global warming and oil spills are issues that transcend borders. The international community is running out of time to slow down global warming before we pass dangerous tipping points. Today’s decision offers us a ray of hope for the future,” said Heyman.