THE PEOPLE OF SAY NO TO .

Media Backgrounder1 June 14th, 2013

Hundreds of thousands of ordinary British Columbians have raised their voices in opposition to the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker project. This document summarizes some of the volume and diversity of opposition to the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline (ENGP) Project.

THIS IS OUR FINAL ARGUMENT.

Since the Enbridge Joint Review Panel (JRP) was appointed to assess the Project in January 2010, thousands of people have demonstrated opposition to the proposed project in varied and creative ways.

160 , 31 municipal governments, 2 regional districts, the Union of B.C. Municipalities, 6 unions and over 250,000 individual public actions have openly expressed opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project.

WE STILL SAY NO.

The following pages document a partial timeline of public opposition to the proposed ENGP project, since the Joint Review Process began in January 2010.

British Columbians have said ‘no’ strongly and with an outpouring of creativity. It will never be possible to have a comprehensive list of every event (there are simply too many to keep track!) but it is impressive and significant to reflect on the diversity of voices, places and ways that so many people have said no to Enbridge and yes to a future with salmon, clean rivers, jobs and culture.

1 This backgrounder was prepared in collaboration by Pacific Wild, North West Institute and Sierra Club BC.

Media Inquiries: Pacific Wild: Sarah Stoner [email protected] 250.957.2480 North West Institute: Pat Moss [email protected] 250.847.9693 Sierra Club BC: Caitlyn Vernon [email protected] 250.896.3500

1 TIMELINE

January 2010 • NEB/CEAA Joint Review Panel (JRP) appointed to do an assessment of the proposed Northern Gateway Project • In 2009 citizens submit over 2000 comments to CEAA regarding the terms of reference for this assessment

Spring 2010 • Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance presents petition with 600 signatures to the Mayor of Prince George asking that he take a step down from the Northern Gateway Alliance. • Protest at Enbridge AGM in Calgary • Nine coastal First Nations declare a ban on oil tankers in their traditional waters • Over 1000 attend the “Solidarity of Nations” feast in Kitimaat Village

Summer 2010 • Protesters outside University of convocation where Enbridge CEO Pat Daniels received an honorary degree • Greenpeace protest occupies Enbridge office in , 4 arrests • Protest outside Smithers Town Council when Enbridge came to make a presentation on how they are dealing with the Kalamazoo spill • Hundreds congregate in to protest ENGP at the first meeting of the JRP in the north • 1,500 resolutions from northern residents calling for a full public inquiry on the proposed project are submitted to the JRP.

Fall 2010 • World-renowned photographers from the International League of Conservation Photographers travel to Great Bear Rainforest to document the proposed tanker route, with the Great Bear RAVE • The Union of BC Municipalities votes to pass resolutions against ENGP • 400 people protest in Prince George when the Enbridge JRP holds a meeting. • Activists in target Enbridge shareholders at AGM • Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen brings motion to ban oil tanker traffic from B.C.’s north coast to Parliament. The motion is successfully passed in the House of Commons.

2 • “Think Pipeline” Tour travels to northern communities. Beth Wallace discusses experience with the Kalamazoo oil spill in Michigan and Erin O'Brien speaks to the impacts of the construction of an Enbridge oil pipeline in Wisconsin. • Save the Fraser Declaration signed by 61 First Nations, effectively banning tar sands pipelines in their traditional territories • Vancouver-Quadra MP Joyce Murray brings forward a Private Members Bill to Parliament, asking for a ban on oil tanker traffic on the north coast.

Winter/Spring 2011 • spOILed: 500 people attend an evening of film, photography and guest speakers in North Vancouver to raise awareness about the risk of tanker traffic and oil spills to the pristine waters of the Great Bear Rainforest. • The Yinka Dene Alliance take a large delegation to Enbridge AGM in Calgary and tell Enbridge directly that ENGP is banned from their territories • Kitimat, Terrace and Prince Rupert come out to hear Andrew Nikiforuk on a speaking tour across the North. Over 150, including many northern municipal, provincial, and federal politicians attend “Oil: Our Communities, Our Choices” forum held in Prince Rupert at the same time as the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA) convention. • Hundreds attend “Rally for an Oil-Free Coast” outside NCLGA Convention in Prince Rupert. • Wet’suwet’en protest outside of Enbridge public meeting in Burns Lake • Residents protest outside of Enbridge public meeting in Prince George • Friends of Morice-Bulkley erect their "Pure Water, Wild Salmon, No Enbridge Pipeline" billboard on Highway 16 near Smithers

Summer/Fall 2011 • Great Bear WILD photo exhibit held across northern BC (Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Smithers, Fort St James, Prince George, Terrace), and Banff, Alberta • Large delegation of Wet’suwet’en and Friends of Morice-Bulkley join Fall Fair parade in Smithers displaying opposition to ENGP

Winter/ Spring 2012 • Hundreds attend opening of Oral Evidence Hearings in Kitamaat Village in January. Many wear blue scarves with salmon symbolizing healthy waters/salmon.

3 • Hundreds pack Enbridge hearing in Prince George while 100 people protest outside in the bitter cold • Over 2,000 join Rally for an Oil-Free Coast organized by Gitga’at First Nation in Prince Rupert. • Local governments in Northwest BC pass official resolutions opposing Enbridge Northern Gateway. They include Prince Rupert, Terrace, Smithers and the regional districts of Skeena-Queen Charlotte and Kitimat-Stikine. • Gitga’at host a community dinner on the eve of the JRP Oral Evidence Hearings in Hartley Bay to welcome the Panel. • Resort Municipality of Whistler passes resolution opposing ENGP. • An additional 27 municipalities and cities from the interior and south of the province pass resolutions opposing ENGP • Six Anglican bishops from across British Columbia and the Yukon called on the environmental review hearings for Northern Gateway to demonstrate integrity and remain free from federal political pressure. • BC NDP formally announces opposition to ENGP and announces ‘made in B.C. process’ for evaluating industrial export projects of this scale. • Over 100 rally outside of JRP Oral Evidence Hearings in Fort St. James. • Films of the Great Bear Rainforest, Victoria B.C--Over 300 people attend sold out show screening Spoil, Tipping Barrels, StandUp4GreatBear and Cetaceans of the Great Bear Rainforest. • Dance, Speakers & Dinner to Stop the Enbridge Pipeline, on Salt spring Island. • UBC students storm Christy Clark’s riding collecting petition signatures asking her to oppose Enbridge • Over 1000 attend a Heiltsuk-led rally in Vancouver on the anniversary of Exxon Valdez oil spill • Yinka Dene Alliance lead Freedom Train caravan across . They held events & were greeted by supporters in Jasper, , Saskatchewan, and Toronto. The caravan ended in Toronto where there was a solidarity concert, a march to the Enbridge AGM, and several representatives spoke directly to shareholders. • Stop Enbridge, Resist the Pipeline Rally in Victoria. Attended by 500+ people with speakers + panel discussion • Over 2,000 people rally outside Comox community hearings wearing blue scarves in solidarity • A peaceful protest greets the JRP in Bella Bella.

4 • Heiltsuk youth stage a 48 hour hunger strike to protest proposed oil supertankers which threaten their traditional marine food resources. • Over 150 people rally outside Community Hearings in Smithers. • Over 150 rally at Community Hearings held in Terrace.

Summer 2012 • The BC NDP submit a report to the JRP outlining their opposition to Enbridge's Northern Gateway project. Party leader Adrian Dix promises to use provincial tools available to stop project if elected Premier. • Hundreds attend the “4,000 Reasons Festival” held in Smithers. Northwest musicians, artists, writers, actors, etc. came together to celebrate the beauty and wildness of the land on the route of the proposed pipeline and to honour the 4000 people who registered to speak before the JRP. • Rally hosted by Douglas Channel Watch in Kitimat the day before the JRP community hearings. • Hundreds march in Prince George in opposition to Northern Gateway when the community hearings are held there in July • 9,159 of the 9,567 letters of comment submitted to the Enbridge JRP express opposition to the project. 239 are in support, 169 are undecided. • No Tankers Ball and Music Festival attract hundreds to Duncan. • Toxicologist Dr. Ricki Ott tours Northwest BC with presentations on Gulf and Exxon oil spills - “Think Tankers and What Come Along with Them” • Bella Coola Says No to Enbridge Pipeline petition filed as written comment with JRP, 458 signatures • Protest outside of JRP Community Hearings in Fort St. James.

Fall 2012 • Nobel Women’s Laureate tour of pipeline route from the tar sands to Kitimat. • 3000+ protest attend “Defend our Coast” protest against pipeline at B.C. legislature on October 22. • 7112 people attend “Defend our Coast” rallies in 76 communities. October 24. • Hundreds attend Great Bear WILD Gala in Victoria • Great Bear RAVE photo exhibit on display in Victoria • Andrew Nikiforuk gives talks in Terrace, Hazelton and Smithers discussing his new book “The Energy of Slaves”

5 • Book Launch of “The Salmon Recipes” at the Museum of Northern BC in Prince Rupert with a salmon feast and visitors from Metlakatla, Gitga’at, and Oona River. • Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance hosts benefit concert. • Over 42,000 people sign a petition to have Enbridge remove its misleading video in which it removed dozens of islands from a map of the Douglas Channel. The petitions were delivered to Northern Gateway President John Carruthers at the JRP hearings in Prince Rupert and simultaneously delivered to the Enbridge office in Vancouver. • City of Vancouver declares ‘Save the Fraser Declaration Day,’ number of Save the Fraser Declaration signatories increases to 160 First Nations

2012 - 2013 • 1159 of 1161 people speak out in opposition to ENGP at public hearings throughout B.C.

Winter/ Spring 2013 • Protesters gather outside of Enbridge JRP hearings in Kelowna in January (~100-200 people). • Demonstrations during the Victoria JRP public hearings in January. • Hundreds protest outside Vancouver JRP public hearings. • Uberdrop demonstration outside Enbridge hearings in Vancouver to illustrate how clean water is threatened by tar sands development and proposed pipeline project. • Uberdrop in Vancouver for the Chinese New Year Festival. • Travelling World Community Film Festival in Prince George: Dirty Energy and Reflections displays Art for an Oil-Free Coast exhibit. • Earth Day protest against Enbridge outside their Northern Gateway office in Prince George. • Opponents of the Northern Gateway pipeline gathered in Calgary at Enbridge AGM to voice their concerns. • Art for an Oil-Free Coast exhibit in Calgary • Angus Reid poll shows 65% of British Columbians oppose oil tanker expansion on B.C.’s coast. • B.C government states opposition to Enbridge on the basis of insufficient spill response plans.

6 BOOKS, ART, FILMS + MUSIC OPPOSING ENBRIDGE, RELEASED SINCE JAN 2010

Books • Art for an Oil-Free Coast, edited by Raincoast • Extract – The Pipeline Wars: Vol 1 Enbridge (Vancouver Observer) • Salmon Recipes, edited by Luanne Roth • Nowhere Else on Earth: Standing Tall for the Great Bear Rainforest, by Caitlyn Vernon • The Sea Wolves, by Ian McAllister • The Great Bear Sea, by Ian McAllister (to be released Fall 2013) • Oil Man and the Sea (to be released soon), by Arno Kopecky

Art, Theatre and Music • Great Bear RAVE photo exhibit (International League of Conservation Photographers) • Art for an Oil-Free Coast exhibit • Robert Bateman painted over a painting to simulate an oil spill • “Alberta Tarzans” play toured the northwest • Hope the Whale in Vancouver • Jamming the Pipeline album released in Nelson

Films • From Tar Sands to Tankers - The fight against Enbridge • SPOIL • Oil in Eden • On the Line • White Water Black Gold • Stand up 4 Great Bear • STAND • A Hand to Stand • Ceteceans of the Great Bear • Tipping Barrels • Groundswell • The Pipedreams Project • Reel Youth • Haida Raid • This is not an Enbridge Animation • Thief behind the mask (CR Avery)

7 • B.C’s Huge Gamble • Big Oil Threatens the Spirit Bear Coast (narrated by Kevin Bacon) • Ethical Oil: the puppet rap • Spoiled: Enbridge and Tankers in the Great Bear Rainforest? • Supertankers in Whale Channel • Wet'suwet'en Video: Your Voice Our Future • Uncomfortably Numb • Risking it all--Oil on our Coast

EXPEDITIONS • On the Line • The Pipedreams Project • Band Together BC • Uncomfortably Numb • www.dearmrharper.com • Oil Man and the Sea

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS OPPOSED • View Royal - 2010 • Queen Charlotte City - April 2010 • Port Moody – Sept. 2010 • Saanich – Sept. 2010 • Queen Charlotte City - April 2010 • Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities - April 2011 • Port Clements - January 2012 • Smithers - February 2012 • Terrace - February 2012 • Prince Rupert - February 2012 • Massett - February 2012 • North Saanich - Mar 2012 • Metchosin - Mar 2012 • Whistler - April 2012 • Victoria - April 2012 • Vancouver - April 2012 • Esquimalt - June 2012 • Oak Bay - June 2012 • South Pender Island - June 2012 • North Pender Island - June 2012

8 • Saturna Island - June 2012 • Mayne Island - June 2012 • Galiano Island - June 2012 • Thetis Island - June 2012 • Gabriola Island - June 2012 • Lasqueti Island - June 2012 • Hornby Island - June 2012 • Denman Island - June 2012 • Bowen Island - June 2012 • Gambier Island - June 2012 • Nelson - July 2012 • Fort St. James - July 2012

PRIVATE BUSINESSES OPPOSED • 410 businesses have signed Dogwood’s petition against the expansion of oil supertanker traffic : http://dogwoodinitiative.org/no-tankers/do- more/find-allies/business-map

UNIONS OPPOSED The Northern Gateway protests have been endorsed by unions such as: • Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) • Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) • B.C. Teachers' Federation • BC Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE BC) • United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union • BC Government Employees Union (BCGEU)

PETITIONS • SumOfUs and Leadnow’s petition to have Enbridge remove its misleading “Disappearing Islands” video - 45,000 signatures • Dogwood Initiative’s No Tankers Petition - 150,000 signatures • Leadnow’s Premier Christy Clark: Say no to Enbridge Northern Gateway! - 15,000 signatures

This backgrounder was prepared in collaboration by Pacific Wild, North West Institute and Sierra Club BC.

Media Inquiries: Pacific Wild: Sarah Stoner [email protected] 250.957.2480 North West Institute: Pat Moss [email protected] 250.847.9693 Si