Letter to the Editor of the Victoria Times Colonist, 22 November 2004
The recent oil spill off the shore of Newfoundland will hopefully put to rest the agitation for oil and gas drilling on the West Coast.
The Campbell Liberal government is demanding an end to a federal moratorium on offshore drilling. Serving the agenda of powerful energy corporations, the provincial government in threatening the natural environment and giving a false sense of hope to impoverished coastal communities.
While the energy interests promise jobs to local workers, the reality of offshore drilling is starkly different. Highly skilled technicians from the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea will be flown directly onto rigs to operate computerized technology that requires very little local labour. Pre-fabricated rigs will employ few BC workers in the assembly stages. Oil tankers will be staffed by low-wage, outside workers, and will sail under ‘flags of convenience’ (tax havens such as the Bahamas).
Offshore oil and gas extraction will cost billions in provincial revenue, while providing no sustainable future for working people in BC. We must reject this old model of a provincial economy dominated by the extraction of natural resources that are processed elsewhere. Public revenue should be spent on building a truly sustainable economy based on value-added manufacturing, strong public services, and local economic development.
Newfoundland’s ailing fishery is threatened by the latest oil spill. Imagine a similar catastrophe on BC’s fragile coast, located in one of the world’s most volatile seismic zones. British Columbians would be wise to take a vocal stance on this issue.
