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Vote YES for Kitimat See inside fo
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Volume 60 No. 15
www.northernsentinel.com
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
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Nathan Wilson at work on an eight foot totem pole for Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School. The pole will eventually be raised in the school’s lobby. More on the project on page 3.
Growing DCW support Cameron Orr Kitimat’s local, award winning environmental activism group Douglas Channel Watch is reaching new heights in the face of campaigning against Enbrige. The organization formed out of concern over the proposed development of the Northern Gateway Pipelines project and ever since their first meeting of a handful of people they’ve grown into a force to reckon with. One of the group’s members, Murray Minchin, said the group has always kept their efforts focused. They began studying Enbridge’s pipeline safety, then studied the proposal itself, and eventually some became intervenors in the Joint Review Panel process. “Now it’s the plebiscite. We have this goal in mind and we’re fully engaged and concentrating on that right now. After that it’s going to be whatever Prime Minister Harper has to say. And then we’ll decide what to do after that. We keep moving from one goal to the next and we haven’t forecast into the future,” he said. The group is currently enjoying a sudden spike in community support, not the least of which is financial, which is
helping them purchase advertising to compete against Enbridge’s own campaign. “Two weeks ago we had $200 in the bank. A week ago, $2,000. It’s more than that now but I can’t say for sure,” said Minchin. “The donations are keeping pace with what we hope to do with advertising.” One of the key volunteers for the campaign is Patricia Lange. A long-time follower of the group, she only very recently took the plunge in becoming a full-on member. “When this [plebiscite] came out I became a member,” she said. “I think there’s always been a ground-swell of support but now people are signing up or committing to the cause.” But one thing is sure for Douglas Channel Watch and that is it will continue to be a Kitimat effort. They say they’ve turned down funding offers from larger organizations. “It’s funny, we’re turning people away from all over who want to come,” said Lange. “We just feel it’s a grassroots thing. It’s just Kitimat.” Continued on page 15
NGP pushing education Cameron Orr Inside Enbridge Northern Gateway’s office in the City Centre Mall are a team of four people; three full-time staff, plus a fourth taken on to give an extra bit of strength to their manpower heading into the April 12 plebiscite vote. As the date of voting approaches — of course advance voting took place on April 2 and is on again today — the company keeps adding to their message about the project, about its jobs, and about its safety. Donny Van Dyk, Northern Gateway’s manager of coastal and aboriginal and community relations, says the community’s plebiscite on the JRP conditions has been a great opportunity for the company to raise the profile of their project. Since the plebiscite has been announced he said there’s been dozens of requests for information from the company, showing that people are really thinking about the pipeline and wanting to know more. “We went straight to some of the residents that we know here locally in Kitimat and asked what they expected of Northern Gateway and what they told us was that we needed to be active
in providing information, sharing information, be that presenting to council, be that having open houses, coffee chats, as well as getting out to Rotary events. “In addition they wanted us to get out and share information via the door step, via the phone calls and that kind of thing.” And that they have. With their core group of four, plus company staff who have come to town, they’ve done door-to-door visits, open houses and other outreach. Van Dyk does the door-to-door effort himself once he can get out of the Northern Gateway office in the afternoons. Whether the home is a supporter or not, he said their presence is typically welcome. “It’s a mixed reaction, but I’d say we’re getting positive feedback quite frequently, and there’s a genuine appreciation whether they’re opponents or supporters that we’re there to listen to concerns and provide information on our project. We’ve had opponents of the project who have literally thanked us for coming out and taking time to answer their questions.” Continued on page 15
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Crossroads coming slowly ... page 2
Years est. 1954