WHEREAS BC municipalities have taken note of the current disaster resulting from offshore drilling in the US Gulf of Mexico, the inability of the oil industry to end that spill quickly or to contain its impacts, and the decades it takes for marine ecosystems to recover from spills and that Enbridge Inc. has filed an application for approval of its Northern Gateway project which would bring the first ever bulk crude oil tankers to BCs coast at a rate of more than 250 per year and that even the proponents admit that spills are inevitable in movement of crude oil; AND WHEREAS BC municipalities are critically aware of the economic importance of marine ecosystems to the economy of our coast in terms of fishing, recreation, and tourism to the intrinsic value of intact and pristine coastal ecosystems, and of the concerns expressed by coastal First Nations about coastal drilling and tanker traffic as threats to both their livelihood and culture, as well as to existing aboriginal tile and rights to their traditional territory: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of Britsh Columbia Municipalities support a permanent ban on coastal drilling and bulk crude oil tanker traffic in BC waters in order to protect the unique and diverse marine ecosystems of our coast and the livelihood of communities who depend on those resources.
