Pipeline poses tough questions about our future
Co-operation needed to solve challenges, Joe Spears says.
Shipping is key to Canada’s long-term economic future. With 90 per cent of world trade carried by sea, maritime shipping is the conveyor belt of globalization. A truly international activity, shipping continues to evolve as seen by the constant work of the International Maritime Organization. Strong efforts are being made to lessen the environmental impact of shipping, such as underwater noise and air emissions.
It is a work in progress that the commercial shipping sector embraces. They are not superficial actions or “green washing.”
Canada is a trading nation. On the West Coast, Vancouver and Prince Rupert were developed as ports and they grew and prospered because of tidewater access to global markets. Canada is also an ocean nation.
Oceans sustain its economy and make up a large part of its environment and increasingly this makes the oceans part of a sustainable “blue” economy. We forget Canada has always looked outward to foreign markets for its exports.
Canada in the 21st century must look outward to foreign markets and diversify its trading partners and move away from a reliance on the American market. This will require a robust shipping and port infrastructure as well as protection of the marine environment operating in tandem. There are inclusive goals for ocean and shipping governance.
Trans Mountain ... is on the cusp of the movement to protect the marine environment in an innovative ... way.
In the past, Canada led the way in innovative shipping governance at the international level, both at the International Maritime Organization and the Law of the Sea negotiations. Canada was at the forefront.
What was once considered radical in shipping regulation has now become standard operating procedure for industry. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is on the cusp of the movement to protect the marine environment in an innovative and comprehensive way. The initiation to twin an existing pipeline and ship the oil safely to market can be an example to the world of holistic environmental navigation. This will require leadership from Canada.
Mariners like to solve problems and they have been doing this for centuries to address marine risk. They do it every day in our pristine West Coast waters. Mariners are also guardians and protectors of the marine environment on our sacred coasts. They take this obligation seriously and strive to do their best every day in good weather or in bad. It is more than a matter of pride, it is a professional obligation.
Achieving Canada’s potential and environmental navigation will take dialogue, hard work and the courage to face outward and ask the hard questions and have a truth-topower discussion on marine risks.
That starts when Canadians come together to seek a solution to evolving marine risks that are unique to Canadian West Coast waters. The strength of Canada’s innovative Oceans Protection Plan is that it includes input for dialogue, identification of risk and continuous improvement in a collaborative way. The Oceans Protection Plan is a major change in focus and policy. In tandem with other measures described in the new Citizen’s Guide to Tanker Safety and Spill Response on the South Coast of B.C. from Resource Works, it successfully addresses fears about increasing the amount of dilbit moved safely through local waterways.
Canada’s marine regulators work hand in hand with industry to develop solutions at the international, national and local levels. There is mutual respect. That is the age-old way that mariners solve problems in a co-operative spirit.
Inputting local and First Nations knowledge and concerns into Canada’s shipping oversight and maritime administration will buttress and strengthen and improve the marine governance regime and achieve protection of the marine environment.
This result will ensure Canada’s prosperity and protect the nation’s environment for future generations. These are the mutual goals of all Canadians citizens, for together we share a stake in our future.