Dear Editor:
I was in the supermarket the other day and someone asked me about what I thought about all the pipeline proposals being talked about recently. The three that came to mind were the Northern Gateway, the twinning of the Kinder Morgan pipeline and the Northern Trails natural gas pipeline. My honest response was that I was against all three.
"How will we pay for our education and healthcare?" he asked.
The crux of the argument for expanded fracking and tar sands development is we cannot afford not to do it. Federal and provincial government, and gas industry, ads point to the importance of these revenues to fund health and education.
In fact, in 2011 oil, gas and mineral revenues composed only 5.4 per cent of government revenue. Moreover, much of that money was returned to the industry as a "natural resources and economic development" expense - $1.2 billion.
We must also keep in mind that we already have an operating pipeline and a refinery. We have more oil than we need, yet we only refine one-third of it for ourselves. British Columbians consume only 15 per cent of the natural gas we produce.
I think if people were given the facts without the spin and without the fear-mongering, they would choose to transition to a greener more local economy sooner. The fact is, we have choices.
Rick McGowan, Green party candidate for Burnaby-Deer Lake
