Northern Gateway No More - Controversial Tar Sands Pipeline Denied

WASHINGTON (November 13, 2015) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government is following through on an election promise to ban crude oil tanker traffic off the coast of northern British Columbia. This announcement will effectively kill the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline proposal, which would have shipped half a million barrels of tar sands through British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest, putting important salmon rivers, coastal rainforests, and sensitive marine waters at risk. 

Following is a statement by Anthony Swift, Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Canada Project:

“The announcement from Prime Minister Trudeau spells the effective end of Enbridge’s ill-advised Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline and the threat it posed to British Columbia’s sensitive coastal waters. It also demonstrates that the fight against tar sands expansion is being waged and won by communities throughout the United States and Canada who want a cleaner, safer future.

"The pushback on this project and Keystone XL makes clear that tar sands expansion is not inevitable and the public rejection of similar projects will continue."