The Átl’ḵa7tsem/Howe Sound watershed includes a majestic fjord perched spectacularly on the edge of Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. Its landscape is dramatically scenic and encompasses remarkably diverse habitats capable of supporting over 5000 known marine and terrestrial species.
Howe Sound waters were poisoned by industrial activities, particularly the Britannia mine. With over 200 kilometres of tunnels, it became Canada’s largest copper mine and operated until 1974. However, water contaminated with acid and heavy metals continued to flow out of the mine site and into this vital fjord.
Groundwater drainage from one of the levels in the mine was warmer than the water in Howe Sound, which created a buoyant layer on the surface of the ocean inlet. The heavy metals in that layer killed everything within a kilometer of of its original access. This threatened the migration of salmon from Squamish, through the Howe Sound waters.
A chemical plant in Squamish was operated until 1991, first by FMC, and then by Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. Cleanup costs at the site amounted to about $50 million but families of plant workers say exposure to dangerous compounds shortened the lives of loved ones.
The good news is that Howe Sound has been in recovery. Huges sums were spent to improve the water, most of the cash supplied by taxpayers. Wildlife has returned, fish are safe to eat, and people can swim in the ocean waters without worrying about their health.
When the sun shines on waterfalls spilling off the cliffs, and carries across the old-growth forest carpeting the shoreline, it feels like the entire planet is one glittering gemstone.
Howe Sound is also home to a teeming array of aquatic life, including myriad varieties of fish, squid, crab, mussels, plankton, as well as sea lions, seals, orcas, bluefin and humpback whales and dolphins.
In early days, industrialists might have lacked knowledge about the dangers of the activities they promoted. However, had they known, the lure of profits may have overwhelmed their concern for human health and the ecosystem. Often heard in boardrooms was the phrase: “The solution to pollution is dilution.”
Today, there is no uncertainty about the importance of preserving waters that have sustained inhabitants for millennia. Sadly, profits are still prioritized above all else. Today, callous industrialists and their political drudges aim to undo the good works that restored Howe Sound (known as Átl’ka7tsem, Nexwnéwu7ts, or Txwnéwu7ts in the Squamish Nation language).
One of the campaigners working to protect the region is Eoin Finn, a management consultant with many years of business experience. Eoin (pronounced OWEN) is a retired partner of KPMG, a major accounting/consulting firm. He holds a B.Sc. in chemistry, a Ph.D. in physical chemistry and an MBA in International Business.
Mr. Finn was a founder of MY SEA TO SKY, an environmental organization that since 2014 has worked to defend, protect, and restore Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound. Today, the political power of the oil and gas industry is pushing aside the common sense of conservationists.
That influence was demonstrated by Eoin Finn in an email he circulated this week. I repeat it below:
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As nearly 50% of British Columbians are struggling to pay the bills, FortisBC has hiked gas prices by 17.5 percent this month to pay for new pipelines, including the upfront costs of the disastrous Eagle Mountain to Woodfibre gas pipeline.
How do you feel about paying for a billionaire’s pipeline? Personally, I’m pretty ticked off about it.
Gas prices are projected to increase further when BC starts to export LNG later this year. Both the U.S. and Australia saw significant increases in domestic gas prices when these countries started exporting LNG.
LNG exports cost US customers more than $100 billion dollars over a sixteen-month period, as gas prices for local customers soared.
Your electricity bills will go up too
BC announced last week that it is fast-tracking the permitting for a new $3 billion transmission line for power-hungry LNG projects. The BC government hopes to use BC’s limited clean electricity to electrify the oil and gas sector. This could result in a multi-billion dollar public subsidy to greenwash fossil fuels.
If LNG projects are provided with public power at discount rates, all BC Hydro ratepayers will effectively be subsidizing these massive fossil fuel export projects.
We need to protect public power to build a safer and more affordable future for BC. Why are Premier David Eby and Minister Adrian Dix giving away BC’s public power to subsidize foreign-owned LNG export companies?
People across BC are already struggling to make ends meet. LNG exports will make life even more unaffordable.
Take action! Meet with your MLA!
The BC NDP promised to focus on kitchen table issues that would make life more affordable for British Columbians. Instead, they’re doubling down on fracking and LNG exports that will worsen the climate crisis, impact our health, and increase our gas and electricity bills.
They need to hear from you! Can you meet with your MLA to deliver a copy of the 2024 Progress Report and demand that they commit to urgent climate action and stop subsidizing fossil fuels?
More than 27 people attended our first training session last week, with inspiring stories and tips about how to meet your MLA. We’re hosting a second training session next Monday to share “How to meet with your MLA.” We also have a handy toolkit for people who sign up.
Sign up for a training session via zoom
Monday, January 27, 7pm to 8:30pm
REGISTER NOW
LEARN HOW TO MEET YOUR MLA
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As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The world seems a little dark right now, but we need to have hope, and we need to keep fighting for a better future.
For my grandchildren,
Eoin Finn
Board Chair, My Sea to Sky
My Sea to Sky is incredibly proud and grateful to say that we rely on the My Sea to Sky community for small donations that provide the majority of our funding. Since our launch in 2014, we have been funded through personal savings, family and friends; and powered by the passion of our volunteers. Your generous contribution will help us to run our critical campaigns to defend, protect, and restore Átl’ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound. Can you chip in?
Categories: Environment, LNG
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