By HOWARD WHITE It is a very well-publicized fact that the super tankers will begin running into Cherry Point at a rate of six per month this fall. The media, acting | on their own to a large degree, have deme 2 ey Ss Bwvuw job of publicizing the danger. Where then is the public respomse? Where are .the massive demonstrations, the mile-long petitions? Where is the lease sign among people themselves, their spokesmen or their institutions that they Ihave VV’ anw. apprehended the dangex? The coastwise recreation industry has proven itself very responsive to the slight hardship wrought by last year’s increase in ferry rates, — but it has yet to be heard on’ the issue that faces it with complete devastation. The United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union has spoken against the tanker threat on several occasions but not in a way that would indicate it is more important to them than the latest restrictions im- posed on Geozgia Strait trollers or a raise for herring tendermen. The canning and packing companies, who could be bankrupted by a full-scale spill, have shown no interest in saving them- selves.” What is'sane about any of this? Environment _ protection groups such as the Green- peace Foundation have add- ed the oilspill threat to their list of concerns but haven’t placed the emphasis on it they have on pestering the Newfoundland. sealhunt. S.P.E.C. has given the issue top pricrity from the outset but theirs has been a lonely voice. in the political arena the issue has not had an effective spokesman since Liberal backbencher David Anderson used it as a stepping stone to party leadership and _ oblivion several years ago. The federal government attitude is best exemplified fone by the External Affairs Department’s two-year sup- pression of the National Film Board documentary Forecast for Survival, on the basis that its quite moderate anti- oilspill message could have **negative impact on Canada- U.S. relations. . ‘THE EASTPORT VICTORY It is always pointicss to blame politicians for not doing what their constituents never asked them to do however, and their course only leads us back to the apathy of the B.C. public. It is illuminating in this regard to compare the tanker issue here to a very similar controversy which has arisen on the East Coast. There the plan was to establish a supertanker port at Eastport, Maine, which would have been as near the New Brunswick border as_ the Cherry Point port is near the B.C. border -- and for much the same reason. The East- port project also resembled the Kitimat proposal in that ‘part of the tanker route passed through Canadian islands in the Bay of Fundy. Public resistance to the plan in New Brunswick was _swiit and massive. Fisher- men took boatloads of petitioners across the border . -to speak at state Bureau of Environmental Protectior: hearings; a businessmens’ coalition and a media inform- ation system were formed; local politicians were put under steady pressure and delegations were sent both to Ottawa and Washington. The campaign went on for | over seven years and result- ed ultimately in the Depart-’ ment of External Affairs sending a formal note to Washington. declaring that the Eastport plan “‘constitut- . ed unacceptable risk’’ to the New Brunswick environment - and access would not be granted. The Main B.E.P, in turn made its permits. to Pittston Oil Company condi- tional on their first ‘‘making peace with the Canadians’’, which effectively killed the Eastport refinery project late last year. a BATTLE NOT OVER The federal government which declared the Eastport tanker route “‘an unaccept- able risk’’ is the same one which suppressed films un- flattering to the Cherry Point oil port and on March 4th . gave its tentative support to the immeasurably more risky tanker route through Wright Sound to Kitimat. The difference in the two posi- tions is the difference in the two affected populations; the one, in the west, seemingly willing to let itself be used, the other, in the east, quite definitely not. The battle on the west coast is not over yet, although the oil companies have become entrenched to the point there can be no tothily successful opposition to them. A campaign here comparable to that in New Brunswick, working in lea- gue with the anti-supertank- er lobby in Puget Sound may once have been. successful in preventing the Alaska traffic from entering Juan de Fuca. Strait. Now _ the best com- cally be hoped for would be a location on the south side of the strait, at Port Angeles or west of Port Angeles. In dealing with the Cherry . Point route, south coast. protesters will not have the lever of the Eastport protes- ters or Kitimat protesters of controlling access to the port, but it is a tenet of natural law that no man shall knowingly foul his neighbour’s proper- ty, and the U.S. has shown itself able to respect this tenet when pressured in-the past, most recently in the billion-dollar Garrison Diver- sion project of North Dakota, which has. been halted - partially because of the flood risk to farms in Manitoba. Changes in British Colum-— bia law to make the oil giants themseives and not the dummy companies owning the ships responsible for oilspifl damages and cleanup costs would also be very effective in helping them - decide to avoid Canadian ‘waters, as would revisions to ‘tanker regulations to bring them to the level set in Puget Sound. . _ SACRED TRUST ‘There i is still time for all of this to be done but every day that- passes without aciion - moves the job one step cioser to impossible. The point surely is that the is.C. coasi Is one oi the great geographical wonders of the world. People flock here to see it in the thousands every summer. Oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, who is in as good a position as anyone ‘to make the comparison, has said Georgia Strait is the last of the planet’s great inland seas left unpolluted. This coast is our sacred trust, and we could no more be excused for exposing it to ruin than the Americans could for damming the Grand Canvon or the Greeks for grinding the Acropolis up for cement. No priceshortof saving the human race could justify the risk our politicians are currently subjecting the coast’s immense and fragile beauty for a hundred ‘or so steady jobs and a_ very dubious advantage to our energy future. If we let them proceed and the consequen- ces befall as they surely must, then we will have no doubt looking back as to whether or not we were acting in our right senses. Line-up said ‘outstanding’ The line-up of entertain- ment for this year’s Pacific National Exhibition can be summed up in one word ... outstanding, AT least that’s what acting PNE. Manager Dal Town Says. “Once again, the PNE staff has booked an outstand- ing array of talent, one which can be matched only in major entertainment centres like those on the Las Vegas strip.’’ he said. **What pleases me just as much as the calibre of the performers, though, is the fact that the shows will appeal to all fair-goers, regardless of age,’’ he said. ‘It has always been our policy to cater to ajl iastes, and the seventh Star Specta- cular fulfills that standard in every way.”’ “We have been able to accomplish this while hold- ing the line on ticket prices,’’ he said. ‘‘In fact, our $8 tops * for the Paul Anka show, our most ¢.pensive show of all, is still much lower than last year's’ maximum price of $12.50 (for Frank Sinatra).’’ ‘‘And don't forget,’’ he said, ‘‘that all adult ticket prices for the Star Spectacu- lar include grounds entry of $2. when. purchased in advance.’ 1475 [Howard White is a writer, “historian, ecologist and publisher ‘living on the Sechelt Peninsula. His con-: tinuing series of ‘“‘Raincoast Chronicles,” dealing . writls the living histery of the area, . have achieved widespread — popularity during recent years. This is the last of three articles by Mr. White on the - oil spill threat to the B.C. coast.] le ‘Sharon ESSE i ~NORT DGE ORTHRI ¥ * u 5E NORTHRIDGE N CGE _NORTHRIDGE + NORTHRI NORTHRIDGE NORTHRIDGE ne RTHRIDGE- NORTHRIDGE: Card The only Plymouth, Chrysler Specialists. on the: North Shore Let us assist in worry free repairs © Guaranteed Quality Worlananship © Far Competitive Prices e I.C. B.C. Claims Welcome Call Jack Hardman 980- 6511 Ze TOE Northridge Plymouth Chrysler Lid, . 1177 Marine Dr., North Vancouver, B. C. 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