The Salish Sea is one of the richest and most biologically diverse inland seas in the world. It is also home to iconic wildlife, including the Southern Resident orca, but these orcas are now endangered because of dwindling food supplies and increased marine traffic. Now this troubled population faces another threat — the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that Prime Minister Trudeau plans to purchase in a $4.5 billion deal.
If this project goes ahead, the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion - a 1,150 km pipeline that would connect the Alberta tar sands with the BC coast - could bring 400 tar sands oil tankers through these orcas’ habitat every year. A spill of this heavy, highly toxic tar sands oil in the Salish Sea could permanently damage the wildlife that calls these waters home, including resident orca and salmon populations. The federal government’s plan to increase tanker traffic on the BC coast is not only irresponsible, but it goes against its duty to protect endangered and threatened species.