Earthgauge Radio September 13, 2012: From the frontlines of the Northern Gateway pipeline struggle
I’m excited to be back at CKCU to kick off the second season of Earthgauge Radio! On this the September 13 edition of the program, we hear a couple of interviews live from the frontlines of the Northern Gateway pipeline struggle in B.C. On the show today:
- Art Sterritt – Executive Director for the Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative
- Rafe Mair – former BC Cabinet Minister and popular radio talk show host
I visited British Columbia a couple weeks ago and had the opportunity to speak with a number of individuals who are actively engaged in the movement to stop Enbridge from building a twin pipeline from the tar sands of northern Alberta to the coastal B.C. port of Kitimat. Having just returned I can tell you that this issue is really heating up and will only become more so in the months to come.
It’s been an eventful summer with the premiers of Alberta and B.C. publicly squabbling over Northern Gateway, media baron David Black proposing to build a $13 billion oil refinery to process tar sands bitumen in Kitimat, and the resumption of public hearings that are taking a closer look at the controversial project. Northern Gateway is indeed becoming a defining battle not only for Canada’s environmental movement but for the very energy future of this country. Given the high stakes not just for BC and Alberta but for the entire country, I thought this would be a good place to kick off our second season of Earthgauge Radio.
I have two interviews on today’s program. First we hear from Art Sterritt – Executive Director of the Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative who will explain why First Nations along the BC coast are so opposed to the Northern Gateway proposal and how Aboriginal opposition may well prove to be an insurmountable obstacle for Enbridge and the Harper government to overcome in the efforts to build this pipeline.
We also hear from a former BC Environment Minister and well-known radio talk show host Rafe Mair. Having worked inside the provincial government at the highest levels, Mair knows very well how politicians, bureaucrats and corporations will try to sell unpopular ideas to a skeptical public so you’ll want to stay tuned to hear what he has to say about this.
Earthgauge Radio is broadcast every Thursday morning at 7:00-8:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa. Online at www.ckcufm.com with podcasts on iTunes. ‘Like’ us at www.facebook.com/EarthgaugeRadio.
