Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a gathering of first nations, business, environment and community leaders that took place in Kitimat, British Columbia this past weekend.
They came together to say no to dangerous supertankers on their coast, no to 12,000 supertankers the size of the Empire State Building plying the waters and no to an 1,100 kilometre pipeline crossing many rivers and more than 50 first nations communities. They know that in Alberta in an average year, 800 failures happen in pipelines.
They said yes to creating a culture and economy based upon a clean environment and wild salmon. They said yes to a plan for building a sustainable future for our communities and yes to first nations taking their rightful place at the table.
The gulf is teaching us all an invaluable lesson. Industry cannot be allowed to self-police. When oil and water mix, the environment and the economy are devastated. The government must stop listening only to its friends in the oil lobby and start listening to the people whose very lives are on the line.