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Posted January 30, 2006
Offshore development keeps losing at the ballot box
Vancouver Sun, January 27, 2006
By Vaughn Palmer
VICTORIA - The national election brought more discouraging results for those who would end the federal moratorium on exploring for oil and gas off the coast of B.C.
The two coastal B.C. ridings with the most at stake on the issue elected candidates who defended the moratorium over those who would have lifted it.
It was the third time in 18 months that the ballot box indicated strong opposition to offshore development in the region that would supposedly benefit most from it.
The swing began in the federal election of June 2004, with the upset victory of New Democrat Nathan Cullen in the northwestern B.C. riding that includes Prince Rupert and the north coast. For a decade it had been home turf for right-of-centre supporters of offshore development.
Cullen was a skeptic. The offshore was "a pipe dream" that wouldn't be realized for decades, if ever. Plus, "I'm not in favour of anything that can threaten fisheries."
Cullen won, surprising many observers.
Proponents of offshore development dismissed the result as a fluke, and a narrow one at that. Cullen pulled just 37 per cent of the vote. People may not have known his stance on the moratorium.
The newly elected NDP MP, once he got to Ottawa, continued to disparage the potential for offshore development, except now he called it "Gordon Campbell's dangerous pipe dream."
Meanwhile, proponents sought a rematch with the moratorium-lovers in the 2005 provincial election. Though the ban was federal, B.C. could (and has) pressured Ottawa to lift it.
Again, the coast supplied the battleground. Liberal MLA Bill Belsey went at it in Prince Rupert: "The NDP has said 'no' to oil and gas exploration and development. That's like saying 'no' to revitalization in my region."
On election day the voters dispatched Belsey along with his message boxes. New Democrat Gary Coons, fighting to keep the moratorium in place, prevailed with a decisive 15-point edge in the popular vote.
Across the water at the north end of Vancouver Island, another B.C. Liberal advocate of lifting the moratorium also lost. Incumbent MLA Rod Visser did better than Belsey in the fight to hang on to his riding. Still, he finished three percentage points behind Claire Trevena, one of the greenest members of the provincial NDP caucus.
Third time lucky? The would-be explorers for offshore oil and gas launched themselves into the latest federal election campaign, hoping to undo the earlier embarrassments.
Liberal MP David Anderson, who defended the ban on offshore exploration throughout a long political career ("my moratorium," he called it in his more modest moments), was retiring.
The federal Opposition promised to send the moratorium into retirement along with him: "A Conservative government will promote exploration and environmental assessment of offshore natural resources"
The Conservatives persuaded former MP Mike Scott (1993-2000) to abandon his retirement and challenge Cullen on the north coast.
The seat was eminently winnable, Scott announced, and one of the keys was to promote job opportunities by campaigning to end the moratorium.
Cullen repeated his earlier opposition -- "that doesn't make any sense" -- citing environmental concerns, aboriginal opposition and a perceived lack of interest on the part of the oil and gas industry.
For a while, Scott vs. Cullen was thought to be close. But Tuesday's morning-after headline in the Prince Rupert Daily News told the real story:
"It's Cullen by a landslide."
The supposedly vulnerable New Democrat had rounded up almost 50 per cent of the popular vote. Scott, who'd expected a "horse race," was crushed.
If that weren't enough of a blow to the hopes of the moratorium-lifters, voters in the federal riding at the northern end of Vancouver Island also went against them.
John Duncan, the Conservative incumbent, had also campaigned to end the federal ban on exploration. "We are committed to doing some assessment and environmental exploration, then letting B.C. decide," he said. "I'm not really happy at Ottawa deciding what British Columbians are going to do or not do."
His NDP opponent, Catherine Bell, disagreed. "The risk is just too great for our fragile coastline." Bell prevailed, albeit narrowly, finishing about one point ahead of Duncan in the popular vote.
Nevertheless, a win is a win. New Democrats were compiling an impressive string of victories while defending the moratorium.
Of course, that was not the only issue in those elections, nor even the decisive issue for every voter in those individual constituencies. Still, coastal residents are a long way from being persuaded that the offshore can be developed with due regard for the environment.
Proponents would have folks contemplate the potential benefits. To date, concerns about risks have carried the day at the ballot box.
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