O pinions

 

Enbridge: should it
stay or should it go?

By Natalie Serafini,
Opinions Editor

or months now, the

Northern Gateway
Pipeline has been a point
of controversy amongst
Canadians. The issue?
Tons of oil that would
end up being transported
through a pipeline
along BC’s coasts to
PetroChina. The proposal
would be economically
beneficial for Canada,
and Alberta with its tar
sands aplenty certainly
has a vested interest.
Nonetheless, British
Columbians have an eco-
friendly reputation to live
up to.

We've heard from
Alberta Premier Alison
Redford, who seems
to think that British
Columbians just want
a larger chunk of the
change; we’ve heard

from Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, who’s
been supportive of the
pipeline; and we’ve
heard from BC Premier
Christy Clark, who flip-
flopped before deciding
to fight for her political
career—oops, I mean, for
BC’s pristine coasts! So,
what do Douglas College
students think about the
issue?

Sona Osmanzai
stated, “Well it’s good
for people for [economic]
improvement, but
it’s not good for the
environment. I totally
understand people that
are saying that it can
harm, because really BC
is very environmentally
friendly. We take care of
the nature here.”

Mark Ponce said,

“| think in this case,
people may have their
own opinions of it,
but in terms of how
the government wants
to reduce the debt, or
increase the country’s

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income, I think yeah, of
course they’re going to
pursue the project.”

Jessie Foote thought
that Harper should
consider how BC would
be affected by a spill,
rather than just the
potential benefits to
Canada’s economy. “He
needs to focus more on
the individual provinces
and how it affects them,
and not just Canada in
general.”

Asked how Christy
Clark’s flip-flopping
might affect her-career,
Derek Van Deursen
stated “Well it depends
if she can back it up
and actually show that
she’s [supportive of] it,
or if she’s just following
a trend. ... If she can
capitalize on that and
actually follow through,
then I think it could be
beneficial.”

On how Stephen
Harper’s career might be
affected by the pipeline
debate, Van Deursen also

said, “It seems like his
career is unaffected by all
his blunders. ... There’s so
much money that I think
it could almost [have] a
positive effect if he gets it
through, just because his
supporters are the same
kind of people who are
backing it.”

Delaney Bloudell
asserted that “There
are so many people,
and so many people
are really vocal against
[the Northern Gateway
proposal]. So it’s hard to
imagine that it’s actually
going to happen. But
ultimately, there’s the
people with all the power

and then there’s the rest .

of us. Id like to think
that we all have a voice
and that they’re going
to consider what we're
saying, but I’m kind of
pessimistic.”

I think the Northern
Gateway Pipeline is a
pretty obvious recipe
for disaster. According
to Glen McGregor of
the Ottawa Citizen,
companies owned
by the Calgary-based
Enbridge Energy have
experienced more than
170 pipeline leaks and
spills in the US since
2002. In addition, the

How loud can we talk in the library?

Consider those around
you

By Glauce Fleury,
Contributor

hen you decide

to go to the
library or to one of the
computer labs at Douglas
College, what’s your
main purpose? This is
a question I'd like to
ask every student in
this institution, if I were
doing research on the
usage of those spaces. As
I’m not a researcher, I'll
leave this question here
18

so that those of you who
read this piece can think
about it.

I'll probably never
know what your
responses would be,
but I’m going to tell you
mine. I use the library
to study, or to go to
one of the hopefully
empty computer labs.
To me, there’s no
benefit to using the
upper floor of the New
Westminster library—a
quiet space where no
talking is permitted—
simply because I need a
computer.

I know the library

is also used by study
groups, and study groups
need to talk. However,
most of the time when
I’m at the library I see
people getting together,
laughing out loud, and
talking about a variety
of subjects. Trust me
when I say these subjects
have nothing to do with
the college. Even when
two people are working
together on a computer—
and I know they need
to talk—can’t they use a
lower tone of voice?

“The main floor of
each library does tend
to be more noisy than a

strictly quiet study area,”
says Debbie Schachter,
Learning Resources
Director, the department
that comprises the
Library and the
Learning Centre. “This is
acceptable provided the
noise does not become
excessive, but we do
request that students be
respectful of others and
keep noise down when
talking or studying in
groups.”

‘Then how to know
these limits? Behaving
as we expect others to
behave; that is, putting
ourselves in others’

route the oil is proposed
to take is treacherously
anfractuous, and people
experienced in traveling
the area have testified to
its dangers.

There’s definitely
room to feel pessimistic
based on how foggy and
deceptive politics can be.
Nonetheless, there are a
few rays of hope shining
through the fog: Christy
Clark certainly wants to
hang onto her career, and
that means standing with
British Columbians who
are very vocally opposed
to the pipeline. While the
environmental review
process is ongoing, Tim
Leadem, a lawyer for
Ecojustice, questioned
how Enbridge “can be
trusted even to conduct
the building phase
without environmental
damage.” Legal battles
and the obstacles that
keep popping up in
Enbridge’s way also
show promise of
impeding the path of the
pipeline.

It sounds like
Douglas College students
and British Columbians
in general are opposed
to the pipeline. We can
only shout and hope the
powers that be will listen.

shoes. I don’t believe
these students like noise
when they are studying,
so they should provide
some silence for their
peers.

One evening, I
decided to look for a
computer in one of the
labs because I needed
to finish an assignment.
When | arrived there
around 8 p.m., it was
empty. I was glad, as I
needed to write a critical
analysis for one of my
courses and it required
a lot of thinking. Some

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