We, (the Tsimshian peoples) will have to live with the oil slicks, (not Victoria)

Debbie was best; she alone let deep feeling color her voices’ tone

(The Hecate) is our table, it has fed us for millennia, and it must be able to sustain us for the next 5000 years.
that is the Tsimshian’s bottom line. (my paraphrase)

Other good ‘scores’: Senior governments “have a legal duty to consult” (with Tsimshian & Haida)—not just send emails to MLA; or “The mayor of Port Hardy thinks his community is the likely service center for the offshore oil industry

Thorkelson surprised

Who Benefits?

Joy came prepared: “the fishing industry right now provides over 100 million$ to the regional economy. Shoreworkers alone earn 28M$.

Plus Joy quoted from Shell’s 1984 studies on estimating numbers of local jobs.

A friendly question from audience allowed her to explain how crab larvae might be at risk in Hecate from oil

(the)” Risk is acceptable to me”

McGuigan was self assured

Superficially the man seems to be an expert—“I refer you to page 63 of the recent (Oct 19^th) study”, he answered one question on seismicity. And he fired off at moments thought no Canadian oil blow out (offshore?) since 1984(?).
Of course he is the source of much misinformation/ hype locally: ‘9.8 billion barrels of oil offshore’, why that must = a gazillion$; Better than Hibernia., Canada has strongest Environmental (regulations?) in world; etc.

WWF’s Patterson

Michele was at some disadvantage in that she did not want to go stray away from her area of expertise: the environment and the need for careful planning with all values taken into consideration. So she avoided many of the other topics. Still she was able to question McGuigan’s reference to page 63. She too had read the report and thought the seismicity issue was not settled there.

Keeping all the balls rolling

Like Michele Scott has difficult job, but he in contrast has to represent  a diversity of opinions, though he himself showed little doubt that oil could be safely taken from Hecate.
He saw the offshore as perfect opportunity: no taxes needed from us, foreign interests provide the capital and expertise; all we have to do is rake in the $