Lunn dead wrong on tanker issue

William Horter, June 13, 2007, Times Colonist -- Re: "Two takes on tankers," June 10. Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn might have the power to fast track six proposed tar-sands related projects for B.C.'s North Coast, but he doesn't have the power to change history by denying the existence of a well-documented tanker moratorium.

Lunn's "no-tanker-moratorium" claim is pure fiction. Since 1972, dozens of government documents, commissions and panel reports and official statements attest to the existence of the tanker moratorium.

As recently as 2003 the staff of Natural Resources Canada, Lunn's ministry, prepared a chronology which confirms the existence of the moratorium.

Lunn has yet to produce one federal document dated before his government took power that proves his claim that no oil-tanker moratorium exists.

Lunn is trying to reverse long-standing government policy. Since 1972 the governments of eight prime ministers have acknowledged and respected the tanker moratorium.

In contrast, since coming to power in 2006 Lunn and Prime Minister Stephen Harper have been spinning various excuses for sidestepping the tanker moratorium and fast tracking six tarsands-related projects that could require up to 320 oil and gas tankers in the treacherous northern waters.

After initially saying that the tanker moratorium only applies to north-south tankers, now they are saying there is no tanker moratorium, and there never was.

Eight in 10 British Columbians are concerned about the threat oil and gas tankers pose to fish, wildlife and coastal economies.