COST OF A SPILL

The Numbers

$9B

Taxpayer Liability

Estimated taxpayer exposure if a supertanker spills and corporate liability caps are met and other available spill-focused funding is exhausted.

318M

Litres Per Ship

Volume of crude oil carried by a single supertanker transiting our coast.

$11B

At Stake Annually

The current annual value of BC's coastal economy — fishing, tourism, and local business.

100

Permanent Jobs

Roughly the permanent jobs created by similar pipeline expansions — not enough to justify putting coastal communities in the path of a spill.

A Working Coast That Supports Real Families

Commercial Fishing

Generations of families have built their livelihoods on these waters. A single major spill ends many fisheries— not for a season, but forever.

Coastal Tourism

Whale watching, sport fishing, eco-tourism — these industries depend entirely on clean water and an unspoiled coastline.

Retiree Property Values

Coastal homes represent a lifetime of work. Tanker traffic and spill risk would collapse property values that retirees depend on.

Local Control vs. Outside Pressure

Don't Let Them Trade Away Our Coast

The pressure to lift the ban is mounting in Ottawa. They think rural BC won't notice until the tankers are already on the horizon.

This is a decision being made by people who will never smell a spill, never lose a fishing licence, and never watch their property value disappear. They are betting with our lives and our livelihoods.

The tanker ban has protected this coast for years. It exists because communities like ours fought for it. Now we have to fight to keep it.


Sources:

Business in Vancouver

Oil spill off B.C. coast could cost $9.6b and wipe out pipeline benefits: UBC

An oil spill off B.C.’s coast could cost up to $9.6 billion, according to a University of British Columbia (UBC) study released yesterday.

oceans.ubc.ca

UBC

We have detected excess or unusual web requests originating from your browser, and are unable to determine whether these requests are automated.

Environmental Defence

Deceptive Trans Mountain Pipeline ads leave Alberta taxpayers on the hook for $10 million - Environmental Defence

The Alberta government is spending millions of public dollars on a fact-challenged ad campaign to trick Canadians into supporting Trans Mountain.