Dear Prime Minister Harper and Premier Campbell,
We, the undersigned come from all walks of life. Yet we are united in our opinion that the proposed Pacific Gateway Project will have strong negative consequences for a very precious resource - the remaining natural ecosystems of the Lower Fraser River Valley in British Columbia, Canada.
The value of the ecological goods and services offered by the wetlands, lakes, rivers and ocean shore of the Lower Fraser Valley is very high. After over 100 years of industrialization, much of the original pristine wilderness is lost. With the creation of the Pacific Gateway Project, we stand to lose even more of what remains. One clear example is that our most prominent scientists claim they cannot accurately predict the impact such massive developments and the vehicle traffic they encourage, will have on present, ever-decreasing wild salmon populations on the Fraser River. The mightiest salmon river in the world has always been a freshwater highway for millions of fish. Today they already face significant, multiple threats and are declining drastically in numbers.
Your government's solution to the issues is to mitigate the impacts. But mitigation is a marginal undertaking at the best of times. Our existing natural ecosystems are highly compromised and they are not strong enough to withstand more degradation. The time for anything less than drastic re-thinking of the goals and strategies of a mega-project like this is over!
The Pacific Gateway Project offers, at best, a 20th century solution to a uniquely 21st century problem. It represents a step backwards from the real, sustainable solutions available in today's society. We can no longer afford to think in terms of a simple trade-off between a healthy economy and healthy ecosystems. There are other options at hand.
We, in British Columbia and Canada, still have the gift of what much of the world has lost - wild salmon, biodiversity and natural assets in relative abundance. These are critical elements of the Canada we all know and love. We ask that you exhibit the courage and foresight to show how British Columbia and Canada can honestly provide real environmental stewardship and leadership to the rest of the world.
Show our children that you care about their children's future. We are poised at this moment in history to positively reconcile our relationship with the earth by discontinuing the present pathway to the unsustainable future the Pacific Gateway Project represents.
"Yes" to the renewed ecological health of the Lower Fraser Valley! Absolutely "No!" to the Pacific Gateway Project!
