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More BCers oppose Gateway pipeline after map controversy, ad blitz: poll

A new poll suggests that 60 per cent of British Columbians now oppose the proposed Northern Gateway bitumen pipeline. And according to the results, controversy over Enbridge's tanker route map -- which omitted 1,000 square kilometres of islands in the Douglas Channel -- didn't help: 58 per cent of respondents who saw the map said that it worsened their opinion of the project.

Commissioned by the Gitga'at First Nation and carried out by Forum Research, the poll (hosted on this website) is the most recent survey of public opinion surrounding the pipeline project. Forum Research contacted 1,051 British Columbians, asking the same central question as in two other polls they have conducted on the issue: "Are you in favour or opposed to the Northern Gateway pipeline which would carry crude oil from the Alberta oil sands across the Rocky Mountains to the BC coast at Kitimat to be shipped by tanker to refineries in Asia?"

The poll comes six months after the start of a major, multimillion dollar ad campaign from Enbridge, which included TV and radio spots, and newspaper and online ads. It found that 86 per cent of respondents had seen some advertising from Enbridge in the last six months. Of those 86 per cent who had seen ads, 46 per cent had not changed their opinions, while 37 per cent said it made their impressions of the project worse.

"We don't have the resources to fight Enbridge's multi-million dollar advertising campaigns," said Cam Hill, Gitga'at councillor, in a statement released with the polling results.

"What we do have is the truth, and the truth is that a single oil spill in B.C.'s coastal waters could wipeout the traditional foods that feed our people. We don't want dead water."  

Last August, critics attacked Enbridge's depiction of the Douglas Channel, minus the channel's many islands, in a promotional video, accusing the company of misleading the public. An Enbridge spokesperson, Ted Nogier, told the Times Colonist that the map was for "illustrative purposes only," and that it wasn't to be taken as an accurate depiction of the channel.

Earlier polls from Forum have given similar results, but the trend in their results points toward growing opposition. Last January, opposition was 46 per cent, and by April it was at 52 per cent.

The Tyee has not yet been able to reach Enbridge for comment.

Jimmy Thomson is completing a practicum at The Tyee.

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