mla report From
OPINIONS
OPINIONS
OPINIONS
nancy Heppner
Page 14 - aUgUst 4, 2016 - martensville messenger
roads to recreation southeast of Green
Phone: 306-668-1093 Email: [email protected]
and relaxation
leading to various
68-1093
Email:
[email protected]
receiving
ne: 306-668-1093 Email: [email protected] Upgrades destinations;
Pipelines Do not
get Free Pass
Before we go much further
into the dangers of pipelines
in the wake of the very poor
handling of the Husky Oil
North Saskatchewan River
spill, let us quickly explore
a less publicized news story
this week.
Federal Transport Minister
Marc Garneau announced
last week that, starting in
November, tanker cars like
the ones involved in the
Lac-Mégantic, Que. disaster
won’t be transporting oil in
Canada any more.
"The
Lac-Mégantic
tragedy reminds us of the
importance of staying
vigilant in order to ensure
security while transporting
dangerous goods across
Canada," Garneau said,
of the DOT-111 cars that
will phase out from oil
transportation six months
earlier than planned.
The federal minister’s
message was an important
one for obvious reasons.
The July 6, 2013 derailment
killed 47 people when
the cars barreled into the
community’s
downtown.
And notwithstanding these
attempts to make moving
oil by rail safer, there were
146,000 shipments of crude
oil down the tracks in
Canada.
Simply put, an oil rail
derailment poses risks to
both public safety and the
environment, which is why
Premier Brad continues to
argue for pipelines - even
in the wake of the mess
we now see on the North
Saskatchewan River shores.
But that in no way means
pipeline safety gets a free
pass from Wall or any
government
leader. Sadly, he
Saskatchewan
Party
administration
could have done much
more before and after
this disaster. Sure, some
argue the July 21st
spill of
250,000 litres
of heavy oil from the
Husky Oil pipeline into
the North Saskatchewan
River is small by industry
standards. The pipeline
spill
in
Kalamazoo,
Michigan spilled 16 times
more oil into local waters.
But consider the impact of
this supposed “small spill.”
Major
Saskatchewan
communities like North
Battleford, Melfort and
Prince Albert have been
ordered
to
preserve
water. This has included
Saskatchewan`s
third
largest city having to get
a 30-kilomtetre hose to
pump in water from a safe
source.
Small communities and
farms along the river have
simply been left to their
own devices. And the
situation could go on for
weeks … if not months.
And, frighteningly, spills
are more common than
we think. According to
the Environment Ministry,
there have been 8,360
spills in Saskatchewan
since 2006 (with Husky Oil
responsible for 1,463). In
fact, there have been 18,000
such Saskatchewan spills
since 1990 and government
is spending less - not more
resources - when it comes
to monitoring them.
The 2016-17 budget cut
funding for the Petroleum
and Natural Gas branch
by $2.7 million. And while
Provincial
Politics
with
Murray Mandryk
that did not result in layoffs among the 27 pipeline
inspectors in Estevan,
Kindersley,
Swift
Current,
Lloydminster
and Regina, there is less
than one inspector for
every 1,000 kilometres of
pipeline in this province.
More accountability is
required. It took Husky
Oil 14 hours to shut off
the leak because it only
identified it as “pressure
anomaly.” Sadly, we are
instead seeing “regulation
by declaration” in this
industry because the
government cannot keep
up. Yet Wall and company
certainly demonstrated
no urgency in personally
addressing the matter.
Wall took a mindboggling six days after the
July 21st spill to account
to speak to reporters. And
even though Wall finally
did say last Wednesday he
was not satisfied with the
response and promised to
tour the area the next day,
he also insisted enough
checks and balances
were in place and that
there was no “egregious
error or bad judgement".
No egregious error or
bad judgement, yet rural
communities and bigger
cities are now in crisis
because of this spill.
One cannot help but
think that the promotion
of moving oil by pipeline
rather than rail is the
reason for this tepid
response from Wall.
Pipelines are likely safer,
but this does not mean
Wall gets to give pipeline
safety a free pass.
Highway work and bridge
construction that is planned
and underway will make
for a smoother drive to
the lake, your campsite or
other summer destination.
Highway improvements
include grading, paving,
spot improvements and
rut filling. Leading into
August long weekend,
projects near recreational
areas include:
•
Highway
2
near Diefenbaker Bridge
leading to various lake
destinations
including
Prince Albert National
Park;
Lake
lake
•
Highway 56 at the
Pasqua Lake Access;
•
Highway 120 near
Candle Lake;
•
Highway 263 near
Christopher Lake; and
•
Highways
322
and 220 leading to Last
Mountain Lake.
Future
projects
under
the Highways 2020 Plan
include:
•
Highway 45 south
of Outlook near Danielson
Provincial Park.
•
Highway 26 near
Loon Lake;
If you’re planning a trip this
summer, check the Highway
Hotline for information on
construction,
emergency
road closures, the status of
ferries, barges and other
road activities.
•
Highway 42 from
Keeler to Eyebrow leading
to Douglas and Danielson
Provincial Parks;
nominations Open
for Premier’s service
Club award
•
Service clubs and fraternal
•
Highway 21 near
Maple Creek near Cypress
Hills;
Highway
55
ABOVE: MLA Nancy Hepner
organizations
make
exceptional
contributions
to
communities
across
the
province,
making
Saskatchewan an even greater
place to live.
Launched in 2013, the
Premier’s
Service
Club
Award acknowledges the
clubs and organizations that
help to improve quality of
life in communities across the
province.
Voluntary, non-profit service
and fraternal clubs that
perform charitable work by
hands-on effort or raising
money for other organizations
are eligible for an award.
For more information or to
submit a nomination, visit
w w w. s a s k a t c h e w a n . c a /
premierserviceclubaward,
email [email protected] or
call toll free: 1-877-427-5505.
Letter to the Editor
The Martensville Messenger welcomes l etters to the editor for publication. Letters must be signed and a phone number and/or email address included so
the writer’s identity can be verified. ALL letters are the opinion of the writer and NOT the Martensville Messenger. We reserve the right to edit letters
for length, clarity or compliance with the current standards of public taste. Submit your letter to [email protected] or jottenbreit@
martensvillemessenger.ca or drop by the Martensville Messenger office at Bay #7 - 301 Centennial Drive North.
Marcy’s
Adventures
How Do You Plan to spend Your
extra second?
2016 will be one second
longer
than
expected
according to timekeepers
at the International Earth
Rotation and Reference
Systems Service. The time
is determined by superregular atomic clocks and
the observed rotation of
Earth. They have yet again
become mismatched. The
additional second was added
to the clock on July 1st.
As an efficient person who
treasures every moment I
will plan my extra second
carefully to maximize its
impact. My first choice in
how I will use my extra
will be to spend it with
my g.i.s.h.w.h.e.s. (which
stands for the Greatest
International
Scavenger
Hunt the World Has
Ever Seen team Wonder
Women). The g.i.s.h.w.h.e.s
challenges will be taking
place between July 30th
and August 6th. Some
challenges are very artistic
in nature and some are just
plain silly. A number of
challenges ask participants
to fashion clothing out of
food products. My favorite
tasks ask participants to
read to people in care
homes and do errands for
neighbours who would
otherwise not be able to.
The enjoyable g.i.s.h.w.h.e.s
contest is a 7-time Guinness
World Record breaking
scavenger
hunt
hosted
by Misha Collins of
Supernatural tv show fame,
that you can compete in
from anywhere in the world.
The team that scavenges the
most items with the highest
quality of submissions
joins Misha Collins on an
all-expenses paid trip to
Iceland. All the other teams
walk away with a heightened
perspective
on
their
capabilities, and memories
of an amazing week.
Your City; Your Newspaper