Dear Editor,
Among the many important reasons for denouncing the plan to build an LNG plant in Howe Sound near Woodfibre, I wish to speak for the thousands of children attending nine summer camps in and around Howe Sound. These children spend their time on the water sailing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming and playing. My concerns for the additional, and very large, shipping traffic entering Howe Sound pose significant direct safety risks to these children and their leaders. These freighters may be traveling at moderate speeds (relative to their capability) but they will certainly be much faster than the children will be able to paddle, and the distance the freighters require to stop or maneuver is immense. How will our government feel if even ONE child is injured or killed by an LNG ship nearly twice as large as the largest BC Ferry? The “cost of doing business” will be cold comfort to the parents and camp staff if this should ever come to pass.
This direct safety concern alone is enough to give pause to most parents considering a summer program for their children. However, it is not the biggest concern that the summer camps in Howe Sound have when considering this new industry in our midst.
The degradation of the quality of the Sound in general due to the pollution, noise, smell, shipping traffic and the effects of all these to the fish, birds, porpoise, and whale populations which so many have been striving for years to encourage BACK to Howe Sound will be negatively impacted, and this assumes that “all goes well”!
One leak, one spill, will put this incredible ecosystem, harmoniously located adjacent to the bustling city of Vancouver, and no doubt the reason for all the camps in this location, at grave risk.
Youth camping is not an insignificant element of the provincial budget. There are nearly 60 summer camps in BC that employ hundreds, serve thousands and offer life-changing programs for many, and life-saving opportunities for a critical few.
Please reconsider this type of project from the standpoint of our children and the program managers who desire to help them as they make important steps toward adulthood through a variety of Howe Sound-based summer camping programs.
Sincerely,
Jon Heath
Camp Bow-Isle
