“As a proud Canadian, protecting our coast is one of our greatest priorities,” says a full page ad in the Morning Star by Janet Holder, leader of Northern Gateway.
It is reasonable to assume that Northern Gateway’s liability for a marine oil spill ends when tankers leave port.
And since foreign owned tankers will most likely sail under a flag of convenience, clean-up funds will not be available and the B.C. taxpayer will be on the hook.
It is also interesting to note that there exists only a limited partnership between Enbridge andNorthern Gateway, which means Enbridge cannot lose more than its contribution to the capital of the limited partnership.
Limited partnerships are special form of partnership when a business wishes to limit liability for potential debts, which would provide limited access to cash resources in the event of an oil spill at sea or on land. Northern Gateway Pipelines could simply declare bankruptcy and Enbridge would be off the hook.
Casey Berlanda
Vernon
