Dear Editor:
I wish to offer my apologies for any offence my remarks quoted in your Nov. 27 story, 6 Hours to Contain Inlet Oil Spill, about the Tsleil-Waututh "setting their hair on fire" regarding the potential expansion of the Westshore Terminal may have caused.
I sincerely regret my intemperate remarks made in the heat of the moment during council's information-gathering session on the topic. I have worked for many years with several members of this First Nation and their advisers and have developed what I hope are friendships that will endure. I have also developed a deep empathy for the concerns of the Tsleil-Waututh and other First Nations as they struggle to protect and enhance their culture and traditions including their deep attachment to the environment.
If my worst fears are realized and the federal government approves the pipeline projects, it will be much better for First Nations generally and the Tsleil-Waututh specifically to be active participants in the design and implementation of preventative measures to protect the Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm environments as well as to be active partners in any mitigation efforts.
To rail against the general exploitation of oil resources and the associated environmental degradation caused is a worthy objective. It does not, however, contribute much to the debate as to whether I, as a district councillor, after gathering as much information as possible on the projects will lend my voice or support in favour or opposition to these two projects.
Alan Nixon, councillor,
District of North Vancouver
