— by Joel Connelly, Seattle P-I —

Canada is not ready to respond to an oil tanker spill — large or small — in the Strait of Juan de Fuca or inland waters shared by Washington’s San Juan Islands and British Columbia’s Gulf Islands, according to a panel appointed by pro-oil Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

The Canadian waters “with the highest probability of a large spill occurring” are at the southern tip of Vancouver Island as well as the Cabot Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Eastern Canada, the panel concluded. And places with the “highest potential” for smaller spills include the southern coast of British Columbia, including Vancouver Island.

The panel’s report comes as Harper’s government is eager to give a green light to two huge pipeline projects that would see up to 650 tankers plying the British Columbia coastline.

(To read the full article, go to seattlepi.com/2013/12/03/canada-unprepared-for-oil-spill-in-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/ )

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