With a pad of paper and pen in hand, Pat Moser was on a mission in downtown Squamish.
A volunteer from the Dogwood Initiative, a non-profit environmental organization in the midst of a campaign against the proposed 1,177-kilometre Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, Moser visited town on Wednesday (Feb. 26). It's the first time in the group's 15-year history that it has brought one of its campaigns to Squamish.
We are trying to create a network from West Vancouver up to Pemberton, Moser said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet will ultimately decide whether to accept the National Energy Board's recommendation to approve the project if certain conditions are met. In anticipation for a yes, Dogwood is gearing up to undertake a citizens' initiative. That would put the decision in British Columbians' hands, Moser said.
Enacted in 1995, the province's Recall and Initiative Act allows registered B.C. voters to gather signatures of support on any matter within legislation's jurisdiction. If enough names are collected, the government must either introduce the proposal or take it to a referendum.
Should the feds rubber-stamp the pipeline project, Moser will become one of more than 8,400 volunteers gathering signatures against the project in all 85 B.C. electoral ridings. Dogwood would have 90 days to collect signatures from 10 per cent of B.C. voters approximately 4,500 people within the Sea to Sky Corridor, Moser noted.
The campaign is in its early stages in Squamish, he said. Currently the organization aims to start some kind of grassroots movement, Moser said, noting the group held a few meetings last week.
Just from walking around and talking to people, there are a verity of levels of information people are aware of, he said.
