British Columbia’s north coast is so rich with ecological activity that at any given time of year, you can be sure that some remarkable process is underway. As we slowly progress out of winter, the oolichan—a smelt found along the Pacific coast—are finding their way from the coast up the Skeena River. Right now the seagulls, ravens, and eagles are gorging on the oolichan—a sign the herring will soon be arriving and fishing will begin.

While the Haisla and Gitga’at First Nations who live on B.C.’s north coast prepare to gather herring roe on kelp, the people around Prince William Sound must go without. The herring collapsed 22 years ago when the Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, gushing crude from a gash in the hull. Some 12.9 billion herring were wiped out when 40 million litres of crude spilled into Prince William Sound.

And it is exactly this that we fear for British Columbia’s rugged coast with Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project—a catastrophic oil spill.

Enbridge’s proposed project would bring tar sands to B.C.’s coast at Kitimat where 225 oil tankers, many of them VLCCs (very large crude carriers), would travel down the coast for the first time in history. These massive supertankers, with a deck size larger than 13 NHL hockey rinks, would navigate the tricky entrance to Douglas Channel, travel along the rough channel past the shores of the Great Bear Rainforest, and pass close by Gil Island. Gil Island is where B.C. Ferries’ Queen of the North ran aground and sank in 2006.

The very same waters these oil supertankers would navigate are the habitat for a complex ecosystem of species such as herring; coho, chinook, pink, chum, and sockeye salmon; crabs; halibut; a variety of clams; squid; sea cucumber; sea urchins; shrimp; seals; sea lions; sea otters; orcas; and humpbacks, to name but a few.

Are we prepared to risk losing the rich and diverse coastal ecosystem that is so vital to the cultures, local economies, and quality of life of the Northwest? Two hundred and twenty-five tankers per year, every year, for the life of the pipeline. Is that a risk we want to take? Canadians have an opportunity to prevent precisely the kind of disaster that happened to our Alaskan neighbours from befalling our own precious coast.

We need to make sure a tanker ban is legislated for our northern waters and vote accordingly. The legislated ban on tankers is supported by over 70 First Nations, B.C. municipal leaders, the federal Liberals, NDP, and the Bloc Québécois. Polls show that 80 percent of British Columbians support a ban on tankers on the Pacific north coast. Commercial fisheries and wilderness tourism associations are advocating for coastal protection from tankers.

Over the past year, tragedies in the Gulf of Mexico, Michigan’s Kalamazoo River, and now Japan’s Fukushima, have showed us something we all inherently know: high-risk energy projects can have unpredictable, catastrophic consequences. While we need to transition off fossil fuels for climate change reasons, we also need to transition to cleaner, safer, low-impact energy sources that will never result in the kinds of tragic deaths and losses of entire ecosystems we are witnessing today. The recent tragedies in Japan are a grim reminder that we need to plan thoughtfully and learn from our mistakes.

Enbridge’s tar sands pipeline and tanker project represents the status quo mentality—the same mentality that resulted in so much pain and hardship for the people of Alaska: residents, communities, fishermen, and animals suffered. You’ve heard before and I’ll say it again: accidents are inevitable. There are no guarantees in technology, and for the Enbridge Northern Gateway project, the stakes are simply too high.

British Columbia’s rugged coast is one of the world’s most awe-inspiring landscapes. Each year thousands of people from around the world travel here to experience and witness the beauty of this pristine terrain. An oil spill on our coast would be an unimaginable tragedy. A permanent tanker ban to continue protecting this Canadian treasure is key to our heritage and our future. Let’s protect this British Columbia that we call home: we need to vote in support of our coast by supporting those willing to pass a tanker ban. It’s time we stand up for our coast, our people, and our identity.

Nikki Skuce is senior energy campaigner for ForestEthics.