Re: (B.C. Views, April 29)

I think the operative word that eludes Mr. FletcherB次元官网网址檚 description of the recent spill and cleanup of oil in English Bay is B次元官网网址減reparedness.B次元官网网址�

He derides just about everyone who might have a criticism of our current federal government policies regarding the West Coast in general, because disaster after disaster hasnB次元官网网址檛 piled upon itself like so many ship wrecks on the rocks.

In his own words: B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been two years, and nobody has [drowned]B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� this in regard to the closing of Kitsilano Coast Guard station.  Likewise, the  recent oil spill can be considered a trial run for B次元官网网址渢he big oneB次元官网网址� (not the earthquake/tsunami big one), as tanker traffic is ramped up, even as resources to battle what some people call the inevitable (not Mr. Fletcher though) are reduced.

The English Bay spill was 3,000 litres.  A supertanker spill could be as much as 300,000 barrels. Are we prepared for that? From the example of  the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska (250,000 barrels), we are not ready for much more than a ship casually pumping out its ballast.

But, according to Mr. Fletcher, because it hasnB次元官网网址檛 happened, it apparently can never happen. The B次元官网网址渉ysteriaB次元官网网址� surrounding our wee oil spill is nothing more than shrieking B次元官网网址渢he sky is falling, the sky is falling.B次元官网网址�

To interpret his response to media/public responses over the oil spill, if we apply it to the schools across this province, there is no need for earthquake upgrades B次元官网网址� because there hasnB次元官网网址檛 yet been a school that has collapsed from an earthquake.

Richard Weatherill

Saanich