CN to donate to Salmon Foundation

Canoe News

By STEVE MERTL

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

SQUAMISH, B.C. (CP) - Less than two weeks after one of its freight cars dumped lethal amounts of chemicals into the Cheakamus River, CN Rail made a sizeable contribution to the local watershed salmon-recovery program.

CN senior vice-president Peter Marshall announced the Montreal-based railway will donate $250,000 to the Pacific Salmon Foundation to help kickstart work on the salmon recovery plan for the Squamish River watershed. An official of the Squamish Watershed Society said the money will be very welcome for assessment and administrative work that's normally hard to fund.

With the milky-green Cheakamus flowing behind them, Marshall and foundation executive-director Paul Kariya stressed the money is not simply a one-time gift.

"I'm here to let you know that we are here for the long term," said Marshall, who is based in Edmonton and in charge of CN's western operations.

"I've learned today there's a lot of work that has been done on the Cheakamus River."

The donation - which more than doubles the watershed society's 2005 budget of $150,000 - is over and above CN's undetermined costs for cleanup and remediation of the spill's damage, he said.

"We are looking to jumpstart the program," said Marshall. "This is not a short-term fix."

A CN freight train headed for Prince George derailed over the Cheakamus Canyon on Aug. 5. A tanker ruptured, spilling more than 40,000 litres of highly corrosive sodium hydroxide or caustic soda into the river.

The spill immediately killed thousands of fish, as well as some animals that had eaten the carcasses. People were warned to stay away from the river and nearby residents barred from using their wells for several days.

The Squamish River system - the Cheakamus is a tributary - has been listed "at risk" because of habitat destruction and the impact of the Daisy Lake hydro dam built in 1957.

The foundation's recovery plan was tabled last May but work has been going on for several years.

Kariya praised CN's "substantial commitment," and played down the spill's impact on the watershed's overall recovery.

"There is a plan and I think that's what's important," he said but added, "Let's face it, there was a fish-kill. It's going to take some effort to get ahead of the curve."

CN has been facing a barrage of bad public relations since a massive oil and chemical spill on Lake Wabamun in Alberta after a CN freight train derailed, followed a couple of days later by the Cheakamus spill.

The railway was criticized for its lack of communications and perceived slow response to the mishaps.

The donation was clearly aimed to help CN's public relations but welcome nonetheless, said the watershed society's Carl Halvorson, a technical adviser on the watershed recovery plan.

Most donors want to attach their money to physical works, he said.

"They want to have X number of square feet of actual habitat built, so if you're doing non-construction, it's very hard to get funding," he said. "This type of money makes it a lot easier to do the assessment work that needs to be done before you can actually start working on the ground."

Halvorson helped save a lot of young salmon by shutting off intake valves leading to three fish-rearing channels from the river. He said he was tipped off by a contractor who also does work for CN had been monitoring the railway's radio frequencies.

Halvorson said CN initially called it a minor chemical spill that would disperse but he rushed to the river after the contractor called back to report dead fish and foam on the water.

Several members of the Squamish First Nation attended the announcement.

Linda Williams led the group in a healing song and said the derailment was another sign that the Earth was out of balance.

Al Lewis, holding his infant grandson, sought assurances from Marshall the railway would concern itself with the spill's impact on the entire eco-system.

Marshall shed no new light on the cause of the derailment, saying the investigation continues.

He also defended CN's existing procedures against critics, including its own unions, that freight trains using the former B.C. Rail line north from Vancouver were too long and not sufficiently crewed or inspected.

"Safety is a core value at CN," he said, but added there were no immediate plans to change procedures or bar chemical shipments on the line. "We have a responsibility to our customers."

© Canoe News 2005