KITIMAT 鈥� The residents of Kitimat have voted against the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project in a non-binding plebiscite.
The ballot count from Saturday鈥檚 vote was 1,793 opposed versus 1,278 who supported the multibillion-dollar project 鈥� a margin of 58.4 per cent to 41.6 per cent.
The $6.5-billion project would see two pipelines, one carrying oilsands bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat鈥檚 port, and a second carrying condensate 鈥� a form of natural gas used to dilute the bitumen 鈥� from Kitimat back to Alberta.
Kitimat also would be the site of a proposed two-berth marine terminal and tank farm to store the thick Alberta crude before it鈥檚 loaded onto tankers for shipment to Asia.
Until this vote, Kitimat had remained neutral in its opinion on the controversial project. It didn鈥檛 take part in the joint-review process, which heard from hundreds of people before a federal panel approved the project with 209 conditions.
The federal cabinet is expected to release its decision on Northern Gateway by June.
Opponents and supporters of the project tried to persuade voters on their respective points of view.
As locals were casting their ballots Saturday, they expressed mixed feelings about the vote.
鈥淎ll the hoopla didn鈥檛 change our minds, we already knew how we were going to vote,鈥� Donna Crist said.
鈥淭he plebiscite is a waste of money because it鈥檚 non-binding 鈥� who cares?鈥� said a man who would not give his name.
Northern Gateway鈥檚 campaign concentrated on the promise of 180 permanent, direct, local jobs worth $17 million and more spinoff jobs for contractors and suppliers.
The company emphasized its commitment to safety and the environment, saying that the National Energy Board Joint Review Panel, which held two years of hearings on the project, has made many of the company鈥檚 voluntary commitments a mandatory part of the conditions for approval.
The main opponent, the local environmental group Douglas Channel Watch, maintains the risk from either a tanker accident or pipeline breach is too high for the small number of jobs the pipeline would bring to the community.
Murray Minchin of Douglas Channel Watch released his group鈥檚 advertising budget last week, showing it spent $14,362.92 on ads, supplies and other campaign expenses. He challenged Enbridge to release its ad budget.
Ivan Giesbrecht, a spokesman for Northern Gateway, said in an email that the company 鈥渨ill discuss our advertising spending after [the plebiscite] is over.鈥�
Warren Waycheshen, Kitimat鈥檚 deputy administrative officer, said about 1,300 people had cast their vote as of 3 p.m. Saturday.
More than 900 people voted in advance polls, much higher than the 470 early ballots cast before the 2011 municipal election, which had 4,200 registered voters.
Other than to gauge the public temperature around the heated issue of the proposed oil pipeline, it鈥檚 unclear 鈥� even to Kitimat council 鈥� what approval or rejection of the non-binding vote will mean.
A key reason for holding the vote was to fulfil a 2011 promise made by all municipal election candidates in Kitimat to poll citizens on the pipeline project.
Kitimat Mayor Joanne Monaghan had said the council would wait for the outcome before taking a stand. But it was clear during a debate earlier last month that even Kitimat councillors were uncertain what the decision would mean.
Coun. Corinne Scott said during the March council meeting that it seems clear the community remains split, no matter what the outcome.
