When a Greater Victoria teenager含羞草研究社檚 petition against the Coastal GasLink pipeline got to 200 signatures last month, his aunt congratulated him on its progress. He responded by telling her he hoped it would reach 800 signatures by March.

A week later, was at 16,000.

含羞草研究社淚t totally blew me away,含羞草研究社� said Troy Patterson.

The Claremont Secondary School student含羞草研究社檚 petition is now at over 23,000 signatures. The petition calls for construction of the pipeline to stop as Patterson is concerned about its potential impact on the Great Bear Rainforest and marine life.

含羞草研究社淭his is one of the last wild places in B.C.,含羞草研究社� Patterson said. 含羞草研究社淚 thought 含羞草研究社榃hat can I do as a youth?含羞草研究社� and I thought a petition would be the best way to go about that.含羞草研究社�

Patterson first got involved in environmentalism about a year ago, after he visited an old-growth forest. That interest in conservation has continued to grow as he含羞草研究社檚 currently taking a course in school that revolves around the environment.

The 15-year-old said environmental issues have fallen out of the spotlight during the pandemic.

含羞草研究社淚 needed to bring this back up so people can remember and start to make a change.含羞草研究社�

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Once completed, TC Energy含羞草研究社檚 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline will transport natural gas from the Dawson Creek area to the LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat, where the company says it含羞草研究社檒l be converted into liquefied natural gas and shipped to global markets.

One of Patterson含羞草研究社檚 main concerns is the impact on wildlife if LNG carrier-ship traffic increases in the province含羞草研究社檚 northern waters. One species he含羞草研究社檚 worried about is the endangered fin whale 含羞草研究社� which the federal government says can be found in some deep channels between islands along British Columbia含羞草研究社檚 northern coast.

含羞草研究社淭he marine ecosystem is much at stake here,含羞草研究社� Patterson said. 含羞草研究社淭he tankers have to traverse some quite sharp turns and passages.含羞草研究社�

Patterson has reached out to Premier John Horgan, Environment Minister George Heyman, Forests Minister Katrine Conroy and several local MLAs to raise his concerns.

含羞草研究社淚 think in B.C. we含羞草研究社檙e quite connected to the environment with it all right in our backyard,含羞草研究社� Patterson said. 含羞草研究社淚 would like to see the B.C. government recognize it too and push to a more sustainable future.含羞草研究社�

The province含羞草研究社檚 Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy said the pipeline含羞草研究社檚 construction and operation 含羞草研究社渨ill not involve any effects to marine life or marine traffic.含羞草研究社�

含羞草研究社淣or does the pipeline cross the Great Bear Rainforest and, as such, these effects were not assessed for the Coastal GasLink project,含羞草研究社� an email from the ministry said.

含羞草研究社漅egarding the LNG Canada project, impacts on marine shipping and marine life were considered through the environmental assessment certificate process.含羞草研究社�

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