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That statement may rankle many in the country who question one or more claims. Yet what is the Canadian gauge for measurement? An inside scale with finer and finer increments placed on top of national, provincial or civic issues? Surely, the maxim “Think globally; act locally,” also suggests an assessment of our country viewed from an outside scale, measured against a yardstick of global norms.

Which brings me to the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the source of much contention these days. The sixty-five-year-old steel tube in the ground has many stories to tell. My favourite is the tale of the oil tanker Kimon.

The Kimon Saga

On a typically drizzly Vancouver day, the Kimon’s Greek captain (I’ll call him Nick) had docked uneventfully and was ready to take on its cargo: nearly 200,000 barrels of oil.

Hoses began filling the ship’s hold, drawing oil from the white storage tanks on shore. The vessels were well stocked, having been filled with crude from the Trans Mountain pipeline. As its name implies, the pipe transports oil over two mountain ranges, first the Rocky Mountains then the Cascades. It’s a 1,000 kilometre east-to-west journey from the oil fields of Alberta to the coast of British Columbia.

While the oil was loading, Captain Nick was planning the ship’s 14,000 kilometre, nearly 30-day route. He would navigate through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, out to the Pacific Ocean, down the west coast of North America to the Panama Canal. There he would cut through to the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida, up the Atlantic Coast finally pulling into the St. Lawrence Seaway to the port of Montreal.