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First, for the majority of those living in Canada’s Pacific province, this conflict isn’t about adding a second pipeline parallel to one that has already been in the ground for decades. That’s a sideshow. The real sticking point is what happens once the diluted bitumen in those pipelines makes its way to open water – and the risks associated with a tanker accident or spill at sea.

This worries three-quarters of British Columbians – including more than half of those who support the project. Indeed, this is the fear west coasters express five time as much as any other concern associated with Kinder Morgan’s plans.

Compounding their anxiety are serious doubts about the quality of existing plans to prevent or respond to a spill on the water. The majority evince little confidence in current procedures. Twice as many (27 per cent) say they are “not confident at all” as say they’re “very confident” (14 per cent).

Second, while British Columbians have little appetite to put up with the threats – real and considered – from Alberta and the federal government (two-thirds say compromise and incentives are the way to turn the temperature down), they have even less appetite to be in a fight with the rest of the country on issues of jurisdiction. This reticence is enough to move them towards accepting the completion of the project.

Seven-in-10 say that if the courts rule that the NDP government in B.C. don’t have the authority to continue trying to block the project, John Horgan and his cabinet should give in and stop fighting. Among the majority that feels this way are more than one-third of those who say they are opposed to the project today.