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Tory candidate says pipeline oil spills aren’t a problem because ‘land will absorb it’

Tory candidate says pipeline oil spills aren’t a problem because ‘land will absorb it’

Former science teacher and Conservative candidate Sabrina Zuniga says oil spills from pipelines are no problem because oil is a natural substance.

The Tory contender in the Toronto riding of Spadina-Fort York made the comments in a recent interview with CPAC.

“We have the technology … to keep the pipeline safe, to cut off if anything is going to spill,” she said. “Oil is a natural substance. So spilling into the environment, the land will absorb it because that’s what oil is. It’s just when there is too much at once, that’s when the difficulty comes in.”

It’s true: oil is a natural substance. So are cyanide and sulphuric acid.

And yes, the land does absorb oil, which then contaminates the ground and the groundwater. Crude oil contains hundreds of components, some of them highly toxic and harmful to humans, like mercury, toluene and xylene, some of them known carcinogens like benzene and chromium.

Study after study after study has found long-term damage to agriculture and drinking water supplies in the wake of oil spills.

Zuniga’s party has backed several pipeline projects, including the Keystone XL, which is still awaiting American approval.

“A lot of people would like to see the pipeline get going and go through because it is a safer method than putting them on trains, for instance. And I come back to my interest in technology and innovation…”

Zuniga points out in the interview that she taught high school “science and … biology and chemistry.”

In her riding, Zuniga is up against two high-profile candidates: Liberal incumbent Adam Vaughan, and former NDP MP Olivia Chow.

Zuniga wasn’t immediately available for comment.