Kinder Morgan Deadline Day for Dead End Deal

Kinder Morgan NEB Deadline Today: Strong Public Response Despite "Restrictive and Dismantled" Process

by ForestEthics Advocacy

VANCOUVER - Today is the last day to file applications to be an intervenor in the National Energy Board’s public consultation process for Kinder Morgan’s proposed new Trans Mountain pipeline.

In recent weeks, hundreds of people have packed their local MP's office in Burnaby to get assistance to fill out the complicated application form. Similar sessions were organized by community groups throughout the region to help people navigate the new, more difficult process to participate in the National Energy Board (NEB) hearings. The new form is part of a new NEB public consultation process that critics say limits and discourages public participation.

"It’s great to see so many people still dedicated to trying to make public processes work even when faced with a Prime Minister who seems to be obsessed with stacking the deck against anyone who disagrees with him about new pipelines and oil tankers," said Ben West, a Campaign Director at ForestEthics Advocacy.

“It's really shocking to see all the ways the Harper government is undermining democracy in Canada right now," said West. "Spying on people, the robocall scandal, the dismantling of the public consultation process, attacking charities, funding massive advertising campaigns in support of industry and now even making changes to the Elections Act that limit public participation and oversight. This assault on democracy has to stop.”

There is strong public interest in participating in the Kinder Morgan NEB hearings, despite the Board’s disappointing conditional approval to the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. Many municipalities in Metro Vancouver and along the proposed new pipeline route have filed to be intervenors in the NEB hearings. This includes the City of Vancouver and the City of Burnaby, who have come out strongly against the tar sands pipeline proposal.

"The NEB process is fatally flawed, not least because they do not consider the impact of these tar sands pipelines and related tar sands expansion on climate change," said West. 

Government changes to NEB hearings mean that anyone wanting to submit a letter of comment must complete an 11 step application just for a chance to intervene in the process. The timeline is frantically shortened and the NEB reserves the right to exclude anyone not “directly affected” by the proposed project.

“Everyone would be affected by oil spills and climate change -- with Kinder Morgan we are seeing that restricting participation in the NEB process is anti-democratic and potentially unconstitutional,” said West.

“The NEB hearings are not the only way to stop the project but people aren't giving up their faith in democracy - Harper can't take that away from us,” said West. “The politicians give the permits but only the people give permission, and Kinder Morgan just like Enbridge will not get permission from the people of B.C.”

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For Immediate Release - Wednesday, February 12, 2014
For more information contact:
Ben West, Tar Sands Campaign Director,
ForestEthics Advocacy