The City of Burnaby is lobbying for the support of the Union of B.C. Municipalities in its fight against Kinder Morgan over the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.
On Monday, Burnaby city council voted in favour of forwarding an emergency resolution to the UBCM – which is holding its 2014 conference next month – in an effort to prevent the energy company from conducting land surveys as it looks to tunnel through Burnaby Mountain. The move comes after the National Energy Board granted Kinder Morgan access to city land for examination purposes.
The resolution is critical of the NEB’s public hearing process, or lack thereof. A report before council called the process “unbalanced, unfair, and biased in favor of the applicant's corporate interests over the protection of the public from significant environmental, social and economic impacts.”
Coun. Anne Kang said for previous major energy projects, the NEB allowed for traditional public hearings where citizens and groups could vocalize their concerns and ask questions, unlike the current process where they can only submit letters.
“Now we see the loss of both oral hearings and cross-examination of evidence by concerned citizens and other entities such as local government as ourselves, environmental groups or even lawyers,” she said.
“I don’t think this is right. I believe that there should be a proper public hearing where people can come in and examine the application, view the documents and evidence, and ask questions that they’d have to answer publicly.”
Coun. Colleen Jordan noted the council's criticism is not rooted in its long-held stance against the pipeline, but rather is about the fairness of the consultation process.
“This is about a process for public engagement and an opportunity to let people ask questions,” she said.
Mayor Derek Corrigan echoed her sentiments, saying, “Whether you’re for or against the Kinder Morgan project, you should want a fair process.”
Coun. Paul McDonell called the current hearing process “as far as you could go for injustice” and Coun. Pietro Calendino slammed the Harper Government for “stripping citizens of their democratic right to express approval or disapproval for a major project.”
Before council voted on the resolution, Corrigan said disallowing citizens the opportunity to speak about the project can cause them to lose trust in the public hearing system.
“People lose faith in public institutions when people no longer believe that the process is fair or that the people who are making the decision are actually listening to what’s being said by citizens. That’s what’s happening here.”
