I do not understand why the whole of Burnaby’s citizenry isn't standing up and howling with rage at the ineffectiveness of our federal Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the
National Energy Board (NEB), as well as at Kinder Morgan’s (KM) whining, and the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan’s interference.
On Oct. 23, concerned citizens held a "die-in" at the regional office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. A few of the organizers of this event went days in advance, to the office and explained the intent of the peaceful, theatrical event. It was to present a letter to the minister’s representative outlining the concerns of the citizens regarding the very real health and safety issues of the tank farm.
On the day, the participants were greeted with a locked door and no response from within.This is the minister whose mandate, according to the Government of Canada Emergency Management Framework text is “...to save lives, preserve the environment and protect property and the economy.” Please note that “to save lives” is first and “preserve the environment” second.
On this same day (the 23rd), an ad for a hiring fair for commissioners for this high-profile Public Safety Canada site in Burnaby appeared in the local Metro newspaper. Are these commissioners to protect the office (which by the way is on the sixth floor down a small corridor behind a locked door with a security camera for identification) from the Burnaby residents who are seeking solutions to the high risks we are being asked to accept because of a government that does not consider our health and safety?
How can a government dedicated to serving its people approve such a disaster waiting to happen in a densely populated, forested area on the side of a mountain? No other place on Earth would allow such a project to happen, without even considering the additional facts we are in an earthquake zone and the conditions of climate change have created drought and timber-dry fuel.
I would ask Minister Ralph Goodale, the Attorney General of Saskatchewan, the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the prime minister to contemplate having this in their backyard, below a university of 25,000-plus people, above elementary schools (perhaps where their children or grandchildren attend) and dense housing complexes. The proposed contents of this tank farm will triple the capacity but not area, of bitumen diluted with toxic chemicals (not conventional crude) and no emergency plan in case of fire or boil over. The emergency response plan trial run on Sept. 20, 2017 by Kinder Morgan addressed a truck backing into a pipe causing oil to "leak" out – a human error not a natural or chemical disaster. This is only part of condition 136 for its approval – not the full-scale exercise at the terminal (tank farm) required before construction.
Interesting to note that there was much publicity on CBC about the strategy and act-out for marine safety for ferries crossing to Vancouver Island on Oct. 25, two days after the "die-in." Words to the effect of "biggest mass exercise for marine safety in Canada’s history" were used. One of the "asks" in the letter to Goodale was for a coordinated emergency response strategy for the Kinder Morgan tank farm. Does this government not consider the City of Burnaby worth the same consideration as the ferries?
A letter from another concerned citizen about human safety, earlier in the year sparked a response from Minister Goodale, directing her to the Minister of Natural Resources because it is his job to protect "critical infrastructure." A letter from the Prime Minister’s Office in response to the Oct. 23 letter to Goodale gave the same response. Well, excuse me, in the mandate letter to the Minister of Natural Resources, I see nothing about public safety and emergency preparedness.
The same indifference was shown by Minister Goodale, when Kennedy Stewart, MP for Burnaby South brought the letter up in Parliament, Oct. 27. Minister Goodale remained silent but the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources replied about jobs and market economy – not lives.
About jobs, it is interesting to note that Burnaby’s Board of Trade hosted a job fair for Kinder Morgan. Their "pie" for economic ripple down effect showed approximately a third for accommodation. The take-away from that pie is that these so called jobs are to be filled with outside workers who need hotels to stay in. Does that mean temporary jobs?
Which brings me to the permits for which Kinder Morgan is having trouble “...with the time required to file for, process and obtain all necessary permits and regulatory approvals” (Burnaby Now, Oct. 20, 2017). The Section 7 of the detailed route hearings with the NEB will have 27 persons opposing this route out of the 135 who requested a hearing. These hearings are being scheduled for the new year. Are these 27 persons wasting their time in preparing for the hearings? Are their concerns not going to have any weight? Kinder Morgan is again putting the cart before the horse. Before I build a house, I need to detail the land on which I wish to
build.
We have no reason to trust Kinder Morgan. They put seven fish-spawning deterrents in B..C rivers without permission (we are already in an emergency situation with our chinook stock that are a primary source of food for our endangered Southern Killer whales). They do have permits from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to start construction on their dock and were given permission to install a safety boom around marine work areas during construction. I don’t believe the permit mentions anything about a six-foot, multi-layer razor wire fence that has been erected around the marine terminal in Burnaby and the staging area in Vancouver?
Kinder Morgan appears to believe they are above the law. I beg to differ.
Why would the NEB override the due diligence of the City of Burnaby in issuing permits for tree removal and road construction? Why would Saskatchewan and Alberta interfere in matters they have little or no knowledge about?
Roar, Burnaby, Roar.
Elan Gibson is a Burnaby resident
