There has been a lot of discussion about pipeline projects in recent days, especially in the Lower Mainland of B.C., where urban environmentalists tend to dominate the conversation. People seem to forget that the Interior of the province has a stake in these decisions, and we certainty have skin in the game.
Big cities in the Lower Mainland have been the most vocal about Kinder Morgan’s proposed Trans Mountain Expansion Project. Just over five kilometres of new pipeline would go through Burnaby and zero kilometres would go through Vancouver.
By comparison, more than 350 kilometres of new pipeline would go through the Thompson Nicola Regional District. Combined with what’s already in place, there will be 1,000 kilometres of Kinder Morgan pipeline going through our region. And yet you don’t hear us complaining. In fact, the regional district board passed a motion in May to support the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.
We did so because Trans Mountain has a 60-year history of corporate citizenship, pipeline safety and emergency response. Because the alternative is a huge expansion of transporting fuels by railcar, which we believe brings increased rail traffic and greater risk to the environment and to communities in the regional district, including Blue River, Clearwater, Barriere, Kamloops, Chase, Ashcroft and Spences Bridge.
We also support the project because it will bring economic opportunities to the region through local investments, property taxes, landowner compensation and employment during both construction and operation.
Kinder Morgan estimates that there will be $1.8 billion in construction spending in the Interior.
The benefits won’t end when construction is done. Trans Mountain’s municipal taxes will double and the City of Merritt will collect $500,000 a year in property taxes. The regional district will collect more than $13 million a year.
Of course, our support is subject to the project meeting leading construction and environmental standards and both we and the NEB will hold them accountable to make sure they do. Just like the Lower Mainland, we in the Interior care deeply about the environment. Unlike many people who have grown up in the urban environment of the Lower Mainland, however, we in the Interior still appreciate the importance of natural resources to our regional economy, and to B.C. and Canada. We also understand that a strong economy has to be balanced so that all Canadians are winners in the long run.
Neil Menard is mayor of Merritt and a director of the Thompson Nicola Regional District. This was first published in The Province.
