Posturing from city on KM plans
Dear Editor:
Re: Kinder Morgan needs opposition, Burnaby NOW, Aug. 12
Mr. McQueen clearly prefers the “sawed off shotgun” approach to politicking: close your eyes, fire at those whom you believe oppose you, and hope to hit something or someone.
He needs to stop, breathe, and aim his rhetoric more carefully to hit his intended targets instead of his own toes.
The NOW has reported (Aug. 11) that “Kinder Morgan did not apply to the NEB to force the city to allow the company’s survey work to begin; it simply asked for an interpretation of existing law.”
Even Mayor Corrigan understands that Burnaby lacks jurisdiction to stop the Kinder Morgan expansion – even within city limits – including preventing geo-technical surveys.
This is why Mr. McDade, the city’s lawyer, now spends civic dollars filing papers for a constitutional challenge to gain Mayor Corrigan some meaningful jurisdiction to back up his prior public posturing.
A court challenge may be more effective than lying down in front of bulldozers (forcing taxpayers to cover later cleaning bills.)
But it is more expensive, too. There are better tactics available, like joining forces with those already enjoying standing before the courts, including B.C. First Nations and Victoria, to push Kinder Morgan into addressing Burnaby’s expressed concerns.
No one wants an under-engineered pipeline in endangered species habitat, urban backyards, or parks!
No one wants survey work done in an environmentally questionable fashion either. (But “quiet” networking ahead of NEB hearings would not serve immediate electoral purposes; which is why the posturing from the Mayor’s office continues.)
Mr. McQueen follows with attacks on Burnaby First Coalition (BFC) mayoral candidate Daren Hancott and the B.C. Chamber of Commerce – whom he labels friends of large business.
BFC is a coalition of individuals seeking to make Burnaby more business-friendly, less-heavily-taxed, and more family oriented, giving Burnaby a civic government both transparent and accountable to local taxpayers.
Mr. McQueen is clearly unaware that B.C. Chamber membership is 95% small businesses (less than 50 employees) with the vast majority employing less than 10 people.
Chamber members are a “backbone” of job growth, entrepreneurship, and innovation in B.C.
Chamber volunteers spend thousands of hours each year working with government to ensure that public policy promotes small-business success so that local employment growth stays strong (readers can review current work at BCChamber.org).
It should be no surprise for anyone following Burnaby politics that our current mayor and council are not friends to local small and medium-sized businesses. This is clearly demonstrated in Burnaby’s property tax structure.
(When it comes to the gap between what businesses and homeowners pay, Burnaby is the fourth worst in B.C., according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.)
Property taxation clearly lies within civic jurisdiction. Daren Hancott, as a former leader of the chamber is well aware of the urgent need to stop Burnaby from taxing small businesses to excess, driving them from Burnaby and hampering local job growth as they depart.
David Field, Burnaby
