Editor:
Re: Bill for pipeline policing costs should be sent Derek Corrigan, NOW, Feb. 7
Sensible citizens of Burnaby have peacefully rallied to protect our city from a pipeline expansion project that puts us at great risk.
It makes no sense to have any tank farm, let alone an expanded one, containing carcinogenic chemicals such as benzene in a densely populated area with an elementary school and university nearby.
As a property taxpayer here in Burnaby for more than 35 years, I commend our new mayor asking the feds to pay the $1.2 million bill for services the City of Burnaby never requested. We also never asked the federal government to pay billions to purchase this six-decade-old pipeline from Kinder Morgan with our taxpayers’ money.
As a retired firefighter, Mayor Mike Hurley is undoubtedly aware of the extreme fire hazards posed by a tank farm.
The storage facility fire near the tank farm Jan. 19 created water pressure issues for firefighters running hose lines up the hill. Those issues would be greatly compounded during the hot, dry summer months when wildfires blaze through B.C.
What sensible citizen would willingly imperil homes, schools, businesses and human lives, all for the sake of a pipeline carrying dirty diluted bitumen no one really wants?
Roslyn Hart, Burnaby
