Local reaction negative to green light on Northern Gateway Pipeline
By Colin Payne
Just as the holidays were about to hit, a federal National Energy Board (NEB) panel quietly announced its recommendation that the federal government approve Calgary-based Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline project – a move that Nelson and area opponents say is bad, if not unsurprising.
While the panel has given the go-ahead for the $6.5 billion project, it still faces 209 conditions set out by panel, the five conditions set out by the BC provincial government, as well as likely legal challenges from First Nations groups.
“After weighing the evidence, we concluded that Canada and Canadians would be better off with the Enbridge Northern Gateway project,” the panel stated in its report, which was about 500 pages long, according to CBC.ca.
Province has no say in project anymore – Mungall
Nelson-Creston MLA, Michelle Mungall says she’s not surprised that the panel gave the project the green light, but she feels it’s unlikely that Enbridge will be able to meet all of the 209 conditions set out by the panel.
When it comes to the BC government’s five conditions, she says they are merely for show and hold no sway when it comes to the actual decision because the province turned over approval of the project to Ottawa.
“The Liberals gave up their right to have any decision making power over the pipeline,” Mungall says. “So their five conditions are rhetoric. It sounds good, but at the end of the day nobody has to listen to them.”
While Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently stated that cabinet approval of the pipeline is not a sure bet, Mungall says the actions of the federal government indicate that’s not the case.
“The Harper Conservatives have been putting out pro pipeline ads for quote some tome now and they have been promoting resource development,” Mungall noted. “They’ve said publicly they want to see the pipeline go through.”
When asked about the potential economic and employment benefits of the pipeline project if approved, Mungall said the risks to the environment if there were a spill could ruin fisheries on the Northern Coast and threaten the livelihoods of many.
She said the NDP opposition will continue to put pressure on the province and present a firm opposition to the project, but she feels the strongest opposition will come from First Nations groups.
“If we’re going to succeed in stopping the pipeline, we need to be supporting First Nations and their efforts,” she said. “And that’s what we’ll be doing. They are the communities with the most to lose.”
Eco Society will be “a megaphone” for concerned area residents
David Reid, executive director of the West Kootenay Eco Society was also not surprised about the announcement.
“Anyone following the proceedings knew or suspected that this would be the outcome,” Reid said.
He added that it’s important for citizens opposed to the project to communicate to our federal representatives regarding the 209 conditions to try and help keep the project from being approved by the federal government.
When asked if the Eco Society has any specific plans of its own for opposing the project, Reid was hesitant to comment due to surveillance by the NEB on the local organization in the past.
But he did say his organization would “act as a megaphone for the voices of residents of our area who are concerned about issues like this.”
And he feels that despite the distance from the project, there are many people in the Nelson area who oppose the project.
“No one in this province or anywhere should have to suffer the type of consequences that would happen if there were a break or spill on that pipeline,” he notes. “It’s really a matter of justice.”
colinpayne@gmail.com
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