METRO VANCOUVER 鈥� Voters in the new federal riding of Burnaby North-Seymour are no strangers to pipelines in their backyards or oil tankers plying Burrard Inlet.
But as Kinder Morgan sa国际传媒 pursues plans to twin its Trans Mountain Pipeline that will significantly increase tanker traffic, the new riding that straddles Burrard Inlet has become ground zero of the debate over pipelines in sa国际传媒
At a recent all-candidates鈥� meeting, co-sponsored by Burnaby Residents Opposed to Kinder Morgan, nearly 300 people showed up to hear the Green, New Democrat and Liberal candidates鈥� views on how they would handle the controversial expansion, fix the National Energy Board process and, if warranted, go to jail to fight the pipeline project. Conservative candidate Mike Little didn鈥檛 attend.
Activists and the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, are opposed to transporting oil by pipeline, saying a spill could cause irreparable environmental damage to the land and contribute to climate change.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the most important debate they鈥檙e having in this riding,鈥� said Eric Mulholland, a Burnaby resident who says he will vote for NDP candidate Carol Baird Ellan, a retired judge. 鈥淭his unusual riding puts the tankers right in the middle.鈥�
Kinder Morgan is seeking National Energy Board approval to expand its Trans Mountain Pipeline, which stretches about 1,000 kilometres from Edmonton to Burnaby, by tripling its capacity to 890,000 barrels of unrefined oil per day from 300,000 barrels. The federal cabinet will make the final decision. If the project goes ahead, the number of oil tankers loading in Burrard Inlet would increase to 34 a month, up from five now.
Candidates from all four major political parties say the issue, along with concerns over the economy 鈥� specifically affordable housing and job opportunities for youth 鈥� is the most prominent in the Burnaby North-Seymour riding.
The riding a classic bellwether, with no incumbents and four strong candidates in Little, Baird Ellan, Green candidate Lynne Quarmby, and Liberal Terry Beech. According to results by district, if the riding had existed for the 2011 election, the Conservatives would have taken 44 per cent of the vote, compared with 35 per cent for the NDP, 16 per cent for Liberals, and four per cent for Greens.
The recent all-candidates鈥� meeting drew residents from both sides of Burrard Inlet, from the traditionally Tory-friendly North Shore to NDP-leaning Burnaby.
On the Burnaby side, many residents have Kinder Morgan pipelines running through their neighbourhoods, or live next to the Westridge Marine Terminal or Burnaby Mountain storage tank facility. In North Vancouver, residents have to consider the effect of a rise in the number of oil tankers arriving and leaving past their community.
Steve Edmonds, a resident from Deep Cove on the North Shore, said if one of those ships were to sink, it will release harmful toxics in waters around the region. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unacceptable,鈥� he said.
Quarmby, a Simon Fraser biochemisty professor, said the Kinder Morgan protests on Burnaby Mountain 鈥� during which she was arrested last fall 鈥� and oil spills in English Bay and Alberta have highlighted the need for better environmental protection.
The Greens say they are uneqivocally opposed to the Kinder Morgan pipeline, with Quarmby insisting 鈥渢here鈥檚 no safety plan that is going to protect us from diluted bitumen.鈥�
鈥淧eople recognize the connection between the pipeline and climate change,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e talk about the environment and economy being linked, but we can鈥檛 have an economy if we poison the environment.鈥�
Quarmby expects the federal race will come down to the Greens and NDP.
As Baird Ellan walked down Hastings Street in Burnaby recently, she was stopped by a woman who promised her vote. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say that鈥檚 unusual,鈥� Baird Ellan said.
The NDP and Liberals have a similar stance on Kinder Morgan, saying while they wouldn鈥檛 kill the pipeline expansion, they would overhaul the NEB process to ensure consultation from the public and First Nations, and restore sa国际传媒鈥檚 credibility in terms of environmental protection. Both would also create overall energy plans to provide more scrutiny to projects.
Baird Ellan, a former chief judge of sa国际传媒鈥檚 provincial court, said her party would also restore the Canadian Coast Guard and devise an oil spill response. She also vowed to protest the project alongside Quarmby.
鈥淚 won鈥檛 hesitate to tie myself to a machine and get arrested,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ecause this can鈥檛 happen. This isn鈥檛 good for sa国际传媒 or for sa国际传媒鈥�
Liberal candidate Terry Beech, who has a property on Inlet Drive that was close to the Kinder Morgan spill in 2007, was more cautious. He noted the Liberals are committed to an a carbon-pricing scheme, but insisted there must be an overall plan for oil and mining projects because 鈥渋t鈥檚 not our job to figure out how to stop a pipeline in a certain area.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 this balance we have to strike between the economy and environment,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 also a feeling we鈥檙e going to need oil and gas. Let鈥檚 talk about a real plan in dealing with things like climate change. ... If we鈥檙e being asked to make sacrifices in our community, we want to know what the deal is.鈥�
Conservative candidate Little, a former North Vancouver District councillor, agreed there are better ways to deal with spills, such as having a helicopter provide an immediate picture of the scene.
But he insists pipelines are safer than other forms of transportation because they require less handling of the product, which reduces the risks, and provide a boost to the economy.
鈥淚鈥檓 supportive of getting a Canadian product to market. That鈥檚 how it gets the most value,鈥� he said.
