Police patrol as a Kinder Morgan employee drills on Burnaby Mountain
Police
patrol as a Kinder Morgan employee drills on Burnaby Mountain - See
more at:
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/tsartlip-members-cite-environment-in-opposing-trans-mountain-pipeline-1.1619928#sthash.UjhPkJZS.dpuf
Police
patrol as a Kinder Morgan employee drills on Burnaby Mountain
Canadian protesters defy authorities over Trans Mountain pipeline
Proposed expansion would triple tar sands capacity and endanger coastal waters in British Columbia, local groups say
November 25, 2014 by Renee Lewis Al Jazeera
A proposed pipeline expansion that
would transport tar sands oil through a park in British Columbia has unified
Canadians from all walks of life in their opposition to the project — which
they said does not respect public opinion and could endanger both land and sea.
“I’ve never seen in my 30 years of
being environmentally active an issue that so galvanizes so many people,” said
John Bennet, executive director of Sierra Club Canada. “It’s absolutely clear
that the public, not just a handful of crazies willing to get arrested, don’t
want it.”...According to a local poll, 70 percent of residents oppose the
expansion....
...Indigenous peoples in Canada have
a constitutional right to be consulted about any actions the government plans
to take on their territory. But aboriginal protesters said their opposition is
being ignored — that the hearings are a facade.
The NEB’s handling of the Trans
Mountain expansion has also led to infringements on the rights of cities,
according to Harsha Walia, a Burnaby resident and legal liaison tracking
arrests for protesters.
“The NEB has never had the authority
to override laws, but now the NEB has been empowered to overrule any municipal
laws that exist,” Walia said..... read
more here
Tsartlip members cite environment in opposing Trans Mountain pipeline
Katie DeRosa / Times Colonist November 24, 2014
Members of the Tsartlip First Nation in Central Saanich voiced their opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion at National Energy Board hearings in Victoria Monday, saying the project would increase tanker traffic along the West Coast, threatening sensitive marine life on which First Nations people rely.
Tsartlip elder and former band chief
Simon Smith said First Nations groups on Vancouver Island would not rule out
demonstrations against the pipeline such as the ones ongoing on Burnaby
Mountain, which have led to dozens of arrests and tense clashes between police
and protesters.
…“Our food source is in that area
and one spill would mean a disaster to that area,” said Smith, 75, who has 16
great-grandchildren and 32 great-great grandchildren.
“My time is almost over. What I’m doing is
looking after the future.”
