For the next two weeks the battle to stop Kinder Morgan will be in the courts.
Six First Nations, the City of Vancouver, the City of Burnaby, the Province of British Columbia and several environmental organizations will take to Federal Court in Coast Salish Territories (Vancouver) to challenge the controversial pipeline.
“The federal government has not met its constitutional duties to First Nations and is forcing this pipeline through without consent. That is not what reconciliation looks like,” said Chief Ian Campbell, Squamish Nation in a Sacred Trust news release.
“The protection of our water is an issue that unites us all. This pipeline affects our drinking water as well as the source of much of our traditional food,” stated Chief Lee Spahan, Coldwater Indian Band. “Our health and our way of life are threatened by Kinder Morgan. Water is life.”
If built, the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would span 1,150 kms. It would bring tar sands oil through a National Park and UNESCO world heritage site, it would cross and endanger hundreds of rivers and streams, and bring in more than 400 super tankers into the Burrard Inlet every year, virtually assuring the extermination of the Southern Resident Killer Whale from the region.
First Nations and environmental groups will be in court to argue that the National Energy Board’s approval of the pipeline should be squashed. Proper consultation was not done, consent has not been given, the impacts are too great, and it is not in Canada’s national interest.
“We continue to have substantial concerns about this proposed pipeline and tanker project and its effects on the region. This is an issue that affects everyone, it’s great to see such a wide range of concerned communities coming together to ensure the safety of the inlet and everyone who lives in harm’s way,” said Chief Maureen Thomas, Tsleil-Waututh Nation
It will be another tough week for the much-beleaguered pipeline company. Last week, Kinder Morgan was caught illegally installing salmon spawning deterrent fencing in streams in British Columbia and Alberta. The company has also been forbidden to do any construction on public lands by the B.C. government, and continues to face on-the-ground resistance as members of the Secwepemc Nation are building tiny houses to put directly in the pipeline’s path – they’ve already built two.
If I was an investor, I would get out before the smoke clears. There are so many hurdles before Kinder Morgan, and it’s hard to imagine how the pipeline could ever get built.
We can’t all be in the courts alongside First Nations, but we can take action. Take your stand against the pipeline, sign the pledge of resistance: https://act.greenpeace.org/page/13370/petition/1
Donate to help support the legal cases at www.pull-together.ca
I will be at the hearing this week and next week. To keep up with the story, follow me on Twitter at @mikehudema.
