NEB pipeline process a 'sham,' new Liberal plan not much better, Vancouver mayor says

VancouverMayor Gregor Robertson says the National Energy Board's Trans Mountain pipeline review process is a "sham," and its move to green-light the major infrastructure projectthreatens tens of thousands of jobs inhis city.

The federal energy regulatorrecommended after athree-yearinvestigation that the controversial Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion projectshould be built, as long as157 conditions are met, including 49 environmental requirements.

"The NEB process was a sham, basically, it was advanced with gusto by the Harper government, who were obviously strong proponents of this pipeline process," Robertson said in an interview with Chris Hall onCBC Radio'sThe House.

"Weput up a solid fight against it, but many of the interveners, many voices were shut out of that process andFirst Nations weren't consulted appropriately," he said, noting the board did not review the project'sdownstream climate change impact.

The NEB said the $6.8-billionproject will be a boon for Canada's economy, boosting exports, employing thousands of construction workers and lining government coffers with a great deal more tax revenue.

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But Robertson said he will fight tooth and nail to stop the project, and he has a simple message for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Natural Resources MinisterJim Carr:"The answer is no.This pipeline proposal should not be approved.

"They've got the rest of this year, they've got this ministerial panel, but there is no business case for it when you put the economics on the table and when you put the Paris agreement and our climate commitments on the table and the sensitive environment we're dealing with here on the West Coast it's an absolute no," he said.

The formerNDP member of the legislature turned mayor said a "catastrophic" oil spill would cost the Vancouver area some 400,000 jobs. There are more than 30,000 direct tourism jobs in his city alone and double that number in the Metro Vancouver area all of which could be on the line if the area's picturesque ocean environment is put in jeopardy, he said.

The pipelinewill run largely alongside an existing pipeline from outside Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., and will more than double capacityfrom300,000 barrels per day toat least 890,000 barrels. Most of the new pipeline capacity will carry unrefined bitumen for export to Asian markets.

This expansion wouldsabotage the city's"clean andgreen" brand, he said,an imageRobertson has worked hard tocultivate since his election in 2008. "Thatis all at risk if we're an oil spill city, and the images of seals and whales, swimming through oil in our harbour is unthinkable in terms what impact it would have," he said.

'Easy' to disappoint, Carr says

Carr and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announced anewinterim review process in Januarythat will impose more steps on pipelineprojects such as Trans Mountain.

The process will analyzegreenhouse gas emissions in moredetail, andinclude greater publicand Indigenousconsultation, something that's not currently part of the NEB regulatory regime.The results from the reviewwould then be presented to cabinet, which will make the final decision on whether to approve the project by year's end.

Despite the federal government's move to placate critics like Robertson, he's not exactly buying what they're selling.

"It's an acknowledgement, at least, thatthat process was flawed. But there needs to be more work done.It's too little too late to actually gather the appropriate evidence and consultation.

"The question is whether the three-person panel will be able to actually do the due diligence that's necessary to inform the decision that is going to be made later this year [by cabinet]," Robertson said. "I don't think it's a substitute for proper consultation with First Nations."

But Carr is confident that the newpanelwill be able to adequately study the project and produce recommendations for the cabinet to considerby the panel'sNov. 1, 2016, deadline.

"What we want to know from the panellists is: What are they hearing that the NEB didn't hear, or couldn't hear, because of the nature of the regulatory review? And then we will take all of that there's not duplication here, there's complementary work and then ultimately we'll be held accountable for a decision," he said in an interview withThe House.

The House30:31Midweek pod: Minister Carr on new pipeline review panel

Chris talks with Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr about the new advisory panel for the Trans Mountain pipeline project. Plus, two electoral reform experts discuss how to take political self-interest out of the reform process.

The natural resourcesminister acknowledged that not all groups will be happy with the cabinet's final decision. "Will there be aconsensus or unanimity? No, absolutely not," he said, noting it will be "easy" for him to disappoint people.

But the process will at leastbe transparent, and the panellists will more meaningfully engage with Indigenous communities along the pipeline's route, he said, something that he conceded is not adequately done by the NEBin its current form.

Some Indigenous groups along the route have already dismissed Carr's added layer of review.

"It's hard to unscramble an egg," SundanceChief andTsleil-WaututhmemberRuebenGeorge said Tuesday."What you have is 24 months of the NEB and their processing, and now you have this new group coming in that are going to try to do what they couldn't do in 24 months, and they're going todo it in four months."

NEB conditionally approves Trans Mountain pipeline

8 years ago

Duration 12:18

MPs Kim Rudd, Candice Bergen and Peter Julian discuss the fate of the Trans Mountain pipeline and the government's approval process