Protesters chant 'Notley go home,' while premier gets warm reception at Vancouver energy forum

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley waded into the centre of opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline project in Vancouver Thursday and came away with a standing ovation.

The applause camefrom business and labour groups attending an energy forum organized by the Vancouver Board of Trade.

Notley's messagethat the Trans Mountain pipeline will bring prosperity to all Canadians, and especially to those in British Columbia and Alberta, was warmly receivedby groups hoping to benefit from the pipeline expansion.

"If we can build pipelines that move U.S. and Asian energy products around the Lower Mainland, surelywe can build them to move Canadian products that benefitall Canadians," Notley said to applause.

But as the premier was giving her pitch to a supportive audience inside a Vancouver waterfront hotel, about 150 protesters were outside brandishing placards and chanting "Notley go home."

"There's no money in it for Burnaby at all," said Mayo, a protester who says there's nothing Rachel Notley, or Kinder Morgan can say that will change her mind that the pipeline expansionis a bad idea.

Ed Jones said he's concerned about the impact further development of the oilsands would have on the health of his four children in the future.

'Notleygo home'

"You can do all the talking you want, you can travel the country, you can make all the speeches you want, but the bottom line is increased emissionsand that's the problem," Jones said.

Notley vowedthe pipeline expansion, whichwould triple the amount of crude oil the pipeline carries from Alberta to the West Coast,will not increase oilsands carbonemissions.

"The pipeline has nothing to do with carbon emissions," Notley told CBC News Thursday.

"That's a really fundamental point."

Alberta premier pitches pipelines in B.C.

7 years ago

Duration 8:12

'I believe it can be done safely, and the economic and social benefits are in everybody's interests,' says Rachel Notley.

Halting the expansion of the pipeline was a key campaign promise for B.C. Premier John Horgan, who vowed to use "every tool in the toolbox'' to stop the project.

Since Horgan'selection in May, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has been stalled by judicialactions and the refusal of the City of Burnaby to issue the necessary permits and approvals for construction.

In a rare public speech, Ian Anderson, president ofKinder Morgan Canada, appeared exasperated as he ran through the litany of obstacles the Trans Mountain pipeline project has faced since it was approved by the federal government one year ago.

'Nowhere near where we expected to be'

"We're standing here today with approvals in hand, yet we are nowhere near where we expected to be where we should be," Anderson told the audience.

He said the project is already nine months behind schedule, and though investors are committed, they're looking for more "certainty."

"The time for selling this project is over," said Anderson who pointed out that approvals that should normally take sevenweeks are now dragging out to sevenmonths.

Anderson said the Trans Mountain pipeline has had a "healthy debateand rigorous review" and now deserves to bebuilt.

"At the end of September, we began some construction at our WestridgeMarine Terminal here in Burnaby. That's the only place we've been able to commence construction," he said.

Federal Energy Minister Jim Carr, who also spoke at the forum, laid out hisstance onthe pipeline.

"What the government of Canada wants to ensure is that there aren't unnecessary delays to a process which is a federally approved major energy project," Carr told reporters.

Minister Carr sent a letter to the National Energy Board on Tuesday, supporting the creation of a "standing panel" to determine Trans Mountain's ongoing compliance with provincial and municipal permits.

As Carr was beginning his address to the forum,however, he was interrupted by a suit-wearing protester who blended into the crowd as a paid delegate.

"Mr. Carr, I'm afraid to have children," the protester screamed as he was being led out the door.

"We will be facing resource shortages and the wars that go with them. How dare you do this," he yelled.

As for being the target of protesters, Notley shrugged it off saying that after living in British Columbia for 10 years, "a protest of 150 people is kind ofsmall."