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District of North Van reaffirms pipeline opposition

New council united on environmental concerns
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The new District of North Vancouver council is taking the same position as the old one when it comes to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: oppose it.

The district was an intervenor in the National Energy Board’s process in 2016, arguing against the project over concerns about air quality, human health, its impact on local parks and the natural environment as well as uncertainty in emergency spill response, both planning and execution.

The NEB’s approval of the project was overturned in the Federal Court of Appeal in August after a successful legal challenge led by the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. Since then, the government has ordered the NEB to redo parts of the process that were found deficient by the courts.

Council voted unanimously Monday to continue as an intervenor, making it clear the municipality’s leadership still finds the project unacceptable.

Mayor Mike Little said at Monday’s meeting it still hasn’t been proven to his satisfaction that spill response is up to snuff.

“I’ve advocated for years that we need to demonstrate that the equipment that we have in place can actually do what they claim it can do,” he said, noting federal law prohibits a live test of real bitumen on the water. “I’d much rather test it here in our brackish waters. I’d much rather test it with the diluted bitumen that’s coming down the pipe. And until you can show me that we can actually respond to a spill, I’m not going to be supportive of the (Trans Mountain) plan.”
Coun. Megan Curren also supported the motion but with much broader environmental goals in mind.

 “I will fully support all efforts from the district using any resources that are necessary or appropriate,” she said. “As an intervenor, I don’t think there’s anything more important than transitioning away from fossil fuels.”